Ho Tran Quoc Hai

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
TikTok has become an influential social commerce platform where marketing communication, user interaction, and purchasing activities increasingly intersect. Despite growing attention to TikTok marketing, existing studies have predominantly examined individual communication tools, offering limited understanding of how different communication activities collectively shape consumer responses.
This study examines the relationships between TikTok-based marketing communication activities, brand trust, and purchase decision among Generation Z consumers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Data were collected from 290 TikTok users and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).
The results reveal that brand trust exerts a strong positive effect on purchase decision (β = 0.745, p < 0.001). Among the examined communication dimensions, public relations (β = 0.384, p < 0.001), event-related activities (β = 0.158, p = 0.016), and influencer communication (β = 0.145, p = 0.038) significantly enhance brand trust. In contrast, advertising, creative content, and livestreaming do not exhibit statistically significant direct effects on brand trust. Additional mediation analysis indicates that brand trust significantly mediates the effects of event marketing, influencer communication, and public relations on purchase decision.
The findings suggest that communication effectiveness on TikTok depends less on promotional exposure alone and more on consumers’ perceptions of credibility, interaction quality, and relational trust. The study contributes to a better understanding of consumer behavior in short-video social commerce environments and offers practical implications for firms targeting Generation Z consumers.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Research on the relationships among green finance, renewable energy, and economic development has expanded rapidly in recent years; however, the intellectual structure, collaboration patterns, and thematic evolution of this interdisciplinary field remain insufficiently understood. This study addresses this gap by conducting a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, the web interface of the bibliometrix R package. The analytical framework integrates performance analysis with science mapping techniques, including keyword co-occurrence, citation, co-citation, bibliographic coupling, thematic mapping, and thematic evolution analyses. The findings reveal substantial growth in scientific production and increasing international collaboration, while identifying an intellectual foundation primarily shaped by studies on econometric methodologies, the relationships between economic growth and environmental sustainability, and the integration of green finance with energy economics. Four major research streams emerge: green financial instruments and markets; the finance, growth, and emissions nexus; renewable energy transition and policy; and advanced quantitative modeling approaches. Thematic evolution further indicates that, although green finance, renewable energy, and sustainable development remain the core research themes, emerging topics such as digital finance and the digital economy are receiving increasing scholarly attention. By providing a comprehensive knowledge map of the field, this study contributes to a better understanding of its intellectual foundations, conceptual development, and future research directions, while offering valuable insights for researchers and policymakers seeking to promote sustainable finance, renewable energy transition, and long-term economic development.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Sustainability transitions are a strategic imperative for SMEs in emerging economies, where institutional and resource constraints limit the direct translation of environmental strategies into performance outcomes. This study explores how green marketing and eco-innovation are associated with business performance through competitive advantage. Data were collected through a quantitative cross-sectional survey, yielding 474 valid questionnaires from owners, managers, and specialists of Vietnamese SMEs in the consumer goods sector. Environmental regulation strengthens the green marketing–competitive advantage relationship, and customer green awareness and market dynamics positively moderate the competitive advantage–performance relationship. The findings showed positive associations of eco-innovation (β = .597, p < .001) and green marketing (β = .230, p < .001) with competitive advantage, which was positively associated with business performance (β = .461, p < .001). The corresponding indirect effects through competitive advantage were significant (β = .275 and .106, respectively; both p < .001), while environmental regulation (β = .164), customer green awareness (β = .083), and market dynamics (β = .091) showed positive moderating effects. The cross-sectional design, non-probability sampling, and industry-specific focus may limit this study’s scope and generalizability in broader contexts. This study advances the sustainability and strategic management literature by providing a mechanism-based account of how environmental strategy, when extended from the Natural Resource-Based View and translated into competitive positioning, generates economic gains for SMEs in resource-constrained emerging economies.

Acknowledgments
This article was developed from a university-level scientific research project conducted in 2026 at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.