Impact of government support policies on firm performance of Vietnam’s small and medium tourism enterprises: The mediating role of competitive advantage

The government plays a decisive role in the general stability and sustainable development of the business community and tourism enterprises in particular. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has served as clear evidence of the government’s crucial support for tourism businesses. This study was conducted to explore and measure the impact of government support on the firm performance of small and medium tourism enterprises in Vietnam from the perspective of business leaders. Data were collected based on a survey of 798 leaders working in small and medium tourism enterprises. The results showed that government support before, during, and after the Covid-19 pandemic, through tax policies, credit policies, legal procedure support policies, and labor and social welfare policies, positively influenced firm performance through the mediating role of enhancing competitive advantage. However, this study found that digital transformation in small and medium-sized tourism enterprises had an insignificant impact on improving competitive advantage and firm performance. The results contribute to enriching the overall theory and provide policy and managerial implications for stakeholders in the future. AcknowledgmentThis research is funded by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam with code B2023-DHH-02 under decision No. 2036/QD-BGDDT dated July 22, 2022. Furthermore, this study is the result of collaboration between a group of scientists from the Faculty of Law, Hue University, and School of Business and Economics, Duy Tan University. The authors would like to acknowledge the support and facilitation provided by both institutions for the publication of this article.