Academy of Policy and Development

Growing concerns about environmental sustainability and ethical business practices have significantly influenced consumer behavior in recent years. This study investigates the impact of ethical consumerism on consumers’ purchase intention toward natural products in Vietnam, with brand trust serving as a mediating factor. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Signaling Theory, the research examines three key dimensions of ethical consumerism, including sustainability perception, supply chain transparency, and ethical production perception. 311 data of young consumers were collected from consumers in Vietnam and analyzed using structural equation modelling with SmartPLS 3 and SPSS 27. The results indicate that sustainability perception, supply chain transparency, and ethical production perception all have significant positive effects on brand trust, with ethical production perception showing the strongest influence. Brand trust is also found to significantly influence purchase intention toward natural products and mediates the relationships between ethical consumerism factors and purchase intention. In addition, the study identifies significant differences in purchase intention across generational groups, individualism–collectivism orientation, and levels of exposure to foreign environments. These findings highlight the important role of ethical perceptions and trust in shaping consumer behavior in emerging markets. The study contributes to the literature on ethical consumerism by providing empirical evidence from Vietnam and offers practical insights for businesses seeking to strengthen consumer trust and promote sustainable consumption.

Identifying transcription factors (TFs) interacting with target genes plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression, providing deep insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in biological processes and diseases, while also opening new opportunities for research and treatment, particularly in precision medicine. However, challenges arise from the high cost of experiments and biological complexity. Recent machine learning models show promise for predicting TF target gene interactions but struggle with data imbalance, as the number of known interactions is much smaller than unknown ones, reducing prediction performance. To address this challenge, we propose an approach that integrates sample selection from potential unknown interactions with spectral clustering to balance the dataset. We construct an adjacency matrix from known interactions, apply spectral clustering to partition the data, and select unknown interactions farthest from the cluster center for diversity. A deep learning method combining random walk sampling and skip-gram embeddings is used to learn representations of biological networks. Experimental results, evaluated via five-fold cross-validation, show an average AUC of 0.9575 ± 0.0044, outperforming existing methods. These findings validate our approach's efficacy in improving prediction accuracy and resolving data imbalance, offering a robust framework for discovering novel TF-target gene interactions in molecular biology and biomedical research.

Purpose This study aims to investigate how the migrant background of family owners influences the financing decisions of family firms in three Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries: Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, specifically focusing on debt and working capital structures. Design/methodology/approach Using a hand-collected dataset of 1,301 listed firms from 2010 to 2022, the study employs panel regressions to analyze the effects of family ownership and migrant status of family owners on firms’ financial decisions, controlling for various firm-specific factors. Findings The study finds that family firms in ASEAN countries generally maintain lower debt ratios and higher working capital ratios than non-family firms. The migrant background of family owners further amplifies these conservative financial behaviors, with migrant family firms, on average, exhibiting 7.4% lower debt ratios and 5.4% higher working capital ratios than non-family firms. Practical implications The findings provide insights for firm managers, investors and policymakers on how to better support migrant family firms through tailored financial strategies, investment evaluations, and policies that promote financial inclusion and economic growth. Originality/value This research fills a gap in literature by focusing on migrant-owned family firms in the ASEAN area, a region in which family firms are prevalent but understudied. It highlights these firms’ unique financial decision-making patterns, driven by heightened risk aversion and information asymmetry due to migrant ownership.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of digital transformation in management accounting on the management efficiency of enterprises, with the intermediary role of accounting information quality. The study is based on the theoretical model proposed by Hasan (2023) and Phornlaphatrachakorn and Na Kalasindhu (2020, 2021) regarding the influence of digital transformation in accounting. The research utilized a quantitative approach, employing the linear structural equation model (SEM) and survey data from 320 enterprises in Hanoi, Vietnam. The findings revealed the acceptance of four hypotheses, suggesting the following: the direct positive impact of digital transformation in accounting on the quality of accounting information and business ME; quality of accounting information has a direct positive impact on corporate governance efficiency; digital transformation in accounting has indirect implications on corporate governance efficiency with the mediating role of accounting information quality. This study contributes to empirical research on the application of digital transformation in various fields while enhancing confidence in digital technology.

This research article examines the Japanese government's support policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government implemented macroeconomic measures, including monetary and fiscal policies, to mitigate the pandemic's adverse effects and support economic recovery. While these policies achieved certain successes, the Japanese economy continues to face significant challenges, such as slow economic growth, a large budget deficit, and rising public debt, which threaten the long-term sustainability of public finances. Additionally, inflation has exceeded target levels, but workers' wages have stagnated, creating financial hardships for many households. Rapid population aging further undermines the sustainability of the social security system, placing additional pressure on public spending, monetary policies, and fiscal strategies. These challenges complicate Japan's efforts to sustain economic growth and uphold living standards.

This study examines the link between CEO age and firm environmental performance. Building on the upper echelons theory, we predict that a firm is more environmentally friendly if CEOs are younger. Using hand-collected data of a total 12,512 plant-year observations for 1,074 individual firms in the period from 2010 to 2022, we document evidence that younger CEOs release significantly less greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with our conjecture. Additionally, we note that younger CEOs outperform older CEOs in terms of greenhouse gas emissions by investing more in abatement initiatives, increasing manufacturing efficiency, and increasing their use of ecologically friendly fuel. Our evidence of CEO age offers relevant implications for directors, shareholders, and financial regulators.

This study aims to explore how fair and respectful treatment (interactional justice) influences employees' willingness to go above and beyond their job requirements (organizational citizenship behavior, or OCB) and whether being engaged and committed to their work (work engagement) plays a role in this process. We gathered data from 350 employees at companies in Vietnam. The results showed that when employees feel they are treated fairly and with respect, they are more likely to exhibit behaviors that benefit the organization beyond their normal job duties. Furthermore, the study found that being actively involved and committed to their work helps explain how fair treatment leads to these extra efforts. Managers can encourage such positive behaviors by ensuring employees feel respected and supported, acknowledging their individual needs, and creating a positive work environment. When employees perceive their treatment as fair, they feel more positive, dedicated, and responsible toward their work and the organization, leading them to engage in OCB. This research adds to existing knowledge by showing how work engagement helps explain the effect of fair treatment on OCB, offering insights for managers on how to enhance such behaviors among employees.

Vietnam is recognized for its significant growth in e-commerce. Shopee has become the leading e-commerce platform in Vietnam in terms of revenue and market share. However, Shopee Vietnam faces several challenges, including how customers perceive its services. There is also a lack of academic studies on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected consumer buying habits, especially in relation to Shopee Vietnam. This research looks into how the quality of Shopee's website - including its system, information, and service quality - affects customer buying behavior. The study uses a theoretical framework and tests ten hypotheses using a quantitative approach. Data was collected from 309 Shopee users through a questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS and AMOS 22.0 software. The results show that only information quality and system quality significantly influence customer buying behavior, with service quality having no notable effect. Information quality is the most influential factor. The study concludes that customers view Shopee.vn not just as a place to buy, sell, and ship goods but also as a source of information for searching, exploring, and comparing data.

Vietnam is a country negatively affected by climate change due to the increasing greenhouse effect. Implementing the commitment to cut greenhouse gas to “zero” by 2035, Vietnam has been making efforts to build a domestic carbon market, towards connecting with the world carbon market. To achieve this goal, Vietnam needs to develop and improve the legal basis for carbon credit management and the exchange of greenhouse gas emission quotas.