Spillover effects of Japanese firms and the role of absorptive capacity in Vietnam

The paper examines the role of the absorptive capacity of Vietnamese manufacturing firms in facilitating the link from Japanese spillovers to the productivity of local firms in the manufacturing sector. By using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and threshold regression model with dynamic panel data from 2005 to 2018, the paper finds the following points. Firstly, the appearance and operation of Japanese firms can bring the positive horizontal labour effect and backward competition effect but it also brings the negative backward labour effect. Secondly, the absorptive capacity of domestic firms can help reduce the negative spillover effects and increase the positive spillover effects. Finally, if domestic firms cannot reach a threshold of absorptive capacity, they will suffer from Japanese spillovers while if they meet the threshold of absorptive capacity, they can enjoy the externalities from the operation and cooperation with Japanese firms.