Journal of International Economics and Management

1-16

Authors: Ross Ackerman, Truong Xuan Duong

Investors buy “investments of passion” – like classic cars, stamp collections, and art – for personal interest ahead of any financial benefits. This research aims to study the convergence of the two by examining fine wine and music as alternative asset classes. Analysis of each asset includes a history of price performance over the sample period, the asset's correlation with equity markets, the allocation between the asset and the S&P 500 according to an efficient portfolio frontier, and a maximum Sharpe ratio analysis. While acknowledging caveats such as the storage cost of wine, a short sample period, and market illiquidity, this study shows alternative assets such as wine and music can improve investors’ portfolios and provide financial benefits beyond personal passion.

42-59

Authors: Pham Thi Cam Anh, Le My Huong, Thi Kim Oanh

The purpose of this study is to identify the willingness to pay (WTP) and trade-off that Vietnamese generation Z consumers could make when purchasing eco-friendly apparel. This research uses the Discrete Choice Experiment methodology to measure consumers' WTP and how consumers trade off among different attributes, including eco-friendly, origin, manufacturing technology, and materials. The results show that generation Z consumers are willing to pay for organic label products at a higher price of 21.22% and eco-friendly label items at a higher price of 37.72%. Consumers who have a higher level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness and higher income are willing to pay more for organic and ecofriendly label apparel. They were least willing to purchase apparel that is made in China, while they see no difference between T-shirts made in Vietnam and in other countries except China. Consumers in the current study were more willing to purchase eco-friendly as compared to organic apparel. The findings suggest that enterprises should consider the language used when communicating with consumers. Also, consumers prefer products made in Vietnam, suggesting the promotion of domestic manufacturing through in-depth branding, product positioning, and promotions. The results also confirm that the application of CSR in enterprises is the right and necessary step to be taken for businesses to develop in a sustainable integration world.

75-95

Authors: Tran Thi Hien, Nguyen Tan Thu Hien

This research explores firms’ motivators to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions from the middle managers’ perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 middle managers from Quang Ninh province in Vietnam. Using Carroll’s (1991) CSR pyramid model as the framework for qualitative data analysis, the research finds that, through the middle managers’ lens, firms are motivated to engage with CSR for necessity and sufficiency. The necessity components are profitability, competitive advantage, law compliance, and anti-bureaucracy achievements serving as the maintenance factors; and the sufficient components known as encouraging factors include employee retention, ethical image and reputation. The research contributes to the extension of Carroll’s (1991) CSR pyramid model to the context of local firms in a developing country.

118-133

Authors: Nguyen Dac Thanh, Vu Thi Hong Ngoc, Kim Huong Trang

E-learning has been a trend of higher education. Accounting students need to know how to apply flexible learning methods as they are required to study and practise in a technological environment. Nevertheless, studies on e-learning based on cloud computing for accounting students in Vietnam are still limited. This study aims to find out factors affecting the behavioral intention, the direct influence of habits, the beneficiary motivation, and the favorable conditions for the acceptance of using elearning based on cloud computing. By using data collected from a survey of 696 students and applying the theory of adopting extended UTAUT model, the estimation results from the linear structure models show that there are six determinants of accounting students’ behavioral intention, in which the performance expectancy has the strongest impact, followed by effort expectancy, price value, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and social influence. Additionally, our findings suggest that despite not affecting the behavioral intention to use e-learning, habits directly impact the application. The hedonic motivation and the facilitating conditions are found to have direct and significant impacts on the use of e-learning based on cloud computing.