Good morning Vietnam: new challenges for HRM

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the policy and structural changes that have influenced human resource practices in state‐owned enterprises (SOEs), private companies and international joint ventures (IJVs) in Vietnam. The challenges facing human resource management (HRM) practitioners in Vietnam are identified and discussed.

A survey of middle and senior managers combined with organisational visits with selected HR managers, CEOs and other senior Vietnamese managers produced the data analysed in this paper.

The findings suggest that the character of HRM appears to be influenced by not only the cultural context but also the organisational type. Broadly, SOEs still largely practice traditional personnel management, IJVs practice cost‐focused HRM and private firms experiment with a range of innovations in HRM.

The paper reveals emerging trends in HRM in Vietnam and identifies the pragmatic use of HR practices, which are influenced by organisational types as well as cultural contexts.

This paper adds to the emerging literature on management practice in developing countries. In particular it makes a contribution to understanding HR practices in Vietnam and highlights the important but often overlooked role of Vietnamese companies in the growing private sector.