Center for Development Research Department of Political and Cultural Change

Emerging Epist emic Landscapes:

Knowledge Clust ers in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a 1

Hans- Diet er Evers and Tat jana Bauer

Abst ract

Int roduct ion: Knowledge Clust ers as Cent res of Development

Knowledge Clust ers as Cent res of Innovat ion and Development

The Epist emic Landscape of Ho Chi M inh Cit y and the M ekong Delt a

Knowledge- producing Organisat ions in Viet nam

Hist orical Development – t he Boom of Educat ional and Research Organisat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a aft er 1975

Knowledge Clust er Building in Sout hern Viet nam

The Nat ure of Knowledge Clust er Building

M ovement s t owards Clust ers

Development due t o Cooperat ion, Exchange and Compet it ion

Clust er Building Leads t o Innovat ion

Achievement s of Knowledge Clust er Building

Rise in Scient ific Out come

Successful Economic Performance

Relevance of Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y as Knowledge Clust ers

Conclusion - Limit ed Economic Growt h due t o Insufficient Knowledge Sharing

References

1 This st udy w as carried out wit hin t he WISDOM Project by t he Cent re for Development Research (ZEF), Universit y of Bonn, t he Sout hern Inst it ut e of Sust ainable Development , Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a Development

Research Inst it ut e (M DI) of Can Tho Universit y, wit h support from t he German Aerospace Cent re (DLR), t he Viet namese M inist ry of Science and Technology (M oST) and t he German Federal M inist ry of Educat ion and Research (BM BF). Usef ul comment s by Solvay Gerke and Gabi Waibel are grat ef ully acknowledged.

Abst ract

Viet nam is embarking on a pat h t owards a knowledge- based economy in which t he emergence of knowledge clust ers in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a are playing a decisive role. As our paper suggest s, clust ering appears t o have a posit ive effect not only on t he increase of knowledge out put , but also on t he economic growt h of t hese regions. Using a GIS- based mapping met hod, we can ident ify t wo major knowledge clust ers – Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y. Bot h areas creat e hubs in t he sout h of Viet nam, wit h favourable condit ions for knowledge product ion and a large pool of skilled people and an advanced infrast ruct ure. Our own survey dat a as well as an analysis of dat abases and economic st at ist ics show t hat product ivit y is higher and innovat ion in t erms of knowledge spillovers and cooperat ion are more likely t o t ake place in knowledge clust ers. On t he ot her hand, geographical clust ering wit hout knowledge sharing has t ended t o reduce t he effect iveness of knowledge product ion and knowledge out put in t he sout h of Viet nam. This preliminary result is furt her pursued in a larger research project on scient ific knowledge management syst ems in Viet nam. In t his project t he ext ent t o which proximit y or clust ering have led t o int er- organisat ional net working and knowledge sharing are furt her explored.

Keywords: Viet nam, Mekong Delt a, knowledge management , clust er, epist emic landscape

Int roduct ion: Knowledge Clust ers as Cent res of Development

Knowledge has been ident ified as one of t he major fact ors of product ion, driving economies and societ ies t owards a post - indust rial st age of development . Count ries around t he globe, including several ASEAN nat ions, have adopt ed policies t o encourage t he growt h of a knowledge- based economy. Building an ICT (informat ion and communicat ion t echnology) infrast ruct ure has usually been one of t he leading policy measures, in addit ion t o developing universit ies and research inst it ut es. Viet nam embarked on t hese policies lat er t han Singapore and M alaysia, but appears t o be on t he way t o building a knowledge- based economy.

Building a knowledge infrast ruct ure means init ially creat ing knowledge- producing and disseminat ing organisat ions such as research inst it ut es, universit ies and colleges. To be effect ive, t hese have t o be locat ed closely t o make use of common t ypes of infrast ruct ure such as laborat ories, libraries and comput ing facilit ies. The geographical clust ering t heory assumes t hat proximit y increases an organisat ion’s innovat ive capacit y when employees – especially researchers – can share ideas, product s and services (Evers 2009).

Our paper will focus on t he sout hern Viet namese cit y of Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he adjacent M ekong Delt a, which are bot h dest ined t o play a major role in Viet nam’s effort t o build a knowledge economy. First we are going t o analyse how research is organised and t race t he foundat ion of knowledge- producing inst it ut ions since t he reunificat ion of Viet nam. Based on own field research dat a we shall t hen map and analyse t he building of knowledge clust ers and, finally, evaluat e t he impact of clust er format ion on knowledge product ion. Given t he import ance of t he wat er sect or in t he M ekong Delt a, we shall pay part icular at t ent ion t o research in t his field. We shall also emphasise t he import ance of knowledge sharing and net working and discuss t he hypot hesis t hat a lack of knowledge sharing diminishes t he posit ive impact of knowledge clust ers on social and economic development .

Knowledge Clusters as Centres of Innovat ion and Development

As t he respect ive t erminology is not yet st andardised, we have t o clarify t he cent ral t erms used in our empirical research (Evers 2008).

The most general concept is ‘agglomerat ion’, whereby clust ers are agglomerat ions wit h ‘proximit y’ as a crucial variable. Henry and Pinch use t he t erms ‘agglomerat ion’ and ‘clust er’ synonymously “t o refer t o geographical groupings of firms (bot h large and small but oft en SMEs), broadly in t he same sect or, but ext ending beyond t o incorporat e great er part s of t he value chain” (Henry and Pinch 2006). Following an earlier publicat ion, we shall use a more precise definit ion (Evers 2008).

