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The thesis aims at proposing recommended solutions for small and medium-sized business community in the decision to allocate investment capital; proposing to promulgate mechanisms and policies to support small and medium-sized enterprises to improve business environment.
1 SUMMARY OF THE THESIS The need for research Investment activities in the enterprise were carried out on the following fields: investment in construction, investment in human resources development, R & D investment, investment in marketing and investment in intangible assets, etc, and all referred as development investment in enterprises Theoretical and practical evidence has shown the impact of these investments on the business results of the business However, apart from the "formal" investment expenditures, businesses also have to pay money that the law does not officially recognize; this money is used to bribe, lubricate, bribe, etc and referred as "informal costs" These two segments are not only isolated but also closely related, the same is the investment content of the business, just one side of the current and one hidden side, as a side painting side when increasing one factor will reduce the remaining factor The issue is how these areas affect the results of business production of the business? Which sectors impact sustainability, which array is short term? Which is more profitable for businesses? In fact, research is needed to analyze and assess the impact of developed investments and informal expenses on business performance From that, we propose solutions that help businesses to develop a sound investment strategy, improve their competitiveness and business efficiency, and pay more attention to technological or product innovation - Developed in today's harsh international competition environment On the subject of research, the author decides to choose small and medium enterprises (SMEs) because SMEs occupy a large proport on of the whole enterprise (over 97%), which is an important part of the economy the developing market in Vietnam Together with the private sector, SMEs are an important driving force for development With limited resources, SMEs face many difficulties in the production and business process, and are also vulnerable to the unhealthy nature of the business investment environment such as complex administrative procedures and infomal costs When a company has large resources, spending money on developed investment or informal financing is not a difficult decision to make However, for SMEs, a characteristic of this group of enterprises is the limitation of resources (finance, human resources, material resources), thus limited in capacity (production capacity, R & D capacity, competing capability) The allocation of finite resources for capacity building is always a challenge for SMEs In the context of current development, in addition to allocating capital for developed investment to renovate technology equipment, capacity building, SMEs also have to spend a considerable amount to spend for the infomal costs, make the development of SMEs is more difficult when the limited capital resources have to be distributed to many, while uncertainty of what actually benefits This fact shows that studying the effects of developed investment and informal costs on SMEs performance, identifying the problem and explaining the causes of the problems is needed It also helps SMEs better understand the impact mechanism, and helps the government to have policies to ensure the development of SMEs in accordance with the objectives, ensuring the important role of the SMEs sector in the economy Purpose of the study - Give a new perspective on the investment of the business, in that the informal costs are also an investment Investment activities of the enterprise include investment in development (such as investment in human resources, investment in fixed assets, R & D investment), and informal investment (is the investment for informal costs) - Develop a model for assessing the impact of formal and informal investment on SMEs performance, especially to distinguish between short-term and long-term impacts, from which to find out what is the factor to play a key role in raising the SMEs performance, affecting the sustainable development of SMEs - Propose solutions / recommendations to the SMEs community in making decisions on allocation of investment capital: developed investment or informal costs; Propose to the Government to promulgate mechanisms / policies to support enterprises, improve business climate Subjects and scope of research Research subjects: Developed investment in SMEs (focus on fixed asset investment, investment in human resources and investment in research and development R & D); informal costs of SMEs; SMEs perfomance; Impact of developed investment and informal costs on SMEs perfomance Research scope: Spatial: Study of SMEs, private sector, in the field of production, in Nghe An province Time domain: Because the research results of the thesis have the results of business production in the short and long term, the data collected also need a long time Author selects a time frame of years, from 2011 to 2016 3 Research Methodology The dissertation uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods The quantitative approach aims to establish a model to test the relationship between factors, while the qualitative approach (in the form of in-depth interviews) is used to test and explain the quantitative results In quantitative research, data is collected in the form of Panel data Analytical methods: Use the Engle-Granger method to estimate the relationship between variables in the short and long term, including the steps: Verification of co-linkages to determine whether there exists a relationship between long-term variables, then construct the co-ordinate equation using the OLS method to determine the long-term impact relationships; Estimate and construct the ECM error correction model based on the co-aligned equation in step The analytical software support is Eviews version 9.0 Model and hypothesis of research Research models Research question: - How the developed investments affect the SMEs perfomance in the short term and in the long term? - How informal costs affect SMEs perfomance in the short term and in the long term? The importance and new contributions of the thesis Scientific significance The thesis builds the framework for informal costs as a form of SMEs investment This is the money that the business spend "implicitly", not legally recognized, but also aimed at developing business activities of SMEs, is also an investment for the future, is just "informal investment" only Practical meaning The dissertation shows the relationship between developed investment and informal costs on the SMEs performance Accordingly, this impact relationship is different over time Specifically: - Developed investment (including investment in fixed