Assessing the Challenges and Opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Vietnamese Apparel Retail Market
Since the Vietnamese government implemented an economic renovation policy in 1986, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have tremendously contributed to a rapid growth in the country’s economy (Tran, Le, & Nguyen, 2008). Although SMEs play an important role in Vietnam’s apparel retail market, relatively little is known about Vietnam’s apparel retailing market environment and domestic Vietnamese apparel retailers’ dynamic business performance in the marketplace. Therefore, the present study aimed to extend an understanding of the competitive advantages of domestic Vietnamese small-sized apparel retail firms and examine their growth potential in Vietnam’s apparel retail marketplace. Rostow’s Stage of Growth Model (1960) and the VRIO framework (Barney, 1995) were used to frame the qualitative-dominant mixed methods approach. For this study, faceto-face interviews and a paper-based survey were conducted among a target sample including domestic Vietnamese small-sized apparel retail store owners who independently-owned and operated an apparel retailing store in Hochiminh City of Vietnam. To obtain candid responses from participants, closed-ended and open-ended responses in semi-structured questionnaire were used. The sample (n=13) for the present study was obtained using a snowball sampling technique. Open coding, constant comparison, and axial coding processes were used to analyze the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). For the qualitative phase, interpretive analyses revealed overarching themes, including (1) resources generated for domestic Vietnamese small business owners in the apparel retail market, (2) limited access to financial resources, (3) lack of reliable human resources, (4) need for further development of transportation infrastructure, (5) use of retail technology, (6) economic conditions’ influence on apparel consumption, and