FROM HERITAGE TO MARKET: LEVERAGING DIFFERENTIATION AND CAPABILITIES TO EXPORT HUE’S HANDICRAFTS TO EUROPE

Autor

  • Minh Quang Le PhD, VNU - University of Economics and Business, 144 Xuan Thuy Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Dao Nguyen Thuyen Phung VOSTOK 1 Science and Technology Company Limited, Nghia Tan Street, Nghia Do Ward, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Khanh-Duong Quang VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted, 153 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejefr.v9i5.2056

Słowa kluczowe:

export performance, cultural handicrafts, marketing capabilities, Vietnam, PLS-SEM

Abstrakt

Global demand for sustainable and authentic products has resurrected traditional handicrafts’ economic and symbolic worth (UNESCO, 2021). Royal needlework and conical caps from Hue, Vietnam’s imperial city, are rarely exported. Less than 10% of Vietnam’s USD 2.2 billion handcraft exports in 2022 came from the central region (Vietrade, 2023), demonstrating structural differences in distinction, marketing, and institutional support. This study examines Hue’s European handcraft export growth, Differentiation Strategy, Marketing Capabilities, Institutional Factors, and Factor–Based Comparative Advantage using the Resource-Based View and Contingency Theory. A survey of 445 craftspeople, exporters, and marketers in Thừa Thiên-Huế was evaluated statistically using PLS-SEM and Smart PLS 4.0. All four criteria improve exports. Institutional considerations predate marketing and differentiating strategy. Trained labor and raw materials help locally. The model explains 63.5 percent of export variance. This study improves cultural export knowledge by including internal and external aspects. Governments, industry associations, and cultural entrepreneurs are advised on increasing Hue’s European cultural goods market position. Vietnam, PLS-SEM, cultural handicrafts, differentiation strategy, marketing, institutional variables, export performance.

 

JEL: F14, M31, L26

 

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Biogramy autorów

  • Minh Quang Le - PhD, VNU - University of Economics and Business, 144 Xuan Thuy Street, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Minh Quang Le (PhD). Is a Full-time Lecturer at the University of Economics and Business, a member of the Vietnam National University. He is also the founder and CEO of a startup in education, research and consultancy; the Vostok-1 Science and Technology Co.,Ltd, based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Quang had his Erasmus-funded Ph.D. degree in "Model-based Public policy, planning, and management" at the University of Palermo in 2022. He published a book chapter in Cambridge University Press, several chapters in Scopus-indexed Springer proceedings and journal papers in contemporary politics, international relations, macroeconomics and public management reforms. He is fluent in Vietnamese, English, and can communicate in Italian.

    ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5330-5655

  • Dao Nguyen Thuyen Phung - VOSTOK 1 Science and Technology Company Limited, Nghia Tan Street, Nghia Do Ward, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Dao Nguyen Thuyen Phung, a young researcher of Cohort 48, Faculty of Tourism, at the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She is currently serving as a research assistant executive at the Vostok-1 Science and Technology Co., Ltd in Hanoi, Vietnam. Her research interests include tourism management, sustainable development, and the role of local culture in shaping consumer behavior. In 2025, she received several distinctions for her academic contributions, including First Prize in the Student Research Competition at the Faculty of Tourism, UEH, along with one A-level Award and three C-level Awards in the UEH Young Researchers Competition. From August 2025 to August 2025, she co-authored 3 publications in ISBN-indexed proceedings of international scientific conferences.

    ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7114-6603

  • Khanh-Duong Quang - VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted, 153 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Khanh-Duong Quang is currently a student at VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He has completed a research training program in scientific research methods at The Vostok-1 Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (Hanoi, Vietnam), where he gained foundational skills in academic writing, data analysis, and research design. His research interests focus on international trade, cultural industries, and the role of local identity in global markets.

    ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1866-3769

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Pobrania

Opublikowane

2025-10-14

Numer

Tom 9 Nr 5 (2025)

Dział

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