assets, investment in human resources, R & D investment) in the short term generally does not affect or negatively affect the SMEs performance In the longer term, the impact of investment on the SMEs performance is good, is positive, or in other words developed investment is conducive to the development of the business in the long term - Informal costs have an impact on SMEs performance in the opposite direction: No short-term impact and long-term negative impact From the research recommendations: results, the thesis proposes the following - For SMEs: The first and most important thing that SMEs need to is changing their mindset SMEs need to identify the necessity and the effect of developed investment on enterprises, This is the activity that helps businesses achieve long-term sustainable business results As for informal costs for bribes and smuggling, SMEs should not it, as it does not bring the same benefits as expect, even negatively impacting businesses in long-term Secondly, with its limited resources, SMEs should exploit it more effectively by corporate governance The third is to increase access to resources Finally, it is also important to review your investment and it in a way that is most effective - For state management agencies: Corruption or informal costs harm the development of SMEs, thereby adversely affecting the business investment climate and reducing growth and development national economy Therefore, the State should strengthen measures to prevent informal costs to facilitate SMEs and businesses in general The dissertation proposes some recommendations for solving informal costs in a thorough manner 5 CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH SUMMARY, MODELS AND RESEARCH THEORY 1.1 Studies on development investment and its impact on firm performance 1.1.1 Development investment impacts firm performance Research focus primarily on the impact of investment on the firm performance Investment affects the firm performance in many ways, such as productivity and growth speed (Power, 1998; Bessen, 1999; Huggett and Ospina, 2001; Nilsen, 2009; Shima, 2010), employment growth (Asphjell, 2010), sales growth (Licandrol, 2004) or other factors of production (Sakellaris, 2004; Nilsen, 2009) Investments add value to companies, shareholders and increase wealth (Penman, 2010) On the direction of impact over time, according to Power L (1998), Huggett M and Ospina S (2001), Shima K (2010), some studies take the view that the effect of investment on growth performance is negative in the short run; in the long run, the impact is positive Grazzi et al (2013) argue that the higher the investment, the better the investment will be, and the faster it will grow than the other Thus, the research is consistent in view of the investment impact on firm performance It can affect various aspects of results such as growth, market share, value The dimension of impact is positive or negative depending on time: in short is negative, the longer term is positive 1.1.2 Investment in fixed assets affects the firm performance Oiv et al (2008), Xiao (2009), Duchin et al (2010), Piris (2010), Umutlu (2010), Geng and N'Diaye (2012), O'Reilly (2015) have studied and demonstrated that fixed investment is a decisive factor for the firm's growth De Long and Summers (1991) found a link between investment in equipment and growth: high investment in equipment led to rapid growth and low investment in equipment led to slow growth Doms and Dunne (1998), Nilsen (2009) also investigated the impact of tangible asset investment on firm performance Grazzi et al (2013) found that firms with higher levels of investment, after an investment period, would be more efficient and grow faster than others Investing in assets after an extended period of investment, for example opening a new factory, will negatively affect profitability but will have a positive impact on sales and employment: higher sales and higher employment levels Then businesses with rapid growth, high profitability and productivity will be more likely to invest Fundamentally, investing in tangible assets will have a positive impact on firm performance, and this impact will manifest in the long term 1.1.3 Human resources investment (humman resourse investment) affects the firm performance Clarke M (2010) and Segal G (2009), Clarke (2010), Marimuthu (2009); Ukenna et al (2010) and many other authors examine the direct relationship between human capital investment and firm performance These findings suggest that human resource efficiency is a particularly important factor for businesses Therefore, businesses will benefit from investing in employees with their skills and knowledge Moreover, research also suggests that human capital investment is the strongest influence on financial firm performance According to studies conducted by Segal et al (2009), investment in human capital has had a positive impact on sound financial performance Both education and industry management experience is needed to improve financial performance As such, research has shown the content often in the investment of human resources in the firm The impact of human resource investment on firm performance is that most studies have shown a positive effect However, the research has not found the link or impact it is negligible 1.1.4 Investing in research and development (R & D investment) affects firm performance Economists have noted that investing in R & D facilitates innovation, creates new knowledge and new technology Studies by Sougiannis (1994), Zantout and TSetsekos (1994), Green (1996), Goodacre and McGrath (1997) also show similar results The authors find that investing in R & D has a positive effect on the value of the enterprise (Chauvin and Hirschey, 1993; Bae and Noh, 2001), R & D is a determinant of long-term productivity and well-being (Jones and Williams, 2000), although the assessment may vary by firm size and industry The study by Lev and Sougiannis (1996) shows the existence of a direct and positive correlation between R & D spending and economic growth, resulting in increased productivity and productivity Investment costs for R & D allow businesses to earn more than normal or average returns (Erickson and Jacobson, 1992) R & D investment in new products creates competitive advantage and enhances company performance (Aboody and Lev, 2000) R & D investment is considered as an investment in intangible fixed assets, contributing to the long-term development of the company (Chan, 2001) A successful R & D investment in a new product and service allows companies to increase the value of intangible assets, thereby distinguishing them from other firms (Ehie and Olibe, 2010) In addition, spillover effects from R & D are beneficial not only for businesses but also for the economy (Bednyagin and Gnansounou, 2012) 7 Thus, the impact of R & D investments on businesses is not consistent Basically it is a positive effect, is linear But there is research that shows that it is a