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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH
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DUONG NGOC HONG
THE IMPACTS OF SUPPLY CHAIN SOCIAL
SUSTAINABILITY ON SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE,
MEDIATING ROLE OF SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION
THE CASE OF VIETNAM
Major: Business Administration
Code: 9340101
SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION
Academic Advisors:
1. Professor. Nguyen Dong Phong
2. Associate Professor. Bui Thanh Trang
Ho Chi Minh City – 2022
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The Thesis was completed in:
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The thesis will be protected by the Board of Review in:
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The thesis can be found at the library:
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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research gap
While attention to social sustainability practices has been
increasing over the globe recently, many researchers point out that
there are limited studies on the Asian context in this domain (Gugler
and Shi, 2009). Many focal companies are located in developing
countries, particularly in Asia. Social issues in the supply chain are
considered one of the most discussed topics in these countries;
however, managers did not pay much attention to understanding and
addressing these issues. Furthermore, applying social standards to
measure environmental, financial, and social performance is hardly
practiced, especially in supply chains (Torugsa, O’Donohue, &
Hecker, 2013; Hutchins and Sutherland, 2008). Also, social manners
are complex and diverse based on a particular country’s social
development. Therefore, many scholars suggest that this domain needs
further research to explore and identify these issues.
As a result, this study has been conducted for various reasons.
Firstly, as mentioned above, our research recognizes the necessity for
further study about the impacts of supply chain social sustainability on
supply chain performance with the mediating role of supply chain
integration, particularly in developing economies. Recently, as a
responsible member of the United Nations, Vietnam has been actively
developing and implementing strategies to promote green growth and
sustainable development. There have been several policies and
programs to raise awareness, support, and encourage businesses to
apply sustainable business models. Therefore, our research examines
these main subjects: (1) How do supply chain social sustainability
influence supply chain integration and supply chain performance? (2)
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How does supply chain integration (internal integration, supplier
integration, and customer integration) enhance supply chain
performance? (3) How do the integrations between supply chain
members mediate the relationship between supply chain social
sustainability and supply chain performance? Our research will gain
the following contributions in the context of developing economies.
1.2 Research objectives
Objective 1: Identifies the relationship between supply chain
social sustainability and supply chain performance, mediating role
of supply chain integration.
Objective 2: Examines the impact of social sustainability on three
dimensions of supply chain integration: internal, customer, and
supplier.
Objective 3: Identifies the influence of supply chain integration on
customer performance, supplier performance, and supply chain
performance.
1.3 Research questions
RQ1. How does social sustainability enhance supply chain
performance, mediating role of supply chain integration?
RQ2. How does social sustainability influence internal
integration, supplier integration, and customer integration in the
supply chain?
RQ3. How do the three dimensions of supply chain integration
affect supplier performance, customer performance, and supply
chain performance?
1.4 Research methodology and data collection
This study is divided into two main parts: the pilot study and
the main study. The supply chain social sustainability was adapted
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from the research of Mani et al., (2016) and Mani and Agrawal (2015).
In addition, the measurements from a prior study by Jajja, Chatha, &
Farooq (2018) were used to measure the Supply Chain Integration,
including Supplier Integration (4 items), Internal Integration (4 items),
and Customer Integration (4 items). For the Customer performance (2
items), Supply chain performance (3 items), and Supplier performance
(3 items), the author used items from Mani, Jabbour, and Mani (2020).
The author delivered online and offline surveys to executive
staff and managers of companies located in Vietnam. This study’s data
were taken in 2021; the survey subjects are small, medium, and large
companies in the South of Vietnam, particularly in HCMC, Dong Nai,
Binh Duong, and Mekong Delta Rivers. The total time for collecting
the data from respondents will be six months. All companies have at
least 4 to 5 years of operating. The author applied these criteria to
ensure all the companies are mature in operations and have enough
knowledge of social sustainability practices. In total, 428 responses
were received.
1.5 Research contribution
1.5.1 Theoretical contributions
By examining these primary questions, this research will
contribute to the social sustainability domain. Firstly, it presents the
concept of supply chain social sustainability and clearly explains how
sustainability practices can increase performance outcomes. Secondly,
this study is perhaps the first study investigating the positive influence
between supply chain social sustainability and supply chain
integration in emerging markets, especially in Vietnam. In addition,
the finding indicates that customer integration does not significantly
influence customer performance due to the differences in respondents’