Business Thought and Practice Met at Combi2010

The October 7-10 conference in Vantaa, Finland, hosted by Laurea University of Applied Sciences was successful and enjoyable. The official theme was “Partnering for the Future.” The emphasis was on innovation of all kinds; in economic development and environmental sustainability partnerships, in business models of all kinds, and in distance teaching and learning. The audience was diverse and fulfilled the promise of extensive participation of both practitioners and academics.

The emphasis on innovation was timely as evidenced by an editorial I read in the Financial Times enroute. Discussing the global economic malaise, it argued that monetary policy has used up many of its available tools. Fiscal policy is moribund; consider the strikes and protests in Europe as governments try to impose structural changes and the fact that the political system in the US doesn’t have a coherent thought about fiscal policy. The point was that we have to innovate ourselves out of the economic mess we’re in. A talk by Dr. Toshiyasu Ichioka of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation illustrated some of the possibilities.

Referred papers were presented in concurrent sessions, so it wasn’t possible to hear them all, but you can see the entire schedule here. I was particularly impressed with a paper entitled “Environmental Strategy and Organizational Capabilities: An Exploration of the Natural-Resource-Based View with a Focus on Columbian Firms” by Professors Mantilla and Rodriguez. It had a sound research design and good data that suggested a real difference between firms that include environmental sustainability as part of their strategy and those who do not. Innovative communication models were discussed in a session on “Multisensory Cultural Experiences” and another that featured faculty and doctoral students from the host institution, Laurea University of Applied Sciences. Read these and other papers in the Conference Proceedings.

It was a pleasure to hear an invited talk on customer co-creation of value by Professor Evert Gummesson, one of the originators of the services marketing discipline. I also particularly enjoyed a rousing call for “Stimulating Entrepreneurship and Creativity” from Professor Alan Barrell of Cambridge University.

As these few examples suggest, the conference was truly global in its scope. That is a major achievement and one that future conferences will hopefully be able to emulate. Next year’s conference will be hosted by HAMK University of Applied Sciences. Keep your eyes open; this conference is worth the time and effort!

Marketing in Vietnam

The Environment. As already noted, when preparing for my 2007 teaching visit to Vietnam I attempted to do typical due diligence about the marketing situation there, but I came up with an almost totally blank slate. I could find basic economic data, but marketing data was almost non-existent. Sure I was missing something, I contacted eMarketer and found someone who was kind enough to search their files. He came up with exactly three tables that included Vietnamese data, so I knew I hadn’t missed much.

Since it was opened up to Western investment in 2001, Vietnam has become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, albeit on a small base. Here are some key statistics from their statistical bureau. A search for economic data turns up quite a few blog entries, but I’ve stuck to statistics from governments or major world economic organizations. Vietnam has a page on the UN website that has current news, statistics and links. It was admitted to the World Trade Organization in January 2007 and has a page that has news and trade links as well as a link to a page with trade stats.

The economic statistics paint a picture of rapid economic growth. However, when you consider the size of the base on which growth is calculated, it is evident that growth was slow for decades following the war. The exchange rate of roughly 15,000 dong to the dollar also suggests inflation, which the State Department (which has a page with good narrative) says was 300% in 1987, but which has been brought under control in preparation for entry into the WTO. In fact, the exchange rate did not change perceptibly between my trips in January 2007 and 2008. Since the dollar was declining against major world currencies in 2007 that would say something to an economist, I’m sure. To me as a marketer, it says that Vietnam remains a very affordable tourist destination.

Here are some other key facts, all drawn from the ranking page of the the CIA World Factbook, which also has detailed narrative on many political, social and economic characteristics of the country. Against all other countries for which data is available in 2006/2007 Vietnam ranks:

•15th in population
•13th in size of the labor force
•24th in rate of growth of real GNP
•168th in per capita GNP.




One of the first things a traveler notices is construction everywhere, in rural areas as well as urban. Motorbikes clog the streets in cities, and there are plenty of taxis but few private cars. In Saigon, public transportation takes the form of buses and they are much in evidence on the streets. Another sign of the level of economic development is the ubiquitous street vendors. Some are in native dress and appear to be selling produce directly from family farms. Others have thriving businesses in everything from t-shirts to paper products and there are many pushcarts that offer a wide array of Vietnamese food. Most of the retail shops are small, but there are shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets. I noticed a sign that said that the Co-Op Mart, the largest supermarket chain at least in Saigon, was opening convenience stores, so signs of an emerging consumer economy are all around. There are many KFC outlets and I was told that the first McDonald’s franchise has been awarded in Saigon but is not yet open.

The evidence of a rapidly-growing economy is clear. The state of marketing is not so obvious, but in the next installment I’ll piece together what I’ve been able to learn.
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