My time spent on secondment in Kolding was excellent. I relocated from Hanoi, Vietnam, to Kolding, Denmark, where I spent two months (January and February, 2023) working on task T1.1 of the EM4FIT European project’s work package WP1. Nobly, all members of SDU like professors, staff, and students, gave me a warm welcome.
With respect to the WP1 “Institutional and Environmental Determinants of Entrepreneurial Management”, I worked on the project activity T1.1 “Literature Review” by also providing, at the end of the analysis, the deliverable “Literature Reviews on Institution-Based View in Emerging Economies and Entrepreneurial Management”. The activity’s main goal was to discover the ideas and conclusions associated with an institution-based perspective and entrepreneurial management in developing markets. Because of this, a thorough literature assessment on entrepreneurial ecosystems was conducted. The idea of entrepreneurship is closely related to the development of new businesses, particularly start-ups. A number of factors that might speed up or impede a new company’s growth can have an impact on how long it survives. So, when entrepreneurs want to start a new business and want to thrive in a competitive market, they must assess a number of factors. Building a knowledge foundation of institution-based views and entrepreneurial management was made possible by the literature review. The report serves as an excellent foundation for the EM4FIT project’s ensuing operations.
The contribution to my own experience is the other side of the coin. The chance to serve as a secondee allowed me to expand my network, experience, and expertise while also learning a lot of practical advice. Understanding how entrepreneurs may plan their strategies for assuring a business’s existence under many viewpoints was made possible by the integration and connectivity of various views, including institutions and surroundings and entrepreneurship. In particular in emerging markets, strategic entrepreneurship enables the creation of a macro-micro perspective concerning company operations and performance as well as the perfectional viewpoint of these institutions. The secondment also allows for enhancing my personal entrepreneurial approach by contemplating the role of institutions, government, and communities. It was feasible to better comprehend the entrepreneurial ecosystems by engaging with all of the professors, staff members, and students at SDU and having vertical skills in business management and entrepreneurship. By obtaining a mutual benefit, both participants in this situation trade value in the form of information, resources, and technology. The secondment also provided me with the opportunity to forge new connections—both personal and professional—expand my network of contacts for future opportunities and collaborations, compare and apply my expertise in a different setting, and engage with a different culture and entrepreneurial education.
If needed, I would recommend this secondment to other researchers without reservation. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to SDU and the EM4FIT project for providing me with these invaluable opportunities.
PhD. Student Hoang Dam Luong Thuy
University of Economics and Business (UEB), Hanoi, Vietnam