Knowledge clust ers are agglomerat ions of product ion- orient ed organisat ions, which primarily direct t heir effort s t oward knowledge as an out put or input . Knowledge clust ers have t he organisat ional capabilit y t o drive innovat ions and creat e new indust ries, and are cent ral places wit hin an epist emic landscape, i.e. in

a wider st ruct ure of knowledge product ion and disseminat ion. Common examples of organisat ions found in knowledge clust ers are universit ies and colleges, research inst it ut ions, t hink t anks, government research agencies, and knowledge- int ensive firms.

The knowledge clust ers in a part icular region or urban area – in our case Ho Cho M inh Cit y, t he former Saigon of Viet nam – form what is referred t o as an ‘epist emic landscape’, i.e. t he geographical dist ribut ion of knowledge- producing organisat ions, t heir research st aff and ot her knowledge workers and t heir out put . We regard an epist emic landscape as a subcat egory of t he more general t erm ‘knowledge landscape’. In t his usage we allude t o Karin Knorr’s concept of “epist emic cult ure, t he cult ure of knowledge product ion” (Knorr- Cet ina 1999) and refer t o t he geographical space of knowledge product ion.

Epist emic landscapes develop over long periods of t ime. They are seldom shaped by individual act ors, but more oft en by t he collect ive act ion of st rat egic groups (Evers and Gerke 2009). Firms connect ed by a Epist emic landscapes develop over long periods of t ime. They are seldom shaped by individual act ors, but more oft en by t he collect ive act ion of st rat egic groups (Evers and Gerke 2009). Firms connect ed by a

The assumpt ion underlying t hese policies is t hat t he clust ering of knowledge- producing organisat ions increases knowledge out put . In ot her words, isolat ed knowledge- producing inst it ut es in knowledge- int ensive indust ries are det riment al t o innovat ions and economic growt h. Clust ering knowledge organisat ions is t he most effect ive policy on t he way t owards a knowledge- based economy and societ y.

The Epist emic Landscape of Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a

Our field research mainly covers t he sout h of Viet nam. Wit h Viet nam’s first fut ure megacit y, Ho Chi M inh Cit y, and “Asia’s corn house”, t he M ekong Delt a (Chong 2002: 25), we have chosen a region t hat current ly plays a decisive role in t he development of Viet nam. Ho Chi M inh Cit y is not only considered t o

be t he financial cent re of Viet nam, but also as an import ant cult ural and indust rial cent re for t he ent ire Sout heast Asian region (Truong 2007: 24). The M ekong Delt a, direct ly sit uat ed t o t he sout h of Ho Chi M inh Cit y, is one of t he world’s most product ive areas in t erms of agricult ure and aquacult ure and ensures food securit y for t he whole count ry. Given t his background, we will show t hroughout t his paper

t he import ance of knowledge product ion for t he region’s socio- economic development 2 . In t his sect ion we will give a descript ive analysis of what we refer t o as t he epist emic landscape. As t he

respect ive t erminology is not yet st andardised, we have t o clarify t he cent ral t erms used in our empirical research (Evers 2008).

In t he lit erat ure, we do not find any comprehensive elaborat ion on t he composit ion and allocat ion of knowledge- producing organisat ions, part icularly from t he point s of view of Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a. Thus, an original dat a set had t o be compiled t o acquire an overview of t he st at us quo of

Ho Chi M inh Cit y’s research environment . 3

All dat a set s are based on an int ensive list ing of knowledge- producing organisat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y, and were complet ed during a one- year field research st udy in Viet nam from April 2008 t o March 2009. 4 This list ing was finalised by means of various sources such as Ho Chi M inh Cit y’s Yellow Pages (Yellow

Pages 2007), direct ories of scient if ic organisat ions published by t he cit y’s Depart ment of Science, Technology and Environment (DOSTE 1998) and M oST (2004, 2008). Through an ext ensive int ernet search and t elephone campaign, every knowledge- producing organisat ion was verified and crosschecked.

Knowledge- producing Organisations in Vietnam

In Viet nam, scient ific knowledge is produced at various levels (Figure 1). First ly, t here are large government research inst it ut es such as t he Viet namese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), t he Viet namese Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and t he Nat ional Polit ical and Administ rat ive Academy

2 Even t hough t he largest concent rat ion of knowledge- producing organisat ions is locat ed in Viet nam’s capit al Hanoi, t his paper will focus mainly on t he sout h of Viet nam, as our field research is an innovat ive invest igat ion in

t his area. Cert ainly, knowledge product ion as such has led t o t he overall development of Viet nam cont ribut ing t o different regions.

3 A det ailed analysis of t he Viet namese science and research communit y will be present ed in t he fort hcoming dissert at ion by Tat jana Bauer.

4 The field research was carried out by Tat jana Bauer, wit h occasional input by Hans- Diet er Evers. So f ar, t here is no single source t hat has an overview of every organisat ion. M ost likely, t he M inist ry of Science and Technology

(M oST) has a list , but t his not available t o researchers or ot her users.

(NPAA) 5 locat ed in Hanoi, t he capit al cit y of Viet nam. Secondly, research is also conduct ed by research inst it ut es and cent res of universit ies under t he administ rat ion of t he M inist ry of Educat ion and Training (M oET). Thirdly, research inst it ut es and minist ries ot her t han M oET are responsible for research act ivit ies relat ed t o t he funct ion of t he head minist ry; some of t hese universit ies are direct ly under t he administ rat ion of t he respect ive line minist ries. Fourt hly, t here are a number of research cent res administ rat ed by t he provincial aut horit ies, namely t he Depart ment of Science and Technology (DoST). Finally, we have int ernat ional organisat ions and privat ely run companies involved in science and research.

