Asean International Sandbox Conference

Editor's Note

2026-03-01T07:02:30SE Asia Standard Time

Green Logistics Practices in Vietnam’s E-commerce Market: A Framework

2026-03-01T07:02:29SE Asia Standard Time

The rapid growth of e-commerce in Vietnam has become a major driver of digital transformation, reshaping consumer behavior and business practices. However, it has also simultaneously created significant environmental challenges, particularly in logistics operations such as transportation, packaging, and warehousing. Green logistics —logistics activities that aim at minimizing environmental impact is increasingly recognized as a solution to balance economic growth, environmental protection, and social well-being. In Vietnam, the concept of green logistics is not completely new but it has not been fully implemented into operation. As a result, there remains a research gap in academic and practical implementation of the green logistics model in Vietnam’s digital retail ecosystem. The study aims at examining the status quo of green logistics in Vietnam’s e-commerce sector and previous framework of sustainable logistics. Drawing on academic research, government reports, and industry surveys, it identifies and proposes a green logistics framework tailored to the situation of e-commerce in Vietnam. The model provides theoretical contribution by conceptualizing green logistics in developing the e-commerce market, and practical implications for policymakers, logistics companies, and platforms. Future research may focus on empirical testing of the impact of each pillar on green logistics performance.

Green Credit Taxonomy System: Current Situation in Vietnam and Lessons from the EU Experience

2026-03-31T13:04:28SE Asia Daylight Time

This study analyzes the EU green taxonomy system to provide recommendations for Vietnam's green credit taxonomy development. Vietnam faces severe climate vulnerability and requires substantial investment to achieve its Net Zero 2050 commitment, with the banking sector playing a critical role in capital mobilization. Despite recent policy progress including the establishment of a Green Project Classification List, Vietnam lacks detailed technical criteria and faces challenges including capacity constraints, market fragmentation, and greenwashing risks. Using comparative analysis methodology, the research examines the design, implementation, and lessons from the EU Taxonomy—the global gold standard for environmental rigor—while assessing Vietnam's gaps against international best practices. Results provide a phased implementation roadmap and policy recommendations adapted to Vietnam's context, supporting JETP implementation and ASEAN Taxonomy integration, ultimately contributing to enhanced climate finance mobilization effectiveness

Digital Transformation as a Value Driver: New Evidence from an Emerging Market

2026-03-07T14:51:23SE Asia Standard Time

This study carefully examines whether digital transformation increases firm value in Vietnam. While technology adoption has grown rapidly in the country, academic evidence on its impact remains relatively limited. The previous research findings consistently emphasize that digitalization can improve information processing, resource utilization efficiency, and governance quality. Therefore, this study investigates whether these valuation benefits are actually present in an emerging market. This study utilizes panel data from 319 listed companies over eight years. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effects, and Generalized Method of Moments methods were applied to address heterogeneity and endogeneity appropriately. The results show that digital transformation has a positive and significant impact on firm value. These findings are largely consistent with previous studies reporting increased valuations through a better information environment, stronger internal controls, and improved digital capabilities. This study further adds new evidence from Vietnam and applies a dynamic estimation framework to support stronger causal interpretations. However, key limitations primarily relate to the use of disclosure-based measures and a lack of industry-level comparisons. These issues clearly present opportunities for future research.

The Impact of Green Crecit on Bank Profitability: Implications for Vietnam

2026-03-01T07:02:31SE Asia Standard Time

In the context of climate change and the global pursuit of sustainable development, green credit has emerged as a strategic instrument enabling banks to foster both economic growth and environmental protection. In Vietnam, although the State Bank has introduced incentive policies to promote green lending, its implementation remains constrained by an incomplete legal framework and dependence on external capital. Addressing the lack of empirical evidence, this study examines the impact of green credit on the profitability of 18 Vietnamese commercial banks from 2015–2023. Using panel data regression in STATA with diagnostic tests for multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity, and autocorrelation, the study finds that green credit ratio (GCR) significantly enhances return on assets (ROA), while non-performing loans (NPL) reduce it. Bank size also shows a positive but weaker effect, whereas GDP growth is insignificant. The findings highlight green credit’s role in sustainable banking and support stronger regulatory and environmental risk management frameworks.