nonlinear relationship and a positive or negative impact at different times 1.2 Studies of informal costs and their impact on firm performance Researchers show different perspectives on the positive or negative impact of informal costs on business outcomes, most of which are still negative Corruption raises operational costs, creating uncertainty and thus discourages investment (Shleifer and Vishny, 1993; Wei, 1997; Campo, 1999) Corruption has a negative impact on productivity, sales growth, (Gaviria, 2002, Seker and Yang, 2012, De Rosa, 2010) and return on investment (O'Toole and Tarp, 2014) Corruption has a negative impact on the level of human resources (Mo, 2001) Businesses can lose more of what they can get from corruption because of the invisible barriers to corruption that will arise and ultimately hurt the business: A business that is engaged in corruption is often describing is ineffective and embarrassing in the organization (Ashforth and Mael, 1989; Hogg and Terry, 2000), the danger of corruption may not be reflected in a direct result in a particular transaction, but it will turn into a series of obstacles in the overall operation of the business later From a positive point of view, some studies have validated the positive but conditional effects on firm earnings (Dreher and Gassebner, 2013) and sales growth (Mendoza et al , 2015) Bribes increase trust and establish a reciprocal shared belief (Graeff, 2005), from which entrepreneurs gain favorable conditions to increase sales (as it allows them to win the projects or to obtain a loan) However, afterwards, firm will suffer "imminent damage" (Nguyen Van Thang et al., 2014) in that: the opportunity to expand is no longer difficult to reach new customers or localities; quality pressures (as the business focuses on building relationships that lose competitive motivation by quality, there is no creative motivation, these effects are implicit and slow, but there are This reduces the competitiveness of enterprises As such, there are quite a number of studies on informal costs that affect the results / performance of a firm Impacts are found to be quite different, divided into positive and negative impacts, short-term and long-term 1.3 Case studies on the use of analytical models of impact between variables in the short and long term The relationship between variables that need to be differentiated in the short and long run is very specific, not simply linear or nonlinear regression models, simple variables or multivariable ones There are two common methods used to test - short-term and long-term relationships, namely the two-step Engle-Granger method and the Johansen method These methods have been applied by many authors in the world and in Vietnam for use as Sung and Urrutia (1995); Taghvaee and Hajiani (2014); Kasperowicz (2015); Nguyen Minh Kieu et al (2013); Truong Minh Tuan (2013); Le Quang Canh (2011); Le Thanh Tung (2014) 1.4 Study space Based on the theoretical foundations and published studies, author founds that there are many gaps that can be approached: - The studies on impact relationships of each pair of factors (investment in fixed assets, human resources, R & D) to the firm performance are not consistent with each other, different subjects, scope of research, research context From here opens the opportunity for research on different subjects (be it different businesses in the field of business, type of business), or different research areas and contexts (different countries, different localities ) - There have been no research studies on the simultaneous effects of developed investment and informal costs on the firm performance There are no authors who consider informal costs as an investment of the enterprise (underground investment) besides developed investment (informal investment), comparative analysis and evaluation of the level of impact The effect of the two contents on the firm performance - There have been no research topics and fully quantified contents of developed investment in enterprises (including fixed asset investment, human resources investment, investment in R & D research) Research only stops at the general impact of investment on the business or study the individual impact of each content on the business In these studies there are also some shortcomings such as: short study period, major studies conducted abroad, rare research in Vietnam (not to mention local specific), especially research for SMEs Studies also use qualitative methods rather than quantitative methods to quantify the level of impact, building models that reflect the relationship - There are no research topics at the same time both developed investment and informal costs affect the results of business production - There are no topics using short-term and long-term relationship estimation methods as Engle-Ranger or Johansen apply to relations between developed investment factors, and firm performance In summary, the gap that author found through the review process is the simultaneous study of the impact of the two factors: Developed investment and Informal Costs to Firm Performance, studying with Vietnamese firms and using the short-term and long-term relationship estimation and control methods of Engle-Ranger or Johansen 9 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BASIC OF DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT AND INFORMAL COSTS IN SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES 2.1 General concepts 2.1.1 Investment and development investment in the firm - Investment in fixed assets: including tangible fixed assets and intangible fixed assets Tangible fixed assets include material assets such as machinery, land, buildings, tools, raw materials, transport means, or technological equipment Inventions, inventions, copyrights, trademarks (including branding marketing), trademarks, licenses, contracts, methods, programs, systems, forecasts, estimates, numbers technical details - Investment in human resources: including investment in recruitment, training, payroll, health care, improvement of working environment - Investment in research and development (R & D) of science and technology: including research, development and application of new products, new processes, new methods for production and business of the business 2.1.2 Informal costs in firm 2.1.2.1 Concept "Informal costs are expenditures of enterprises for State officials for the purposes of bribery and lubrication, which are not recognized by Vietnamese law." This study identifies informal costs with corruption and bribery 2.1.2.2 Classify The informal cost divided by Nguyen Van Thang et al (2014) consists of two types: lubrication corruption and competitive corruption informal costs for lubrication: These are costs to promote administrative procedures, including the cost of hand-washing for tax officers, the cost of hand-washing for customs, the cost of administration other state agencies such as fire safety, social workers, food