Figure 1 : Overview of knowledge- producing organisations in Vietnam

Government

- VAST -

VASS - NPAA

M oET

Companies

Universit ies

Research Cent re

Research Inst it ut es

Knowledge-

producing organisat ions in

International

Viet nam

Other M inistries

- Universit ies

Organisations

Research Inst it ut es

DoST

Research Cent re

For pract ical reasons, knowledge- producing organisat ions will be dist inguished according t o t heir main funct ion 6 , classed as eit her educat ion (academies, colleges, universit ies) or research (companies, cent res, sub- inst it ut es, research inst it ut es). The affiliat ion t o t he respect ive head organisat ions will be ignored in t he cont ext of t his paper.

Historical Development – the Boom of Educat ional and Research Organisations in Ho Chi M inh City and the M ekong Delta after 1 9 7 5

The epist emic landscape of Ho Chi M inh Cit y is in it s infancy (Pham 2006: 238); highlight ed by t he fact t hat 78% of all current ly operat ing knowledge- producing organisat ions were founded aft er 1975, at a t ime when t he nort h and t he sout h of Viet nam were unit ed (see Figures 2 and 3). In cont rast , only 8%

exist ed before 1975. For t he remaining14%, no dat a was available 7 . These figures indicat e t hat

5 Similar t o t he former Soviet Union model, t he t erm ‘academy’ referred exclusively t o st at e research organisat ions, which led t o t he adopt ion of t he syst em in Viet nam. Using t he t erm ‘academy’ as t he of ficial t ranslat ion of t hese

organisat ions shows t he st rong connect ion bet ween Viet nam and t he former Soviet Union. However, in t his case, t he correct t ranslat ion for ‘vi ện ’ is ‘inst it ut e’. Nevert heless, ot her t ypes of academies lat er appeared in t he form of educat ional organisat ions, e.g. Viet nam Aviat ion Academy, Academy of Post s and Telecommunicat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y. The t erm ‘academy’ used in t he lat t er case is t ranslat ed t o ‘h ọc vi ện ’, w hich lit erally means a ‘learning inst it ut e’.

6 This formal dist inct ion according t o t he key t ask of t hese organisat ions does not have t o exclude t he ot her. As our field research has show n, in pract ice researchers of research organisat ions normally have t eaching assignment s at

universit ies and universit y st aff can also be involved in research project s. 7 It can be assumed t hat a small number of organisat ions have been dissolved, merged and renamed, indicat ing t hat

t hese organisat ions are not all newly est ablished.

knowledge- producing organisat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a have developed merely wit hin t he past t hirt y- five years.

Figure 2 : Number of knowledge- producing organisations in Ho Chi M inh City and the

M ekong Delt a (1 8 9 1 - 2 00 8 )

Number of knowledge-producing organizations in Ho Chi M inh City and the M ekong Delta (1891-2008)

ti ons za ni 120

100 r of orga

Ho Chi Minh City

Mekong Delta

A second peak was reached aft er 1986 wit h t he int roduct ion of t he ‘Renovat ion policy’, ot herwise known as ‘ Đổ iM ớ i’. During Viet nam’s subsequent t ransit ion t o a market economy, local or provincial aut horit ies, minist ries and universit ies were allowed t o creat e R&D cent res, wit hout compulsory regist rat ion wit h t he government , as had been t he case before Đổ iM ớ i (Annerst edt and Nguyen 1996: 246). Alt hough, as a consequence, t he est ablishment of research and t echnology service cent res has accelerat ed immensely, no reliable dat a relat ing t o exist ing Viet namese knowledge- producing organisat ions in Viet nam has been available unt il t oday.

Figure 3 : Foundation of knowledge- producing organisations in Ho Chi M inh City and the M ekong Delt a (per year)

Foundation of knowledge-producin organizations in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta (per year)

Ho Chi Minh City

Mekong Delta

Turning t o our own compiled dat a set , 218 knowledge- producing organisat ions were ident ified, comprising 93 educat ional and 125 research organisat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y (Figure 4), broken down furt her int o 49 universit ies (t r ườ ng đạ ih ọ c), 48 cent res (t rung t âm), 44 inst it ut es (vi ệ n), 34 colleges (t r ườ ng cao đẳ ng), 29 sub- inst it ut es (phân vi ệ n), t en academies (h ọ c vi ệ n) and four companies (công t y). In cont rast , t he M ekong Delt a account s for merely 42 knowledge- producing organisat ions (Figure 5), of which t here are 20 colleges, 11 universit ies, seven research cent res and four research inst it ut es.

Figure 4: Distribution of knowledge-producing organisations in Ho Chi Minh City

Figure 5: Distribution of knowledge-producing organisations in the Mekong Delta

Research Centre 22%

Sub-Institute 13%

Research Institute 20%

College 47%

University Research Centre 26% 17%

The t erm ‘research organisat ions’ is designat ed t o all research inst it ut es under minist ries or direct ly under t he government , sub- inst it ut es belonging t o parent organisat ions in Hanoi or t o a funct ional minist ry, research cent res under t he administ rat ion of research inst it ut es or universit ies, and companies involved in privat ely run research project s.

In cont rast , ‘educat ional organisat ions’ comprise musical, milit ary or polit ical academies, colleges where st udent s can get a degree aft er t hree years’ st udy, and universit ies where st udent s have t o st udy for four

d e u c a ti o n a l o rg

a n is a ti o

a ti o n a l o rg

a n is a ti o n s

e r se

a rc

rg

a n is a ti o n s

e se

a rc

rg

a n is

a ti o n s a ti o n s

According t o t he dat a collect ed in t he field, 7.736 st aff members work for research organisat ions and 26.970 st aff members for educat ional organisat ions (Figure 4) 8 . The number of st aff working for knowledge- producing organisat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a is rat her high compared t o ot her Sout heast Asian count ries such as Thailand, which, for inst ance, has only one- t hird of t he capacit y but has developed much fast er t han Viet nam. Due t o t he const raint s of t his paper t he quest ion of st aff qualificat ion will not be discussed, even t hough it is obvious t hat scient ific research in Viet nam result s in limit ed scient ific out comes (Dang 2006; Gerke and Evers 2006:17).

