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BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

KHOA KINH DOANH QUỐC TẾ - MARKETING

MARKETING QUỐC TẾ
Group Assignment 1: The United States of America and Vietnam Wood
exporters

GVHD : Đặng Thùy Linh

Nhóm thực hiện
Nguyễn Hồng Hạnh
Nguyễn Hoàng Long
Bùi Văn Chương
Võ Hồng Kỳ Anh
Nguyễn Thị Phương Thùy
Hà Trần Minh Tú

Vĩnh long, ngày 25 tháng 10 năm 2022

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1. Executive summary

2. Introduction:
a. Exported wood and wooden products:
“Vietnam's export wood processing sector has been one of the most active and successful
in the process of international economic integration for over a decade, with outstanding
export growth. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,
Vietnam’s wood and wooden products were presented in more than 120 countries in
2018, including the United States, EU, etc. we also penetrate, expand and exploit
prospective and new markets so businesses can increase and develop market share in the
future.”
“Vietnam's wood products have achieved a solid foothold in many markets, highly valued
for our design and technology, along with territories with models of products that meet
consumer tastes, in which the strong export products include pellets, wood chips,
plywood, laminated wood, construction carpentry, chairs, furniture, and furniture parts.”

“b. Vietnam wood exporting to the United States of America:”

“Despite facing several difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the export of wood
and wood products achieved impressive gains in 2020. The export value was $12.32
billion, an increase of 15.7% from 2019, and it was $6.6 billion in the first five months of
2021, an increase of 61.3% year-on-year.”
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“Vietnam's top export markets in 2019 are

the United States, Japan, China, South
Korea, and the European Union, accounting
for 88.84% of total export turnover. In June
2021, the export turnover of W&WP to the
United States grew substantially (increased
14.02%), reaching over 5 billion USD,
contributing 61% to Vietnam’s W&WP
export turnover (Gỗ Việt, 2021).”

3. The United States of America

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3. a. Overall information about the United States of America