safety, market management, natural resources and environment, construction, public security, treasury, banking, insurance Informal costs to compete is the cost of competing for business opportunities with competitors (other businesses), including the cost of obtaining a paper business licenses in conditional businesses; The cost of accessing information about business opportunities; expenses for applying for land use right or exploitation of natural resources; eosts for funding sources; eost to win the contract / win the right to supply goods; eosts to withdraw the project gut in the course of contract performance / contract settlement 10 2.2.3 Firm performance Firm performance is known as its efficiency, efficiency and effectiveness and is used by researchers to use a variety of measures / indicators to measure 2.2 The theory of development investment and informal costs in SMEs 2.2.1 SME characteristics SMEs have the following characteristics: SMEs have limited resources: low capital, low manpower, less material assets, less developed technology; compact SME management machine, management capacity is limited; SMEs are usually private sector enterprises; SMEs have a very diverse sector / sector structure, covering the economy, but often focus on sectors close to consumer goods such as apparel - food - small - industrial auxiliary those sectors not require too much resources for development 2.2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of SMEs Advantage: Easy to start up, easy to choose the industry / field of operation, ie easy to insert and fill the market gap; Flexibility in business transformation, adaptation to market changes, shocks to the economy; The machine is compact, facilitating the operation; Easily make management decisions to keep up with changes in demand, prices, supply, customers ; Easily access supporting areas to participate in the global production chain; Can be linked together to create value chains, for example value chains in agriculture Disadvantages: Difficult access to important resources is capital and land; Difficulties in developing human resources; Difficult to approach and innovate advanced production technology, friendly with the environment; Difficulties in investing in R & D to improve and upgrade the production process, research and find new ways to improve the quality of products and services; Difficulties in transaction and implementation of state administrative procedures; Greater dependence on the business environment, partners and customers; Competitive; High operating costs due to the lack of economies of scale; Difficulties in export and integration; Difficulties when expanding the market, expanding the field of activity; Great risk 2.2.3 Developed investment in SMEs Developed investment in SMEs: investment in fixed assets, investment in human resources, R & D investment (like in big firms) The difference of development investment in SMEs with other firms: - Ownership: Large firm are associated with ownership of resources when they invest, while SMEs often consider renting or borrowing resources 11 - Frequency: SMEs are difficult to decide where to invest, how much investment, when to invest, often or not often - Intensity of investment: Large enterprises can spend a lot of money on an investment activity, and spend enough for each stage, each content, in a way In contrast, SMEs invest less and less often, less content - Efficiency of investment: Large enterprises invest regularly, large investment, investment so often to achieve high efficiency; On the contrary, SMEs will be less effective 2.2.4 Informal costs in SMEs SMEs with small and weak characteristics, limited resources, so in the operation process less favor from the government as compared to large enterprises, so when contact with public officials, SMEs often spend the bribes are not discriminated against, which facilitates the implementation of administrative procedures In addition, because of its small potential, the ability to access business opportunities is limited, it is difficult to compete with large enterprises, so SMEs pay for winning contracts, winning contracts to supply goods In practice, SMEs are more likely to pay informal costs than larger ones 2.2.5 Factors influencing investment decision and decision to pay informal costs of SMEs 12 results, ie in the long run Developed investment creates resources, so it helps to create long-term positive business results (positive relationships) And informal costs not create resources, so it not only does not help to generate good business results, but can even hurt or erode the long-term development of the business, in that way The other is having a negative relationship in the long term CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR TERMINOLOGY RELATIONSHIP SHORT - LONG TERM BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT AND INFORMAL COSTS TO SMES PERFORMANCE 3.1 Research process The research process of the thesis goes through the following steps: Identifying research topics; Study overview; Defining research objectives; Theoretical framework; Develop research methodology; Measurement, design of questionnaires, in-depth questionnaires; Data collection; Model testing; Report on research results 3.2 Scales Biến số The decision to invest in an enterprise will be influenced by a number of factors, which have been explained by investment theories and tested in many other studies and are divided into two main groups: Look at the external factors and look at the internal or internal factors of the business Investing in Investment for human resources staff incentive system: “NL” salaries, bonuses, allowances, insurance Percentage of R&D Investment / Revenue Direct survey Direct survey Combined PCI survey data - Nghe An Tax Department (Get financial reports) - Nghe An Department of Statistics (annual survey results) - Ghazawi (2012) Investment policy treatment R&D Investment “RD” Nguồn thu thập liệu - Investment for staff training 2.3 Theory explains the relationship between development investment and informal costs with the SMEs performance Barney's (1991) management-based theory of management has built a strong relationship between the firm's competitive strengths and competitive advantages, thereby explaining the phenomenon of over-performance dominant and sustainable business Accordingly, only when an enterprise invests in what is considered a resource, can it achieve sustainable and long-term business Nghiên cứu tiền đề HR policy, procedures in recruiting and recruiting staff - Factors influencing the investment decision of SMEs - Factors influencing the decision to pay informal costs of the enterprise: business environment (transparency, publicity, fairness); administrative procedures, policies to support enterprises , the broup on the future benefits of the business: the benefits of building relationships with the government from which to gain advantages such as bidding , administrative