In realit y, universit ies have t he largest number of employees in comparison wit h all ot her knowledge- producing organisat ions, which is of lit t le surprise because of t he size of t hese organisat ions and t he addit ional t eaching capacit y undert aken by universit y st aff, besides t heir research act ivit ies. Grouping organisat ions according t o t heir size illust rat es a t endency t oward smaller- sized research organisat ions, wit h relat ively large educat ional organisat ions being t he except ion t o t he rule.

Figure 6 : Staff distribution of knowledge- producing organisations in Ho Chi M inh City and the M ekong Delt a

Staff distribution of knowledge-producing organizations in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta

Centre Company

number of staff

Ho Chi Minh City

Mekong Delta

Figure 6 reveals a large gap bet ween t he st aff numbers of organisat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a, which would be expect ed due t o t he much lower amount of knowledge- producing organisat ions in t he Mekong Delt a. Nevert heless, t his difference t urns out t o be even bigger when considering t he populat ions of each area – Ho Chi M inh Cit y wit h 6.4 million inhabit ant s and t he M ekong Delt a wit h 17.5 million (GSO 2007) – revealing an immense concent rat ion of highly qualified st aff in Ho Chi M inh Cit y.

8 The dat a set includes only 80% of all ident ified knowledge- producing organisat ions. For t he remaining 20% of organisat ions, st af f numbers could not be ascert ained and t herefore will be ignored in t he following analysis. Our

dat a shows t hat approximat ely one- sixt h of t he st aff account s for support st aff, e.g. drivers, securit y guards and ot her service personnel.

Knowledge Cluster Building in Southern Vietnam

These init ial considerat ions will assist in det ermining a more precise overview of knowledge clust ers in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he Mekong Delt a. Thanks t o t he GIS- based mapping met hod (Evers, Genschick and Schraven 2009) we can ident ify t wo major knowledge clust ers – Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y – considering t he proximit y of t hese organisat ions as t he det ermining fact or (Map 1).

M ap 1 : Knowledge- producing organisations in Ho Chi M inh City and the M ekong Delt a 9

Clust er building in Viet nam has it s root s in t he early 1980s, when t he Soviet model of ‘science and product ion complexes’ was int roduced. Two of t hese complexes operat ing in t he sout h of Viet nam were t he Dyest uff complex and t he Chemist ry complex. In t he lat e 1980s, t his model was upgraded by t he int roduct ion of “educat ion, research and product ion complexes”, which incorporat ed academic st aff int o indust ry (Annerst edt and Nguyen 1996: 236ff). Even t hough bot h models were unsuccessful because of t he cent ralised planning syst em t hat led t o administ rat ive barriers in t he Viet namese economy, t hese development s can be seen as a st art ing point for t oday’s epist emic cult ure in sout hern Viet nam.

In t he next sect ions, we will demonst rat e how Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y were able t o not only become knowledge clust ers, but also import ant economic locat ions.

The Nat ure of Knowledge Clust er Building

Furt her t o t he fact t hat economic act ivit ies t end t o clust er, our paper exposes similar t rends in respect t o research and educat ional act ivit ies. As indicat ed above, knowledge clust ers are agglomerat ions of product ion- orient ed organisat ions. Having t he abilit y t o share knowledge asset s such as laborat ories or libraries reduces cost s and enables a knowledge- sharing environment . The reduct ion of t ransact ion cost s,

9 All maps in t his paper have been designed and produced by Sven Genschick on t he basis of dat a generat ed wit hin t he WISDOM project .

emphasised by classical indust rial agglomerat ion t heorist s, is less import ant for knowledge- int ensive product ion as t ransact ion cost s are ext remely low. Conversely, however, a concent rat ion of researchers and t he sharing of t acit knowledge is facilit at ed by proximit y (Evers, Gerke and M enkhoff 2010). By virt ue of t he proximit y of organisat ions, t he recruit ment of highly qualified st aff and knowledge exchange can be enhanced and higher product ivit y achieved which point s t o t he import ant role of clust er building.

M ovements towards Clusters

Clust ers are at t ract ive not only t o companies and organisat ions due t o t ax incent ives and enhanced infrast ruct ure, but also because of t he accumulat ion of highly qualified st aff in t hese areas.

Qualified people move t o organisat ional agglomerat ions as t he result of a bet t er job market and opport unit ies for mult iple jobs, e.g. in t he consult ancy business, because, as st ressed by int erviewees, salaries for academics and scient ist s are except ionally low which means t hat t hey very oft en rely on auxiliary income. Nevert heless, t he job market is not only import ant wit h regard t o job opport unit ies, but also in t erms of physical proximit y. The import ant roles of personal relat ionships and net working act ivit ies for career development were affirmed during int erviews. Evidence is mount ing t hat , t hrough t he logist ical proximit y of clust ers, opport unit ies accumulat e and advant ageous condit ions are provided.

Two Viet namese st udies demonst rat e t he dynamics of st udent movement . Can Tho Cit y and Ho Chi M inh Cit y are t he favoured locat ions in sout hern Viet nam for t hose seeking a promising career and a raised st andard of living. Can Tho Cit y, home t o t he most import ant universit y in t he Mekong Delt a, at t ract s most of t he st udent s in t he region, alt hough it is t he home province of only 20% of t he cit y’s universit y

st udent s; t he remaining 80% come from t he ot her t welve provinces wit hin t he M ekong Delt a. 10 The fact t hat more t han half of Can Tho’s universit y st udent s remain in t he cit y aft er graduat ion point s t o t he unbalanced development of t he M ekong Delt a. Can Tho Cit y t herefore funct ions as a hub, at t ract ing people from t he whole region and part icularly graduat es, who give t he t hree main decisive fact ors when looking for a job as salary, secure work and promot ion opport unit ies (Luu et al. 2002: 209). In t his sense, t hese crit eria are likely t o be fulfilled in clust ers.

