ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM PERFORMANCE OF VIETNAM: A STUDY BASED ON THE GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP INDEX (GEI)

Although much research has revealed the importance of entrepreneurship, the beneficial impact of entrepreneurship is dependent on its precise definition together with its different measurements. This study aims at providing an in-depth insight into the entrepreneurial ecosystem performance of Vietnam, a potential economy in Asia-Pacific region. To pursue this purpose, the paper adopts the approach of entrepreneurship ecosystem (EE) using Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) model, as an analytical lens for the Vietnam’s entrepreneurial profile. The findings show that although being healthier than other Asian nations such as Philippines, Indonesia; the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) performance of Vietnam has still landed in the moderate quartile of GEI data. Entrepreneurial abilities and aspirations play promising roles in Vietnamese entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially the “human capital” and “risk capital” pillars. Whereas, entrepreneurial attitudes appear as the main disadvantages in forming Vietnamese GEI score. Further, the paper also indicates that: “Risk acceptance”, “Technology absorption”, “High growth”, and “Internationalization” pillars are the weakest aspects of Vietnamese entrepreneurial ecosystem performance. The weakness is especially apparent in terms of its institutional issues. Therefore, the paper is expected to offer theoretical and practical contribution for studies of entrepreneurship of Vietnam.