procedures, exploitation of resources Thước đo - Lee & Marvel (2009), Rugman & Sukpanich (2006), Beld (2014), Krasnikov & Jayachandran (2008), AYAYDIN & KARAASLAN Direct survey Direct survey 13 14 3.4.3 Design the questionnaire (2014) Fixed asset Percentage of investment Fixed Assets / “HMTSCĐ” Revenue Informal costs “TYLEIP” Firm performace “SALE” Percentage of Informal costs / Revenue Logarith's Revenue Olatunji & cộng (2014), Okwo & cộng (2012) - Nghe An Tax Department (Get financial reports) Asiedu & Freeman (2009), Nguyen & cộng (2012), WILLIAMSABBI &KEDIR - Direct survey (2016), Nguyen Van Thang, - Combined PCI Ho Dinh Bao, Le Quang survey data Canh, Nguyen Vu Hung (2015), VCCI Jong & cộng (2010), Nguyen Van Thang, Ho Dinh Nghe An Tax Bao, Le Quang Canh, Department (Get Nguyen Vu Hung (2015), financial reports) Lim & cộng (2011), Zhang & cộng (2014) In-depth interviews will be conducted with selected enterprises, with broad coverage of the sectors and localities In-depth interviews were used to collect qualitative information to examine and explain quantitative research results Interview content includes questions that are flexible depending on the context of the interview, and around the following topics: Which businesses invest in fixed assets? What is the content of the investment in human resources? How to understand R & D investment? What are the unofficial expenses? How does the content affect the company in the short and long term? 3.5 Expected data analysis The thesis selects the Engle-Ranger method with the dependent variable being the output of the business activity, while the independent variable is the development investment and the unofficial cost The relationship between the variables will in the long run use the Engle-Ranger coherent model, while the short-term relationship will use the ECM error correction model The analysis goes through the following steps: 3.5.1 Insert information 3.3 Sample design 3.5.2 Descriptive statistics analysis 3.3.1 Overall and research sample The sample consisted of SMEs, in the manufacturing sector, the private sector, and in Nghe An province 3.3.2 Sampling method Author selects a combination of methods: stratified sampling and convenient sampling - Select stratified sample: stratified times: 1st by local, 2nd by field and by scale - Convenient sample selection: After sample of 412 SMEs selected after stratified sample, author will continue to use convenient method, based on the ability to reach the target 3.5.3 Test the stopping of table data The thesis uses the unit test method of Levin, Lin and Chu If the variable is not stopping, we use the wrong variable in step Then continue to test stopping for differential variables until the data stops 3.5.4 Selection of regression models SALEit = β + β 1*HMTSCDit + β * NLit + β *RDit + β *TYLEIPit + ε it The regression analysis of the table data usually includes some major estimation methods such as Pooled OLS, FEM, REM It is necessary to determine which model is suitable for the data of the study 3.5.5 Test the relationship in the long term The hypothesis testing process has to go through the following steps: 3.3.3 Sample size For each SMEs surveyed, the data will be collected over years (from 2011 to 2016), forming a data panel data panel, with each observer having observations Thus the number of observations of the thesis is * the number of respondents Author sent questionnaires to 412 businesses, with 168 responses, of which 123 were valid So the sample of the thesis has a scale of 123 * = 738 observations This figure is perfectly consistent with 5/6 of the sample size norms in the above studies 3.4.2 Design survey form - Step 1: Verification of co-linkages: Verification of co-ordination to determine whether there are long-term relationships between variables - Step 2: Verify the relationship between the variables in the long term with the appropriate model 3.5.6 Short-term correlation assay using the ECM error correction model 15 To test the short-term impact relationships, the method used was the Engle-Granger method, in which the short-term effects of the variables were tested by constructing the ECM error correction model as follows: p ∆ SA L E t = ϕ + ∑ q ϕ ∆ L H M T S C D t −1 + i= k ϕ i ∆ N L t −1 i=1 m + ∑ + ∑ ϕ i ∆ R D t −1 i= n ∑ ϕ i ∆ T Y L E I Pt−1 + i= ∑ ϕ i ∆ S A L E t −1 + θ E C t −1 + v t i= Where: the variables ∆SALE, ∆LHMTSCD, ∆NL, ∆RD, ∆TYLEIP, are the first differential variables of the original variables The EC is the residue that is retained after the regression model of the co-link in the long-term relationship test CHAPTER 4: RESULTS OF THE SHORT- LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT AND INFORMAL COSTS TO SMES PERFORMANCE 4.1 Research background 4.1.1 The scene of Nghe An firms The number and type of enterprises, business lines, business size 4.1.2 The situation of production and business activities of the firm 4.1.3 Informal costs for firm Corporate context throughout the country: The payment of Informal costs is a trend, a habit, an unwritten law, and even become a culture in the business community of Vietnam Informal costs surveys in Viet Nam give very alarming results on the share of informal costs: 59% of businesses donate gifts and / or money to officials to handle their work (World Bank , 2012); 50.5% of enterprises regularly pay informal costs (VCCI, 2013); 45% of enterprises paid bribes (CIEM, 2013), 64.5% of enterprises paid informal costs (VCCI, 2014), 65% of enterprises paid informal costs, 66% 28.4% agreed to pay commissions when bidding, 89% said they would be disadvantaged in bidding if they refused to pay commissions (VCCI, 2015) Nghe An enterprise: In terms of the unofficial costs index, Nghe An is always the lowest among the 63 provinces The low scores show that in Nghe An, over the years, enterprises have been paying a lot of money for informal costs for the public administration system, and at the same time expressing distrust of main system actions, rights to improve the business investment climate in Nghe An 4.2 Descriptive statistics Descriptive statistics show the characteristics of the sample on each variable 16 4.3 Correlation testing, multi-collinear All variables from independence to dependence are included in the correlation test According to Evan (1996), the correlation coefficient between 0.4 and 0.59 was significant, ranging from 0.60 to 0.79, which was strong and less than 0.39, respectively The correlation coefficients of the model are less than 0.39, indicating that the correlations are weak, thus confirming that the variables not exist in multipliers 4.4 Stationary test All of the variables not stop at the base sequence and stop at the first differential, satisfying the conditions required to use the ECM model to test the short-term significance relationship 4.5 Choice the accreditation model The results show that the randomized REM model is appropriate 4.6 Long-term impact relationships test 4.6.1 Cointegration test