We find a similar sit uat ion in Ho Chi M inh Cit y. According t o a st udy on 1,243 st udent s from Ho Chi M inh Cit y’s largest universit y, t he Viet namese Nat ional Universit y, just 30% st ay wit h t heir families while st udying. In t he Viet namese cont ext , st udent s normally live wit h t heir parent s unt il t hey get married and find a job; however, from t he perspect ive of t he present st udy, t he only reason for not living wit h t heir families is t hat t hey have left t heir home provinces t o obt ain higher educat ion elsewhere. The st udy implies t hat about 70% of t he st udent s come from out side and t hus have t o rent a room, st ay wit h acquaint ances or live in a dormit ory. Similar t o Can Tho Cit y, Ho Chi M inh Cit y is a magnet point for

qualified people 11 (Nguyen 2003: 46).

Development due t o Cooperation, Exchange and Competition

Companies and organisat ions are at t ract ed by clust er advant ages for pract ical, economic reasons. St at e invest ment s are made int o creat ing an efficient infrast ruct ure including excellent road net works or airport s such as Viet nam’s largest airport , t he Tan Son Nhat Int ernat ional Airport in Ho Chi M inh Cit y, or t he Tra Noc Airport of Can Tho Cit y, operat ing since December 2008. M oreover, IT infrast ruct ures are enhanced and t he applicat ion of modern t echnology facilit at es exchange as well as efficient management and product ion processes.

10 Dat a refers t o t he t ime period from 1995 t o 2008 and was provided by t he Academic Af f airs Office of Can Tho Universit y.

11 Addit ionally, Ho Chi M inh Cit y seems t o be at t ract ive not only for st udent s from every part of Viet nam, but also for ret urning overseas Viet namese who have invest ment capit al and management knowledge as well as cont act s

wit h f oreign invest ors (Chong 2002: 101).

In addit ion t o t he supply of a t ransport at ion infrast ruct ure, clust ers have a second significant advant age by virt ue of t he fact t hat face- t o- face communicat ion is highly likely t o t ake place, ensuring t he t ransfer of valuable ‘t acit knowledge’. Highly skilled st aff is available on t he spot and t herein approachable for organisat ions in t erms of consult ing services, sharing experiences and elaborat ing new ideas wit h t hese expert s.

Our survey, carried out among a select ion of Viet namese researchers, provides import ant dat a t han can

be ut ilised t o verify t he cult ural and social environment s t hat shape st aff work rout ines and t he ways in which t hey int eract . The analysis shows t hat informal personal meet ings and t he t elephone are by far t he most import ant means of communicat ion in Viet nam. It should be not ed at t his point t hat t he effect ive usage of t he t elephone as a communicat ion t ool is only viable when t he cont act person is known beforehand, which also applies t o email communicat ion. The reasons for t his are deeply embedded in t he Viet namese cult ural suspicion of impersonal int eract ions, which are regarded as wholly unt rust wort hy. As personal relat ionships are inherent in professional life and t he key t o a project ’s success, t hey can involve high t ransact ion cost s, as explained previously. The crucial advant age of clust ers, t herefore, is t hat people can meet over short dist ances, which saves a lot of wast ed t ime and relat ed t ravel expenses. Anot her advant age is t he ease and comfort of at t ending seminars, workshops or conferences t aking place in t he same cit y, rat her t han t ravelling many hours t o t he count ryside t o visit perhaps only one organisat ion or workshop. Time and cost s are t oo high t o be beneficial, but by reducing t hese cost s and t ime const raint s t hrough proximit y, it is possible t o build net works wit h many organisat ions working in t he same field. Collaborat ions, meet ings and face- t o- face int eract ions t ake place act ively as a result of advant ageous facilit ies nearby such as coffee shops and recreat ional aft er- work est ablishment s where people can invest in valuable personal relat ionships t hat inevit ably spill over int o business.

From an economic perspect ive, t he Viet namese government shares only a small part of t he knowledge- producing organisat ions’ budget . Since t he mid- 1980s, t echnology service cont ract s have become a major source of funding for many Viet namese research organisat ions (Annerst edt and Nguyen 1996: 230). Today, ext ernal funding t hrough int ernat ional research and development cooperat ion, as well as foreign invest ment in indust ry and business, const it ut e an import ant part of a research organisat ion’s budget and t herefore secure st aff salaries and help t o promot e career opport unit ies.

Under t hese circumst ances, clust ers provide a plat form not only for Viet namese indust rial companies, research organisat ions and skilled people, but also as a main access point for int ernat ional companies and organisat ions. It is underst andable t hat int ernat ional organisat ions prefer t o find as many convenient condit ions as possible if t hey are t o pursue business connect ions in ot her count ries. Facing inconvenient or impassable roads, long dist ances, unclear procedures, as well as language and cult ure barriers will make t ransact ion cost s t oo high and render project s economically unviable. Furt hermore, organisat ions locat ed out side clust er areas are less ambit ious in t erms of innovat ion; t hey lack updat ed informat ion about new t echnologies and management syst ems, while innovat ion seems t o be non- profit able in a st at ic environment t hat it self discourages change. Locat ed away from clust ers in t he way t hey are isolat es such companies from a net work of organisat ions t hat int eract s almost exclusively wit h t he main cust omer base and pot ent ial collaborat ion part ners. In t his sense, regions wit hout clust ers risk being cut off from development and innovat ion processes and t end t o lack capacit y.

