Case Study

A single case study for explanatory purposes was employed as a research method to find the answers to the two research questions. Since the units of the case study came in different forms, such as events, phenomena and individuals, choosing the most suitable unit that could be generalised to the entire context was an essential step for ensuring the valid interpretation of the findings (Yin 2009: 29, 33-34). In the case of this research, the sub sectors of Vietnam’s IT industry were taken as a unit of analysis. There are four case studies employed in this research that were selected out of a total of seven case studies from which data was gathered during the fieldwork phase. In more detail, the selected four case studies were Cloud Computing, software outsourcing, App economy, and online games sectors. The three case studies that were not used as in the research were embedded system, online survey software, and databases. There were several justifications explaining the selection of these four case studies out of the seven cases.

Firstly, the selected four case studies provide sufficient data for the research to insightfully use for answering research questions. This was a crucial justification for a selection of research case studies as sufficient data enables the research to have

a concrete ground for data analysis. Nonetheless, the non-selected three cases were not wasted, as they as well provided the research with an insightful overview on the dynamics of Vietnam’s IT industry, which was also important for the research data analysis phases.

Secondly, the selected four cases also represent a fair share of cities that have significant roles in Vietnam’s IT industrial development, namely, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh City is the site where the most active and intensive agglomeration of IT firms takes place, while Hanoi is a capital city where the central government is located. To date Ho Chi Minh City has developed more intensive IT and other high-technology industrial agglomerations than anywhere else in the country. According to Vu Xuan Nguyet Hong (2007), there are four high-tech and software parks under the authority of the Ho Chi Minh City municipality, compared to six high-technology clusters under the authority of Hanoi, Hoa Lac, Danang, Haipong, Cantho and Hue municipalities. This data suggests that selecting a case study from Ho Chi Minh City had the potential to yield findings that well represented the dynamics of technological development through networks. However, Vietnam is governed by a one-party state firmly based in the capital city of Hanoi – home of the central government and of many local pioneering IT companies – hence the research also collected data from the government bodies, IT pioneers and industrial consortium that are located in Hanoi. The selected four cases were from these two cities. While data on the cases of Cloud Computing and software outsourcing were gathered from Hanoi, data on the cases of App economy and online gaming were gathered from Ho Chi Minh City.

Thirdly, the four case studies provide the research a variety in research findings regarding the state’s industrial developmental roles and

technology-upgrading approaches. This led the research findings to be comprehensive and well representative of the state roles and technological drivers of Vietnam’s IT industry.

2.2.2 Survey

In the primary stage of the fieldwork, an exploratory survey was employed as part of the original methodology. This technique can aid researchers when they have very little information about their topic, for example when the research is about a phenomenon that has not yet been studied previously (Manheim et al. 2001: 122).

In my case, an exploratory survey was intended to make it easier for me to obtain the most up-to-date details about local IT enterprises, MNCs, their relationship with other firms (locally and internationally) in the demand-supply line, types of IT product speciality, approaches to technological change, membership of IT consortiums and venture capitalists. Besides the above information, O’Riain (2004: 245), from his research on Ireland’s software industry, suggests the types of primary data on the software industry that he thinks are useful for breaking down the industry in greater detail. These include alliances with other firms or sectors, sources of innovation or technological learning that firms obtain for their production and worker training, and details of a company’s workforce such as the qualifications of employees and the specifications of technical positions. In the case of Vietnam, besides these types of primary information, information on the composition of shareholding in domestic IT companies is essential. This would permit the public and private ownerships to be distinguished before further analysis. It is often the case that private firms that have shares in companies have connections with state or public agencies; moreover, state-owned enterprises in the economic sector are often characterised as being established for purposes other than economic ones (Ning 2007: 583).

In the exploratory survey, the required information was collected by means of a list of questions. Different survey instruments can be used, depending on their suitability to the context, sample convenience and the opportunities available to the researcher. Manheim et al. (2001: 123) suggest several types of survey instruments.

The researcher can choose to conduct the survey using questionnaires (by mail or self-administered) or interviews (by telephone or in person); however, a common problem found in using a survey method is a low rate of response. To address this problem and limitation, the original plan was to use an online poll sent to the respondents, since most IT professionals are available online, and it should in theory be easier to obtain their co-operation by asking them to fill in an online poll. In the case of the respondents who did not reply, they would be followed up by telephone interviews. This aimed to ensure a high response rate and optimise data collection.

In selecting the survey’s respondents, a list of firms was to be obtained from the membership lists of high-technology clusters and other IT consortiums – VINASA, Quang Trung Software Park, and a directory of IT companies from a local computer magazine. This would allow IT firms located outside industrial clusters to be included in the sample.

Data obtained from the initial survey was to provide information on all current IT firms (whose number is constantly increasing) and their ownership in Vietnam. These selected companies would then be approached. A number of interviewees would be identified after acquiring the information from the initial survey in the first phase of the fieldwork. Furthermore, the data obtained from the survey would be presented in the form of descriptive statistics, rather than being statistically analysed, due to the aim of the preliminary survey being to obtain primary information rather than to test research hypotheses statistically.

The rationale of using a survey was promising; however, when implemented it proved too limited to generate the primary information required. The survey was available online on my postgraduate research profile on the university website from 10 September until 31 December 2010,⁴however only a very small number of firms responded to this. Later, I managed to meet up with many firms that received the invitation to participate in this survey. They said that they could not afford to spend their time on an academic-related survey due to the lack of incentives.

Following this setback, I opted for an alternative, which I had considered previously: archival documents and observation. The information listed above to be retrieved from the survey might be available in the form of archival documents.

However this method had some limitations, as the volatile nature of the IT industry creates difficulties for the researcher who wishes to follow the most recent trends, as such documents rapidly become outdated. Additionally observation could not be done on a large scale within the time, human resource, and financial constraints which I was facing during the research fieldwork phase.

As I was fully aware of the downfalls of both methods, I conducted them in a selective way, only filtering data and information from active sources to avoid out of date material. For archival documents, I selected the most up to date lists containing IT firms, their business type, their industrial alliances, and workforce from two main sources: the Vietnam Outsourcing Portal and VINASA. However, as both sources contain lists of domestic IT firms, clustering heavily on outsourcing businesses (especially with the Vietnam Outsourcing Portal), I also employed an observation method to help me consider a wide variety of businesses. I selected two IT related venues, observing two technology conferences: the Fourth Annual Technology

4 http://www.polis.leeds.ac.uk/research/students/phothiyarom-uer-aree.php

Business Conference, 11-14 October 2010, Ho Chi Min City, held by Strategic Alliance Vietnamese Ventures International (SAVVI); and the Workshop on the Promotion of Open Source Software Applications and Development, on 14 December 2010, Hanoi, held by Ministry of Information and Communications. I also made regular visits to software and hi-tech parks in Ho Chi Minh City where there is a high density of IT firms.