Using the Engle-Granger co-test method, Kao's optimum latency is automatically selected according to the Akaike Info Criterion standard, resulting in Resid (-1) residue , the hypothesis H0 is rejected (H0: non-stop, no cohesive relation exists) Thus the variables have a cointegration relationship, proving that they have a long-term impact 4.6.2 Long-term impact regression The RD (R & D investment) and the TUOI variable (business age) not have an impact on SALE (Business performance of the business Impact is (+), positive The HMTSCD (fixed asset investment) has a SALE effect, and the magnitude of the impact is (+) positive The TYLEIP variable (unofficial cost) has the effect SALE , and the impact dimension is (-), negative 4.7 Short-term impact relationships test In the short term the independent variables affecting the dependent variable are as follows: The DNL variable (human capital investment) and the DTYLEIP variable (unofficial cost) have no impact on DSALE (Business result The DRM (investment in R & D) has the effect of DSALE, and the impact is (-), negative The DHMTSCD (fixed asset investment) has a SALE impact, and the impact is (- ), negative 17 4.8 Sumary and discuss the research results After the verification process, the research results are summarized as follows: Variable name Expected impact indicator Marked impact indicator Short term Long term Short term - + - Long term SALE HMTSCD + NL - + No impact + RD - + - No impact TYLEIP + - No impact - Thus, the accreditation practice has some differences from the initial expectations when considered for each variable However, when placed in a general population, the results are consistent with the original hypothesis Specifically: 18 - For R & D investment: In the short term, R & D investment has a negative impact on business results, as expected However, in the long term, this relationship is not statistically significant, no impact This can be explained by the fact that the research SMEs are investing in R & D is limited or not large enough to have a positive impact, or R & D investment in Vietnam in general and Nghe An in particular, has not been invested properly, or has not achieved any significant results This finding is consistent with Beld (2014) - Informal variable costs: In the long term, empirical results show the relationship between informal costs and SMEs performance as negative as expected In the short term, contrary to the initial expectation that this is a positive relationship, the fact that it does not work It is not like the business thinking that informal costs will make good business results in the short run, but in reality it has no impact at all The longer it goes, the worse it will be for the business CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusions on the short and long-term relationship between developed investment and informal costs with Vietnamese SMEs performance The results show that: - With Fixed Asset Investment: This is the only variable that has the desired results as expected and consistent with previous studies: Fixed asset investment will negatively affect results in short-term, and long-term business activities will have a positive impact This is extremely easy to understand, because investing in fixed assets usually requires a large amount of capital, takes time to disburse and work Fixed asset investment has a time lag, its results / effects will not be immediately promoted in the investment period With developed investment in the SMEs: In general, this is a waste of resources and short-term effect on the business result, however, after a period of time it It is very good for the business, making the business results higher Specifically, for each development investment, the enterprise should pay attention as follows: - With the investment of human resources: In the short term, investment in human resources does not affect the results of production and business activities, but in the long term the positive impact Long-term impact is consistent with the original theory Why in the short term these two variables have no impact? The reason may be explained by the small sample, convenient sampling should not reflect the nature It is possible that the fact that enterprises invest in human resources is not really significant, not enough to bring about immediate impacts Human resource investment is also a part of developed investment, similar to fixed asset investment, it has a time lag, which is a period of time later than investment This result is similar to the study of Perera and Thrikawala (2012) The research model also has independent variable is human resource investment, the dependent variable is corporate financial performance (measured by level market capitalization, ROE, ROA) - Investment in human resources: The research results show that when investing in human resources in the long run, it will be very good, and in the short term, it will not work Therefore, enterprises should revise their investment policies Is your workforce reasonable? Find out why in the short term has not worked? Does the company invest heavily in long-term human capital investment programs, such as long-term education and training If this is the case, SMEs should strengthen their short-term investment programs such as short-term training courses in order to quickly apply them to production - Fixed asset investment: Construction and procurement of buildings, offices, offices, machines, tools and tools will cost businesses a lot of money in the first place, but then it will work, bring revenue to the business - R & D investment: Research shows that R & D activities have not impacted the business well Do the SMEs really not invest seriously, have the strategy for R & D? Businesses need to find the cause and solution to make the 19 R & D sector more effective, especially in today's era, the era of knowledgebased economy, as SMEs compete with high- intellectual, high technology With informal costs in the SMEs: The results confirm once again that informal costs are not good for businesses: it does not affect business results in the short run, and even negative impact in the long run So not spend money on informal costs, it does not affect the business, erodes the competitiveness of the business, affects the long-term development of the business, and it it also seriously affects the general business environment, affecting the overall development of the country 5.2 The development context of Vietnamese SMEs At present, at the time when the research is completed (in 2018), Vietnam's SMEs are in the context of development with many opportunities and challenges, created by three groups of factors: the deepening of the national economy, the economic restructuring, the transformation of the growth model, the introduction of the Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Law of 2017 SMEs are facing a lot of Assembly and challenge In order to achieve good and solid business results in the long