The survey 12 confirms a high int ernat ional influence on organisat ions in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y. Bot h areas creat e hubs in t he sout h of Viet nam, wit h favourable condit ions and a large pool of skilled people and advanced infrast ruct ures.

A posit ive effect of int ernat ional cooperat ion is t he fact t hat large- scale int ernat ional project s bring t oget her different Viet namese part ners, which ot herwise would never have collaborat ed. This int ervent ion can be t raced in t he analysis of int ernat ional publicat ion out put , as provided by t he online academic dat abase ISI Web of Knowledge – t he majorit y of scient ific art icles wit h at least one

12 In t ot al, 282 quest ionnaires were answered by Viet namese st aff members from seven different universit ies, colleges, research inst it ut es and local aut horit ies, in w hich w at er- relat ed act ivit ies t ake place. In t ot al, 95% of all

respondent s have a BA degree, 28% have graduat ed from an M A programme, 7% have obt ained a PhD, and 1% holds a professorship. It is remarkable t hat nearly half of t he int erviewees wit h a BA degree are current ly involved in an M A programme.

Viet namese aut hor are joint - product s. M any cont ribut ions involve Viet namese aut hors from different inst it ut es, indicat ing an exchange of ideas and informat ion in t erms of t he joint - publicat ion as well as a learning effect among t he aut hors. In addit ion t o t he enhancement of collaborat ion act ivit ies among Viet namese scient ist s, knowledge exchange wit hin t he int ernat ional research and science arena is also encouraged. Int eract ing wit h int ernat ional expert s gives Viet namese academic and research st aff t he opport unit y t o improve t heir skills and met hods, and t o work according t o int ernat ional st andards in order t o be recognised int ernat ionally. Business t rips and st udy programmes abroad st rengt hen t he capacit y of Viet namese organisat ions and likely maint ain cont act s for furt her project s. Our survey shows t hat 41% of all respondent s have already part icipat ed in an int ernat ional conference.

Anot her fact or for measuring t he int ernat ional influence on t he Viet namese science and research communit y is t he number of st aff part icipat ing in st udy programmes in foreign count ries (t able 1).

Thirt y- one per cent of t he respondent s in Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y 13 have already st udied abroad, which is quit e a high percent age when t aking t he low income of Viet namese researchers int o considerat ion. On average, t hey spent 1.6 years abroad t o obt ain a higher educat ion.

Table 1 : Number of respondents spending time abroad for scientific training and research 14

Period of time

Number of respondents

1 year or less

1- 2 years

2- 3 years

3- 4 years

5- 8 years

more t han 8 years

The dat a from Table 1 produces an int erest ing result when t aking int o account Viet nam’s closure t o int ernat ional development for a long t ime, indicat ing t he recent focus on opening up t he count ry on t he int ernat ional st age. There are also many nat ional programmes at t empt ing t o reduce over- capacit y issues by sending PhD st udent s abroad, t he effort s of which enhance net working opport unit ies wit h int ernat ional research inst it ut ions.

Cluster Building Leads to Innovat ion

As t he paper demonst rat es, clust er building reduces t ransact ion cost s, enables t he disseminat ion of knowledge and promot es a high mobilit y of highly qualified labour and ot her resources t hat can be exploit ed more flexibly. Consequent ly, product ivit y is higher and innovat ion in t erms of knowledge spillovers and cooperat ion are more likely t o t ake place. Innovat ion can be achieved when organisat ions obt ain updat ed informat ion about research findings facilit at ed by a support ive economic environment so, from t his point , cost s can be saved and t he duplicat ion of research act ivit ies avoided. Operat ing in a clust er creat es t he necessary opport unit ies for exchange, cooperat ion and, indeed, compet it ion (see also Sölvell 2008).

13 The rat e of Can Tho Universit y st aff is much higher due t o t he st rong invest ment in human resources by t he World Bank.

14 76 out of t he 269 respondent s have st udied abroad.

Achievement s of Knowledge Clust er Building

In t he previous sect ion we discussed t he specific nat ure of clust ering in sout hern Viet nam in order t o underst and t he dynamics underlying t his concept . To advance t his argument furt her, we will show t he implicat ions clust er building has in t erms of achievement s for regional development .

Rise in Scientific Outcome

The quant it y and qualit y of scient ific out put is a means by which t he product ivit y and innovat ion of a region can be measured. In t erms of knowledge clust ers, it is a common st andard t o use int ernat ional publicat ions by Viet namese aut hors. However, most knowledge out put is produced in t he Viet namese language, which is oft en very roughly t ranslat ed at best ; wit h int ernat ional publicat ions, very few Viet namese aut hors writ e direct ly in English. In general, t here is st ill a lack of recognit ion of t he vast

Viet namese knowledge out put ; nevert heless, t he list of journal art icles in t he ISI 15 is a measurement indicat or.

Figure 7 : ISI journal articles published by Vietnamese authors (1 9 7 7 - 2 0 08 )

ISI journal articles published by Vietnamese authors (1977 - 2008)

year of publication

Ho Chi Minh City

Mekong Dela

The amount of Viet namese knowledge out put acknowledged int ernat ionally has increased significant ly over t he last t went y years (Figure 7). Compared t o t he M ekong Delt a, Ho Chi M inh Cit y’s out put product ion is almost t en t imes higher, which shows t he superior role of Ho Chi M inh Cit y in t he development of sout hern Viet nam. Considering t he Mekong Delt a wit h only t hirt een provinces, Can Tho Cit y plays a crucial role for t he region because it s out put account s for 72 % of t he whole delt a. Obviously, t here seems t o be a correlat ion bet ween t he number of knowledge- producing organisat ions and int ernat ional publicat ions – t he more organisat ions locat ed in an area, t he higher t he out put .