- Official name: United States of America (USA)
- Form of government: Constitution-based federal republic
- Capital: Washington, D.C.
- Population: 331.849.281 (2020)
- Language: English, Spanish (none at the federal level)
- Money: U.S. dollar
- Total area: 9.833.520 square kilometers (2020)
● Geography: The United States of America is the world's third largest country in
size and population. Located in North America, the country is bordered on the west by
the Pacific Ocean and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Along the northern border is
Canada and the southern border is Mexico. There are 50 states and the District of
Columbia.
● Government and economy: The United States is a federal republic of 50 states, a
federal district, five territories and several uninhabited island possessions. The United
States remains an industrial power. Advances in the past hundred years have established
America as a world leader economically, militarily, and technologically.
● Culture & society: The United States is a classless society Americans have
traditionally been characterized by a strong work ethic, competitiveness and
individualism, as well as a unifying belief in an “American creed” emphasizing liberty,
equality, private property, democracy, rule of law.
3. b. Cultural Values of the U.S
3.b.i.Collectivism
Collectivism
The impact of collectivism Collectivist cultures affect the people within them in a few
different ways. Self-awareness Culture influences people's self-concept. While people in
individualist cultures may describe themselves by traits and personalities (e.g., "I'm
smart, funny, athletic and kind"), people from collectivist cultures were more likely to
describe themselves in terms of their social relationships and roles (e.g. e.g. "I'm a good
parent, sibling, and friend"). Strong relationship Research shows that collectivist cultures
are associated with low relationship mobility, a term to describe how many opportunities
individuals in a society have to form relationships. relationships with people they choose.
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Collectivist cultures focus more on the context than on the content of the communication
(Triandis, 2001). For example, elements such as tone of voice, eye contact, facial
expression, and position of body are more accurate indicators of how a person is feeling
that what he is actually saying. Au contraire, the members of individualist cultures have
been observed to be more vocal and direct to the point with what they think and feel.
Low relationship mobility means that the relationships people have are stable, strong, and
long-lasting. These relationships are often formed by factors such as family and
geographic region, rather than by personal choice. In a collectivist culture, it's harder to
build relationships with new people, in part because it's generally harder to meet them.
Strangers are more likely to be strangers in a collectivist culture than in individualist
cultures. Paradoxically, this means that people in individualist cultures devote more effort
and energy to actively maintaining close relationships, often through increased self-
expression. more intimate and personal. Unlike collectivist cultures, where stable
relationships are more expected, relationships in individualist cultures tend to become
tense and fragile. than. People have to put in extra effort to maintain these relationships.
Maintaining harmony in interpersonal relationships is paramount in a collectivist culture.
This can happen because these relationships are extremely difficult to change. Failure to
keep the peace can cause long-term unhappiness for all involved. Some behaviors are
associated with this culture. In general, other members of the team should be consulted
first when making important decisions. Furthermore, collectivist cultures focus more on
the context than the content of the communication. For example, factors such as tone of
voice, eye contact, facial expressions, and body position are more accurate indicators of
how a person feels what he is really saying. In addition, members of a collectivist society
value their connection to their past as evidenced by their interest in genealogy and events
such as reunions. This cultural pattern is often observed in traditional communities.
Countries classified as collectives include South Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia,
Ecuador, India, Brazil, Guatemala, and Venezuela (Cherry, 2020).
Some of the countries described as individualist include the United States, Australia,
Germany, South Africa and Ireland (Cherry, 2020).
Individualism
Singelis et al. (1995) developed a scale to test the four proposed dimensions of empirical
individualism. The new scale of measuring social relationships at the level of individual
analysis has been adopted by many researchers and has resulted in scholarly publications
on a wide range of topics. For example, some have used scales to compare different
psychological and social constructs between people in the United States and other
countries (e.g., Chiou, 2001; Cukur et al., 2004; Gouveia et al., 2003; Karramaju et al.,
2008; Komarraju and Cokley, 2008; Nelson and Shavitt, 2002). These studies indicate
that the new scale is useful in discriminating value preferences in different cultural
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contexts. Others use this new scale to explain cultural trends among different ethnic
groups in the United States (Oyserman et al., 2002; Vargas and Kemmelmeier, 2013).
Abraham (1997) examined the relationship between horizontal and vertical IND-COL
and organizational commitment. It was found that horizontal individualism can explain
the internal relationship, and vertical collectivism and organizational commitment have a
positive relationship. Chirkov et al. (2005) described the horizontal and vertical IND-
COL relationship with culture distance. Lee and Choi (2005) studied the role of
horizontal and vertical IND-COL in persuasive communication on the Web. Their
findings suggest that the new scale is more powerful in explaining perceived Web skills
than the traditional dichotomous continuum of IND-COL. Komarraju et al. (2008)
studied the differences in conflict management styles between people with horizontal and
vertical IND-COL orientations. In their study, among other findings, it was noted that
people with horizontally and vertically collectivist orientations have different preferences
for conflict management styles.
3.b. ii. Cultural values and consumer behaviors
“According to Hofstede Insights (2021), a high score (Masculine - 62) indicates that
society will be driven by competition, achievement, and success. Therefore, in business,
schools, and workplaces, people are always trying to be the best version, so Americans
often “live to work” to get bonuses, get the best results, and achievement. Therefore, in
shopping, businesses need to pay attention to the versatility of products and services at
home for customers to save their time.”
“The Uncertainty Avoidance index (46) shows the influence, especially in business,
Americans are always inclined to drill and free speech with new ideas, innovative
products, etc. whether it involves technology, business methods or furniture production.
Therefore, if we know how to take advantage of this factor, American partners or
customers will pay attention and be interested in new business forms and ideas of wood
products from Vietnam.”
“The long-term orientation index (26) shows that Americans tend to analyze the most
recent information and data to evaluate the effectiveness and pervasiveness of that
product when importing that product into the country. Therefore, when Vietnamese
enterprises want to produce wood and attract partners and customers, businesses need to
provide data to prove the effectiveness of their business model and wood products.”