run, SMEs should take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the challenges in a rational manner 5.3.1 Recommendations for SMEs in Vietnam 5.3.1.1 Change the mindset of developed investment and informal costs Thinking and awareness of SMEs in Vietnam is mainly "short-term raising", considering the immediate benefits, so they temporarily shelve or limit the amount of money for developed investment, firstly bride to find the business opportunity, developed investment later However, contrary to the expectations of enterprises, having to reallocate % when implementing a contract will make the company think it is beneficial, but because of the high cost, the profit on each contract is reduced sharply, even losses Therefore, SMEs not have to pay for unofficial costs, but focus their limited resources on development investment SMEs should carefully study the opportunities, challenges, strengths and weaknesses of their competitors and thus develop a long-term business investment strategy This strategy should aim at building a real capacity for SMEs, which can bring long-term benefits to SMEs, and determine what they will focus on Once the strategy is in place, action plans need to be developed for each content, including the work to be done, the objectives to be achieved, the resources to be mobilized, and possible risks 5.3.1.2 Improve the efficiency of using existing resources SMEs have limited resources, so if you not make the most of available resources, it is unfortunate So before thinking about mobilizing more resources 20 from outside, SMEs should improve the efficiency of using existing resources, avoid waste The calculation of resource efficiency will help SMEs realize the current exploitation results compared with their maximum ability to meet, as well as help SMEs find the causes that affect the output efficiency The calculation of efficiency will be done by calculating a system of financial indicators including cost effectiveness, efficiency and efficiency of operations, efficiency in payment, performance and investment of enterprises 5.3.1.3 Improve the ability to mobilize external resources Access to and mobilization of external resources is always difficult for SMEs The resources that SMEs need, but the most difficult to access are capital and land a Mobilize capital With regard to capital mobilization, there are many sources of capital which SMEs can access to supplement their production and business capital, including credit, joint venture capital, joint venture, capital mobilized through the stock market and market hire purchase credit SMEs usually use only traditional mobilization channels for credit, and low capital access efficiency because, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, only about 30% of SMEs have access to credit The ratio of outstanding loans to small and medium enterprises is about 22-25% of total outstanding loans for the whole economy in the period 2012-2017, nearly 70% of SMEs have to continue using capital Own or borrow from other sources of funds at very high cost, risky The solution for SMEs is to improve access to credit, while diversifying capital mobilization channels - For credit capital: - For capital contributed to joint ventures: - For capital mobilized through the stock market (securities market): b Access to land Most SMEs, when they need land and land, think of private land rents, but they not think about accessing the land because they are unlikely to have access to land This is due to the large number of reasons such as complicated administrative procedures, unfavorable access to information and high land prices Meanwhile, the reality of access to land is difficult due to lack of land, but there are opportunities for SMEs to approach, specifically: - Regarding the administrative procedures: - On the issue of high land prices: 21 5.3.1.4 To carry out investment activities in the direction of improving efficiency On the whole, development investment is totally beneficial to SMEs, it may not be effective in the short term, but in the long run will make the results of production and business activities of SMEs better However, not all enterprises can carry out development and development activities properly and properly, especially for SMEs, where the resources are limited, SMEs often ignore some of the steps, or but cutting costs Therefore, it is necessary to redefine the way and content for each development investment in SMEs so that it can be improved in order to improve its efficiency 5.3.2 Recommendations to the State 5.3.2.1 Continue to improve business investment climate, reduce informal costs 22 5.3.2.1 Increasing support for developed investment of SMEs The introduction of the SME Law has demonstrated the State's efforts to support SMEs, which see SMEs as a driver of growth The most supportive component for SMEs in development investment is providing multi-dimensional capital access channels for SMEs with three types of funds: SME Development Fund, SME Credit Guarantee Fund, creative work The issue is whether SMEs can access these funds in a convenient way They need direct guidance, specific guidance to responsible units, propaganda and dissemination to SMEs for SMEs to know, to issue strict penalties for misuse of funds, or SMEs that need bribes to access Apart from supporting SMEs in all development investment activities, the State needs to have individual support for each investment activity of SOEs, specifically: Establish a strict punishment mechanism for corruption: This is one of the most important issues that have the effect of deterrence and punishment of individuals and organizations that commit bribery or corruption, including fines formal, administrative (disciplinary, dismissal) and criminal prosecution - With investment in fixed assets: tangible fixed assets or machinery and equipment: To create mechanisms to assist SMEs when SMEs import modern technologies from the United States, EU or Japan and receive financial support In addition, through the activities of the associations associated with the State Agency for Science and Technology to guide the SMEs in purchasing technology abroad; Intangible fixed assets: support SMEs in the registration of intellectual property and reward SMEs for valuable patents that can be applied and disseminated widely Simplicity and transparency of procedures, development of online services: administrative procedures, fees and hotline denunciation of corruption need to be publicly disclosed at state agencies, help SMEs can easily access information and participate in monitoring the implementation of their rights and responsibilities - With investment in human resources: To create a mechanism to assist SMEs in training human resources, it is possible to organize training courses free of charge or partly finance the training needs of SMEs If it is not possible to organize the training that SMEs need, there is a mechanism to provide partial support to SMEs Bidding