15 “ISI Web of Knowledge” is an online academic dat abase t hat only considers scient ific art icles published in English.

Table 2 : Total number of ISI journal articles published by Vietnamese authors (1 9 7 7 - 2 00 9 )

Province/ Region

Number of published articles

Ho Chi M inh Cit y

M ekong Delt a

- Dong Thap

- An Giang

- Tien Giang

- Hau Giang

- Long An

- Kien Giang

- Bac Lieu

- Ca M au

- Ben Tre

- Soc Trang

- Tra Vinh

A more complicated method is to measure Vietnam’s national output, which until now has been difficult to access. Table 3 gives the example of Can Tho University, indicating that the ISI includes a bias by virtue of the fact that English language journals dominate this database. These statistics are provided on the website of Can Tho University, and show that they have more scientific articles published internationally than ISI counts – within four years, CTU published 261 articles in international scientific journals whereas the ISI only counts 190 (see Table 2). Nevertheless, the ISI gives an opportunity to compare different countries and provides a window on the development stages of particular regions.

Table 3 : Number of published articles by Can Tho Universit y (2 0 0 5 - 2 0 08 )

Year

No. of published

No. of published

No. of published

Can Tho University

National Scientific

International

Scientific Journal

Journal

Scientific Journal

Source: www.ct u.edu.vn

It should not be surprising t hat Can Tho Universit y publishes more art icles int ernat ionally t han nat ionally. For t he past decade, t he universit y has st rongly focused on int ernat ional cooperat ion t hat support s and shapes knowledge product ion according t o int ernat ional science and research st andards.

Unfort unat ely, int ernat ional researchers oft en neglect Viet nam’s nat ional scient ific out put due t o language and administ rat ive barriers. There are numerous ways for t he st aff of knowledge- producing organisat ions t o publish in Viet nam. According t o our survey, 99 out of t he 282 respondent s gave Unfort unat ely, int ernat ional researchers oft en neglect Viet nam’s nat ional scient ific out put due t o language and administ rat ive barriers. There are numerous ways for t he st aff of knowledge- producing organisat ions t o publish in Viet nam. According t o our survey, 99 out of t he 282 respondent s gave

Furt hermore, most knowledge- producing organisat ions provide in- house publicat ions such as annual report s, newslet t ers or scient ific journals part icular t o an inst it ut e’s specialit y. In addit ion, since 2008, t went y- t hree nat ional scient ific journals have been uploaded ont o t he int ernet . Such an online

dat abank 16 is a first st ep for nat ional as well as int ernat ional readers t o gain insight int o updat ed Viet namese research findings.

Successful Economic Performance

Clust ering has an effect not only on t he increase of knowledge out put , but also on t he economic growt h of t hese regions 17 . Bearing in mind t hat t he st rat egic locat ions of Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y originat e in t he flourishing development of sout hern Viet nam, t he import ance of t he emergence of knowledge clust ers in t hese regions is evident .

St at ist ical dat a shows t hat t he GDP of Ho Chi M inh Cit y cont ribut es one quart er of t he count ry’s GDP, even t hough t he cit y holds just 7.8% of t he t ot al nat ional populat ion (see Table 4).

Table 4 : GDP and population of Ho Chi M inh City at the ratio of Vietnam

Ratio population of Year

Ratio GDP

HCM C- Vietnam (% )

HCM C- Vietnam (% )

Source: www.hochiminhcit y.gov.vn

M ore significant is t he comparison of t he GDP per capit a of Ho Chi M inh Cit y wit h t hat of Viet nam as a whole, t he former being much higher for a long t ime wit h $2100 against $835 in 2007 (Table 5). This proves t hat Ho Chi M inh Cit y has enjoyed a far higher level of economic development t han any ot her region in Viet nam. One of t he cont ribut ing fact ors of t his rapid development may be t he posit ive effect s of clust ering. It is, however, difficult t o assess whet her t his clust ering was t he out come of a deliberat e policy or merely a funct ion of populat ion dist ribut ion and t he urban land market .

16 VJOL – Viet namese Journal Online is an init iat ive of INASP, t he Int ernat ional Net work f or t he Availabilit y of Scient if ic Publicat ions, based in Oxford, Great Brit ain. In April 2009, t he management of VJOL w as t ransferred t o

t he Viet namese side and is based at NACESTI, t he Nat ional Cent re for Scient ific and Technological Informat ion under t he administ rat ion of M oST.

17 An at t empt t o measure t he economic growt h of Viet nam’s provinces is t he Provincial Compet it iveness Index (PCI), w hich was int roduced f our years ago. Developed by USAID and t he Viet nam Chamber of Commerce and

Indust ry (VCCI), t he PCI gives t he opport unit y t o compare t he economic development of each province in Viet nam and promot es local compet it ion in order t o improve t he area’s economy ( www.pciviet nam.org ). This index is based on surveys conduct ed in privat ely run companies and allows only educat ed guesses.

