A Marxist Mini-Dragon? Entrepreneurship in Today's Vietnam
Dana, L.P., 'A Marxist Mini-Dragon? Entrepreneurship in Today's Vietnam,' Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 32, No. 2 (1994)
The evolution of economic developments in Vietnam are summarized, followed by a description of the current state of entrepreneurship. Without overthrowing the socialist establishment, doi moi, the Vietnamese version of perestroika, is allowing small businesses to play an increasingly important role in the economic development of the nation. There is a constant buzz of mercantile energy in Vietnam; the self-employed optimize the use of their minimal resources and manage, despite the poor infrastructure. Recent market-orinented development is making entrepreneurship more viable in Vietnam and the trend is bound to accelerate with infrastructural improvements. Given the wage structure in Vietnam, it is likely that the small business sector will eventually dominate labor-intensive industries, while state-owned firms and multicultural enterprises undertake the more complex, capital intensive tasks of development.