The Cross-Cultural Perception and Interpretation of Chinese Cultural Symbols in the MOBA Game Honor of Kings

2026-04-13T11:22:48SE Asia Daylight Time

As Chinese digital games expand globally, games have become important spaces for cross-cultural communication. Honor of Kings integrates numerous Chinese cultural symbols through its heroes, skins, and narratives. This study explores how these symbols are perceived and interpreted by players from different cultural backgrounds, focusing on Chinese and Japanese players.

Using a qualitative approach, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with twelve players, including six Chinese and six Japanese participants. All interviewees had at least three months of gameplay experience. The analysis drawson Hall’s encoding/decoding model, semiotic theory, and cross-cultural communication theory.

The findings indicate that both groups can recognize major Chinese cultural symbols, but their interpretations differ. Chinese players tend to produce dominant or preferred readings based on cultural familiarity and historical knowledge, often accompanied by cultural pride. Japanese players more frequently demonstrate negotiated interpretations, engaging mainly at the aesthetic level and selectively accessing deeper meanings. The study also finds that the game can stimulate interest in Chinese culture, although the depth of engagement varies depending on cultural background and prior knowledge.

Overall, the study highlights how cultural literacy shapes cross-cultural interpretation and suggests that digital games can function as platforms for cultural dissemination across cultures.

Consumer Acceptance and Behavioral Responses to Location-Based Marketing: Evidence in Vietnam

2026-04-13T11:37:49SE Asia Daylight Time

As location-based marketing (LBM) is increasingly implemented through Wi-Fi infrastructures in retail environments, understanding consumer acceptance and behavioral responses has become particularly important, especially in emerging markets such as Vietnam. This study examines consumer acceptance of Wi-Fi-based location advertising and its influence on behavioral intentions. Drawing on large-scale survey data collected by Nielsen, the research analyzes how perceived value, message personalization, Wi-Fi usage habits, willingness to share personal information, and privacy concerns shape consumers’ acceptance of LBM. The findings indicate that perceived value and message personalization have a significant positive effect on acceptance of Wi-Fi-based marketing. In contrast, privacy and data security concerns negatively influence consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions. However, these negative effects are attenuated among consumers with frequent Wi-Fi usage and a higher willingness to disclose personal information when clear benefits are perceived. Furthermore, acceptance of LBM plays a mediating role in driving positive behavioral responses, including advertising acceptance, brand interaction, purchase intention, and store revisit intention. This study provides empirical evidence on consumer responses to Wi-Fi-based LBM in Vietnam and contributes to the literature by highlighting the conditions under which location-based advertising can effectively balance personalization benefits and privacy concerns in emerging markets.

The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone: Adoption of the Shenzhen Model and Enhancement of Worker Rights and Protections

2026-04-13T15:14:32SE Asia Daylight Time

This research examines how the Shenzhen Model of economic development fosters an environment conducive to human trafficking and worker exploitation in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ), with the purpose of analyzing this causal relationship, assessing the adequacy of Cambodian legal frameworks, and proposing policy solutions. The scope encompasses both traditional industries and the emergent illicit economy of large-scale online scam operations, which constitute a severe form of trafficking for forced criminality. Methodologically, this qualitative case study utilizes semi-structured interviews with key informants from international organizations, NGOs, labor unions, and a diplomatic mission, supplemented by extensive document analysis. Its findings indicate that the model’s adoption has systematically led to systemic labor abuses and enabled transnational criminal networks to traffic individuals for forced criminality, revealing inadequate and poorly enforced Cambodian laws with critical gaps in victim protection and cross-border cooperation. Consequently, the study recommends a multi-pronged strategy including legal reform to close loopholes, awareness campaigns, disrupting criminal infrastructure, and fostering stronger regional cooperation within ASEAN.