Control: There are a lot of negative behaviors, such as bracketing between government agencies and contractors, where the commission rates paid by SMEs are around 10% of the value of the tender package, up to 15 - 20% From here, businesses have to legalize the above expenses to deal with inspection agencies, and a bribe Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control the bidding process with strong sanctions in order to raise efficiency and prevent negative impacts - With investment in R & D: Create support mechanism from the State's research, scientific and technical units for SMEs When SMEs need support for research and development, these agencies should have a department responsible for supporting SMEs, this support may be mandatory, or there are incentives for the unit does good support for SMEs Informal costs not only adversely affect business performance but also erode competition, make business investment climate less attractive, and further outstrip growth Therefore, the State should take measures for informal costs, corruption Integrity in business: Integrity and transparency in business is legal business, no bribery, It is tied to ethical and legal norms that create a barrier prevent corruption, bribery To implement integrity measures such as internal control, expenditure control, implementation of transparent reporting mechanism with tax authorities, customs 5.4 Limitations of research and future research directions Empirical studies have shown incomplete results as originally expected Causes can come from many aspects: First, because the sample is not really large, the table data used in the study included two parts of space and time: In terms of space there are 123 units corresponding to 123 SMEs are quite good for a socio-economic study such as thesis However, in terms of time, the new thesis studied over a period of years 23 is not long, limited to reflect the long-term effects as desired, especially when the variables not stop, to differential analysis reduced the study time to 4, reducing the number of observations from 738 to 492 Secondly, the subjects of the thesis are only production enterprises, private enterprises, and SMEs, so the research results may be suitable for this enterprise which is not suitable for the enterprises other business For example, industrial production may be different from agricultural production Or the medium enterprise, but with a business capital of 10 billion, has a business of 100 billion, this difference will also have different impact on the same analytic relationship Third, the use of a metric for a variable, the results of a SME performance may not be optimal The results of SMEs performance can be measured by different measures Fourthly, the control variables introduced into the model are limited, which may lead to the lack of generalization Fifth, not to mention the endogenousness of the variable Sixth, restricting from the average regression approach to non-regression analysis Seventh, the sampling method using a stratified sampling technique and a convenient sample selection may lead to a poorly stratified sample, or a convenient selection may ignore the possible study subjects represent The above limitations will open new directions for further research These are studies that may share the relationship between development investment and informal costs with the results of business activities, but may follow other directions: First, broaden the subject and scope of the study, including: - Research for big business subjects - Research for businesses in the field of trade or services, or for a specific sector / industry such as cement production, building materials production, agricultural production, build… - Research for State enterprises, or foreign investment enterprises - Studying businesses in the localities of Vietnam - Studying businesses in other countries Secondly, change the measure of the variables, for example measure the business output of the business by ROA, ROE Thirdly, add variables to the model: for example, the development investment (investment, branding, investment in intangible assets ) and other control variables (export, Foreign ownership…) 24 CONCLUSION SMEs development is an issue that attracts the attention of the whole Vietnamese society as it is seen as a driver of development in the future With limited resources, how can SMEs utilize such resources, maximize their potential and overcome the limited constraints to achieve good results that can be developed sustainably? This is a concern of the SMEs themselves and also of the State authorities, in order to be able to support SMEs more At present, SMEs have also undertaken investment activities to exploit and develop their resources, such as investment in fixed assets, investment in human resources, investment in R & D However, SMEs also have to pay for unofficial expenses for agencies and public officials in the hope of bringing good results to their businesses When the money goes to informal costs, SMEs no longer have or have little money to spend on these development investment activities So where can the activities bring good results for SMEs, help SMEs develop sustainably? The research results of the thesis have responded to the above question: developed investment includes investing in fixed assets, investing in human resources, investing in R & D to bring good results to SMEs in the long term shortterm, there may be no impact or even negative impact (depending on investment activities); informal costs are not as beneficial as the expected SMEs, but they also negatively impact and hinder the development of SMEs in the long run Based on the research results, the thesis proposes recommendations for both SMEs and the State For SMEs, the thesis suggests that SMEs first need to change their thinking, increase their investment and limit their spending on informal costs, as new development investments bring good results for SMEs Castle SMEs should exploit and improve the efficiency of using available resources while improving access to external resources More importantly, SMEs need to know how to invest in developing the best results The dissertation also proposes recommendations to the Government on improving the business investment environment, addressing the issue of informal costs, and strengthening SMEs support for SMEs develop effectively ... being the output of the business activity, while the independent variable is the development investment and the unofficial cost The relationship between the variables will in the long run use the. .. on informal costs, it does not affect the business, erodes the competitiveness of the business, affects the long-term development of the business, and it it also seriously affects the general business. .. 4.1.1 The scene of Nghe An firms The number and type of enterprises, business lines, business size 4.1.2 The situation of production and business activities of the firm 4.1.3 Informal costs for firm