3. c. Symbols of the U.S
3.c.i. Language
Although the United States has no official language, English is the most commonly
spoken language in the country, and the explanation for this is simple. America before
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independence was a British colony. As a result, the country inherited much of its culture
as well as its language from the British. The majority of the American population has
British ancestry, which, among other factors, has contributed to English standing firmly
in the American language and culture. English is used in official platforms in most states
and almost the entire population has a basic knowledge of English. However, other
languages are gaining traction as they are used frequently within the borders of the
United States.
Out of 50 states, 30 have established English as the only official language, while Hawaii
recognizes both English and Hawaiian as official and Alaska has made some 20 Native
languages official, along with English.
American Sign Language (ASL) is the most common sign language in the United States.
English is considered the de facto national language of America, but the country does not
have an official language.
Apart from English, the primary language, more than 300 languages are spoken in
America. These include the languages of the indigenous people (Native Americans) and
the languages of immigrants.
3.c.ii. Aesthetics
Americans often prefer wooden furniture products with distinctive character and design,
Americans tend to use wooden furniture products and build wooden houses. They don't
care much about materials and colors, but they need simple design and finished products,
American consumers seem to favor external beauty. The right decoration style plays an
important role in their decision to buy or not. Therefore, wooden furniture products
exported to the US must be invested in a quality coating on it
American consumers are concerned about environmental protection, requiring
environmental indicators, social impacts in wood material products to be legal. Factors
that help to be close to and protect nature are very important. It requires product suppliers
to clearly demonstrate the origin and origin of the materials that make up the product.
Besides, this form of proof of origin must be convenient to attract US consumers.
4. Recommendations
4.a. Recommendations for exporters
- Exporters in particular pay careful note to tripartite trade contracts, including: through
an intermediary or a contract partner then sells to a third party as a purchase trust.
- Participate in trade fairs to find potential customers. Businesses around the world also
often participate in these fairs to find supplies.
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- Seek financial support to promote product and to expand into international markets,
such as through non-governmental organizations that work with communities to create
fair brand trade, or through socially impact investors.
- Compliance with market requirements
Exporters must pay close attention if they are to bring their products into markets around
the world, in addition to providing the right products, but also following market
regulations. Exporter needs'
- In addition to the obligatory requirements of the market that can be understood as the
minimum requirement, the buyer's requirements also need to be discussed and followed.
- Trends in sustainable and responsible production and business have gained more and
more attention. This trend deals with many aspects in the supply chain, including
working conditions, water use, waste management and so on. The product of the business
will be accepted by the buyer if adhering to sustainability initiatives.
“b. Recommendations for the state offices:”
“These days, Vietnam is self-sufficient in 60-70% of input materials. To deal with
environmental matters arising, strict safeguards must be taken. Environmental
contamination issues exist at wood-processing facilities, including air pollution, water
pollution, noise pollution, and so on. As a result, the government of Vietnam must strictly
regulate behaviours that pollute the environment, as well as urge citizens to actively
participate in discovering and reporting infractions in this area.”
“Furthermore, the Vietnamese wood industry now faces two main threats: supply risk and
the potential of legal action and commercial fraud. As a result, the following steps should
be taken:”
“- In terms of risk of wood supply:”
“On average, Vietnam imports about 2-2.5 million m3 of raw materials (round, sawed)
from tropical countries each year. Some import sources, such as Cambodia, Laos, and
African countries, pose a high risk. Although imported tropical wood is not used for
export, the entire timber industry is accused of using illegal timber because it is a risky
source of wood. The government should establish an official relationship with the
governments of countries that supply risky timber materials to Vietnam as a solution to
this problem. This link assists Vietnamese authorities in understanding the export supply
chain process, the legal requirements associated with the chain's activities, and the
authenticity of the licenses and documents located in the export supply chain.”
“- When it comes to risk of lawsuits and commercial fraud:”
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“The United States is looking into Vietnam's plywood products and considering other
items such as kitchen cabinets and sofas. Therefore, the government needs to set up a
control mechanism to prevent origin evasion, trade fraud, and hidden investment. A clear
illustration of trade fraud is that a number of Chinese companies are hiring legal entities
from Vietnamese companies to import finished goods for export to the United States.
Next, in terms of the country's source of wood materials, it is necessary to accelerate the
improvement of certificates of sustainable forest management. Finally, the government
should require businesses to follow the principle of transparency in books and respond to
any information requested by the foreign trade investigation agency.”
“Additionally, the government should advise exporters to diversify their business
alternatives, such as selling via the Amazon e-commerce channel, based on customer
behaviours in the United States.”
5. Conclusion
The US has always been a large wood export market of Vietnam, especially, in recent
years, taking advantage of the US-China trade war, Vietnam has increased exports to this
attractive market. In the first 7 months of 2022, the US was in the top 5 export markets of
wood and products, reaching $ 5.6 billion, down 6% over the same period last year and
accounting for nearly 58% of the total turnover. Because the US increased the
investigation of trade remedies, it made it difficult to export wood to this market. At the
same time, high inflation in the US is negatively affecting production and business
activities of wood industry enterprises. In particular, the group of wooden furniture - the
main export group of Vietnam - is most affected.
Regarding the export prospects of wood products, Agriseco's report said that the US is
the largest import market in Vietnam and is expected to increase sharply in the near
future. Especially when Vietnam is currently the top choice for replacing Chinese
furniture, with the second position in the world in terms of export market share of
furniture.
In addition, the US also imposed import duties on wood furniture in China, while China
is a major exporter of wood and wood products in the US due to the trade war.
In addition, the increase in demand for real estate construction and interior repair after the
economy recovers will also be a factor promoting global wood consumption and
especially the main export markets of Vietnam like the US.
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