Ownership feature and firm performance via corporate innovation performance: does it really matter for Vietnamese SMEs?

Abstract

The study investigates the simultaneous relationship among ownership concentration, innovation, and firm performance of the SMEs in Vietnam during the 2011 - 2015 period by employing a Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) model. The findings show that (i) there is no impact of ownership concentration on innovation, but it has a positive impact on sales growth; (ii) innovation positively affects firm performance; (iii) there exists positively reverse causality from sales growth to innovation. The policy implications insist on facilitating SMEs with easier access to capital via loans with preferred interest or trust loans without collateral, training programs for the labour force and SME leaders, and reduction of unnecessary administrative procedure.