Table 5 : GDP per capita of Ho Chi M inh City and Vietnam

GDP per capita

GDP per capita

Year

of HCM C (USD)

of Vietnam (USD)

Sources: www.imf.org , www.pso.hochiminhcit y.gov.vn

Alt ernat ively, t he dist ribut ion of indust rial parks is anot her indicat or of clust er building and economic development . In t ot al, t here are fift een indust rial parks and export processing zones alone in Ho Chi M inh Cit y, wit h anot her fift een locat ed in t he M ekong Delt a. Compared t o t he ot her M ekong Delt a provinces, Can Tho Cit y has, wit h four indust rial parks, t he highest number of indust rial parks (GSO 2009). The advant ages are evident : companies get assist ance in t he licensing process and local affairs, t here is a reliable source of elect ricit y, t he infrast ruct ure is well- developed, and st aff recruit ment is concent rat ed amongst a highly qualified pool of pot ent ial applicant s (Chong 2002: 11). Furt hermore, t he parks are embedded in a region populat ed by knowledge- producing organisat ions t hat will guarant ee t he educat ion of skilled people and scient ific exchange wit h ot her indust ries.

Relevance of Ho Chi M inh City and Can Tho City as Knowledge Clust ers

Our dat a shows t wo prominent cases of knowledge clust ers: Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Can Tho Cit y. We have demonst rat ed t he import ance of locat ion for knowledge product ion and economic growt h;

nonet heless, t his development would not have been possible wit hout t he st rat egic locat ion of t hese regions. The M ekong River not only enables ships t o ent er t he inner cit y of Ho Chi M inh Cit y, but also provides cheap and effect ive t ransport at ion rout es int o t he M ekong Delt a. The subsequent st rat egic value of t he region lies in economic advant ages and opport unit ies for t raders and manufact urers alike (Chong 2002: 21), and has t ransformed t he region int o a modern hydraulic societ y (Evers and Benedikt er 2009). Today, Ho Chi M inh Cit y is t he focus of foreign invest ment in Viet nam, wit h half of all foreign invest ment s flooding int o t he met ropolis (Chong 2002: 22).

Can Tho Cit y is following closely on t he heels of Ho Chi M inh Cit y and fast becoming t he economic, polit ical, cult ural and t echnological cent re of t he Mekong Delt a (Le 2006: 118). In 2002, a World Bank loan was approved t o rest ore wat erway rout es and port s in t he M ekong Delt a. Int erest ingly, t he 600km wat erway net work links Ho Chi M inh Cit y wit h Can Tho Cit y and Ca M au, t he most sout herly part of Viet nam, on t he one hand, and Ho Chi M inh Cit y wit h Can Tho Cit y and Ha Tien, which is close t o t he Cambodian border, on t he ot her (Chong 2002: 93). Recent ly, const ruct ion work for t he largest seaport in t he region, t he Cai Cui seaport , has st art ed, and will boost Can Tho Cit y’s posit ion as a hub in t he

M ekong Delt a’s net work of wat erways 18 . In addit ion, Can Tho Cit y is locat ed at t he crossroads of t he highway net work t hat int erlinks t he M ekong Delt a, and anot her advant age is t he recent ly opened Tra Noc Airport in Can Tho Cit y, which will most likely become one of t he main int ernat ional airport s in Viet nam in t he near fut ure (Le 2006: 119). Given t hat t his development would not be possible wit hout qualified people, Can Tho Cit y t ook t he init iat ive of opening t he first universit y in t he M ekong Delt a.

18 Informat ion t aken from a newspaper art icle from 13 July 2009: “Work st art s on Cai Cui Seaport ” “ ht t p://viet namnews.vnagency.com.vn/showart icle.php?num= 03ECO130709 (accessed on 15 July 2009).

Consequent ly, science and research are now able t o develop wit h t he assist ance of int ernat ional cooperat ion, which is vit al if t he region is t o int eract on a global level.

Viet nam is on t he pat h t owards a knowledge- based economy in which Ho Chi M inh Cit y and t he M ekong Delt a are playing decisive roles. Our dat a shows t hat t he number of knowledge- producing organisat ions is cont inuing t o grow. St ill, alt hough t here is a great deal of pot ent ial in improving t he epist emic landscape of t his region, it can be nevert heless assumed t hat t he educat ion and research sect ors will develop in line wit h economic prosperit y, since it is more likely t hat wealt hier families – especially in urban areas wit h suit able facilit ies – will invest more in t he higher educat ion of t heir children.

Conclusion - Limit ed Economic Growt h due t o Insuf f icient Knowledge Sharing

Looking at Viet nam’s sout hern provinces wit hin t he Mekong Delt a and adjacent areas, our dat a shows t hat Ho Chi M inh Cit y harbours one of Viet nam’s major knowledge clust ers, followed by t he much smaller clust er of Can Tho Cit y. The dist ribut ion of knowledge- producing organisat ions wit hin Ho Chi M inh Cit y also shows clust ering, in t he sense t hat universit ies and research inst it ut es are concent rat ed in adjacent urban dist rict s (Map 2).

M ap 2 : Clustering of knowledge- producing organisations in Ho Chi M inh City

Clust ering in t hese t wo urban areas is, t o a large degree, a funct ion of populat ion densit y, or ‘urbanism’,

i.e. t he availabilit y of urban inst it ut ions and of government policy. As part of our furt her invest igat ion, we shall analyse different aspect s of clust ering, e.g. t o what ext ent

proximit y or clust ering have led t o int er- organisat ional net working and knowledge sharing. Through our int erviews and survey dat a, we est ablish t hat t he sit uat ion can be adequat ely described as one of hierarchical or bureaucrat ic sharing, insofar as research result s are primarily channelled int o eit her government depart ment s or int ernat ional donor agencies. Int ra- organisat ional knowledge sharing st ill proximit y or clust ering have led t o int er- organisat ional net working and knowledge sharing. Through our int erviews and survey dat a, we est ablish t hat t he sit uat ion can be adequat ely described as one of hierarchical or bureaucrat ic sharing, insofar as research result s are primarily channelled int o eit her government depart ment s or int ernat ional donor agencies. Int ra- organisat ional knowledge sharing st ill