The Impact of TikTok Beauty Influencers on Korean Skincare Brand Awareness Among Gen Z Consumers

2026-04-17T14:23:36SE Asia Daylight Time

The rapid growth of TikTok has reshaped influencer marketing strategies within the global beauty industry. This study examines how beauty influencer exposure and credibility affect Korean skincare brand awareness, consumer perceptions, and behavioral intentions among Generation Z consumers. A quantitative approach was adopted, and survey data were collected from 401 Generation Z respondents. Multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that influencer content exposure predicts brand awareness (β = .724, p < .001), explaining 52.5% of the variance. Influencer credibility measured through expertise, trustworthiness, and authenticity also positively affects awareness (β = .676, p < .001). Exposure further influences consumer perceptions, which subsequently predict behavioral intention (β = .523, p < .001), indicating a cognitive-to-behavioral process. These findings highlight the role of influencer marketing as an awareness-building mechanism that indirectly shapes purchase intentions through perception formation. By integrating Mere Exposure Theory, the Source Credibility Model, and the Elaboration Likelihood Model in a TikTok-specific context, this study contributes to social media marketing literature and provides practical implications for Korean skincare brands targeting Generation Z.

A Study on the Impact of Skit Advertisements on Consumers' Impulse Buying: Using Perceived Value as a Medium

2026-04-17T14:43:54SE Asia Daylight Time

With the rapid proliferation of skit advertisements on digital media platforms, they have emerged as a prominent external stimulus for consumer impulse buying, yet the underlying mechanism of their impact remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate the effects of three core dimensions of skit advertisements (relevance, entertainment, creativity) on consumers’ impulse buying, and examine the mediating role of perceived value based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. A questionnaire survey with validated scales was conducted, and 360 valid responses were collected for empirical analysis using reliability and validity tests, regression analysis, and mediation effect tests. The results show that relevance and creativity of skit advertisements have significant positive direct effects on impulse buying, while entertainment has no significant direct effect; all three dimensions significantly enhance emotional and functional perceived value, which in turn positively predict impulse buying and play a significant mediating role. The findings indicate that skit advertisements drive impulse buying mainly by enhancing consumers’ perceived value, providing empirical insights for brands to optimize skit advertising strategies.

The Impact of Social Media Advertising on Thai Consumers’ Purchase Intention of White Goods

2026-04-17T14:53:29SE Asia Daylight Time

As Chinese white goods brands expand in Thailand, understanding the impact of social media advertising on consumer behavior is essential. This study investigates how advertising dimensions—interactivity, informativeness, relevance, and reliability—influence Thai consumers' purchase intention, while examining consumer involvement as a mediator. Adopting a quantitative approach, data were analyzed via SPSS within the SOR framework. The results reveal that all advertising dimensions significantly drive purchase intention, with interactivity and relevance being the primary factors. Furthermore, involvement is confirmed to play a mediating role, specifically showing partial mediation at the aggregate level while exhibiting full mediation for certain advertising dimensions. The study concludes that social media advertising plays a significant role in consumer decision-making. To enhance performance, brands should focus on interactive, localized, and highly relevant content to deepen consumer involvement and trust.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Students’ Learning Experiences in Thailand

2026-04-17T16:24:03SE Asia Daylight Time

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into higher education and has the potential to transform students’ learning experiences. This study examines the impact of AI usage on university students’ learning experiences in Thailand, focusing on student engagement, self-regulated learning, and critical thinking ability. A quantitative research design was employed using a survey-based approach. Data were collected from 413 university students through an online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were used to examine the relationships among the key variables. The findings indicate that AI tools are widely used by students to support their academic activities. The results show that AI usage has a significant positive effect on student engagement (β = 0.42, p < 0.001) and self-regulated learning (β = 0.37, p < 0.001). Student engagement significantly influences learning experience (β = 0.48, p < 0.001), suggesting that students who actively participate in learning activities tend to report more positive academic experiences. The findings also reveal that over-reliance on AI negatively affects students’ critical thinking ability (β = −0.29, p < 0.001), highlighting potential risks associated with excessive dependence on AI-generated responses. Overall, the findings suggest that AI technologies can enhance students’ learning experiences by increasing engagement and supporting self-regulated learning. The results also highlight the importance of promoting responsible AI use to ensure that these tools complement, rather than replace, students’ independent thinking and critical reasoning skills.