Moral Traditions of the Cantonese Chinese Community as Reflected in Business Activities in Contemporary Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

The economic endeavors of the Chinese community have achieved significant success in many countries around the world, including Vietnam. The prosperity of Chinese businesses is attributed to various factors, among which the emphasis on business ethics stands out as a key explanation. In order to clarify how business ethics are taught and practiced within the Chinese community, this study gathers and analyzes relevant literature on business ethics and outlines the theoretical underpinnings of Chinese business ethics from traditional to modern times. On this basis, the study operationalizes the concept of moral traditions in business and applies it to research on the Cantonese Chinese, a representative subgroup of the Chinese community in Ho Chi Minh City. Using in-depth interviews with typical cases as the main research method, the author offers several observations on the contemporary moral traditions in business among the Cantonese Chinese, with particular emphasis on the education and practice of business ethics in the context of a rapidly changing modern society.