Frontier Management Science (FMS)
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): FMS - April

Vietnamese SMEs as Engines of Innovation and Sustainable Growth: A Conceptual and Policy Analysis

Huyen Thi Minh Van (Foreign Trade University)



Article Info

Publish Date
22 Apr 2026

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam face both opportunities and constraints in pursuing competitiveness through digital transformation and sustainability. This study developed a conceptual framework integrating four firm level capabilities - digital agility, innovation capability, sustainability orientation, and entrepreneurial resilience - with ecosystem and policy enablers. Drawing on case evidence from TECHPRO, EMES, and Menas, the analysis showed how digital tools, circular practices, and resilient cultures can accelerate growth, but also how structural barriers such as finance, regulation, and skill shortages hindered scaling. Comparative insights from ASEAN highlighted that coherent policy frameworks, including subsidies, incubators, and mentoring programs, amplified firm level initiatives. The findings contributed conceptually by linking dynamic capabilities with institutional support, and practically by offering managerial and policy implications for SME development. The study concluded that without reforms in finance, regulation, and skills, Vietnamese SMEs would struggle to translate emerging capabilities into durable competitive advantage.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

fms

Publisher

Subject

Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Economics, Econometrics & Finance Social Sciences

Description

Frontier Management Science (FMS) is a double-blind, peer-reviewed journal. This journal provides full open access to its content on the principle that making research freely and independently available to the science community and the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge and the ...