administrative sciences Article Explicating Brand Equity in the Information Technology Sector in Vietnam Hien Thi Ngoc Huynh 1 , Hoa Doan Xuan Trieu 2 , Phuong Van Nguyen 2, * , Tue Gia Tran 1 and Long Nguyen Hai Lam 1,3   Citation: Huynh, Hien Thi Ngoc, Hoa Doan Xuan Trieu, Phuong Van Nguyen, Tue Gia Tran, and Long Nguyen Hai Lam. 2021. Explicating Brand Equity in the Information Technology Sector in Vietnam. Administrative Sciences 11: 128. https://doi.org/10.3390/ admsci11040128 Received: 9 September 2021 Accepted: 5 November 2021 Published: 9 November 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 The School of Business, International University, Vietnam National University–HCMC, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam; htnhien@hcmiu.edu.vn (H.T.N.H.); gtuee19@gmail.com (T.G.T.); long@qtsc.com.vn (L.N.H.L.) 2 Center for Public Administration, International University, Vietnam National University–HCMC, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam; tdxhoa@hcmiu.edu.vn 3 Quang Trung Software City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam * Correspondence: nvphuong@hcmiu.edu.vn; Tel.: +84-28-37244270 Abstract: Vietnamese IT businesses have expanded internationally and have reached a turning point with opportunities and challenges typical when establishing a global brand. To assist Vietnamese IT firms in the development of branding strategies, this study investigated the direct influences of various firm competencies, such as innovation, marketing, networking, and dynamic capabilities, on brand equity in the business-to-business (B2B) information technology (IT) industry. In addition, the study examined whether the enterprise’s capabilities indirectly affected B2B brand equity via value co-creation and customer value. By employing PLS-SEM to analyze a sample of 182 questionnaire responses from IT firms in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the study found that innovative, networking, and dynamic capabilities had a direct, positive effect on brand equity. The mediating effect of value co-creation and customer value on the association between marketing capability and brand equity was also reported. The research also recommended branding strategies for enterprises that seek to improve their internal competencies and abilities to innovate and respond swiftly to market dynamics. In a successful marketing strategy, all stakeholders must be involved in the value co-creation and brand equity building process, and this is particularly critical in a knowledge-intensive industry such as IT. Keywords: brand equity; innovation capability; dynamic capability, networking capability; IT industry 1. Introduction Marketing thought has evolved to demonstrate that just being market-focused is not enough for businesses to guarantee profit and sustainable development in the marketplace. The competition for customers is intensifying as the world gets closer to globalization and digital transformation. In addition to delivering quality products and services, companies must compete for purchasing intention and brand loyalty of their customers as well as their own long-term brand equity (Cavusgil and Knight 2015). Brand equity has a considerable impact on financial success despite not being a tangible or entirely quantitative factor. Brands are among the most valuable assets that a company can develop, and they require plenty of resources, effort, and patience over a long period. Sustainable brand equity is determined by how customers perceive the brand’s value and is influenced by elements such as brand awareness, perceived quality, and market-sector brand image (Myers 2003; Pike et al. 2010). The ability of a brand to increase the long-term profitability of a company is also referred to as brand equity (Farquhar 1989; Bonamigo et al. 2020). Business-to-business (B2B) firms have elevated marketing as a strategic priority. As brand equity can be built through marketing efforts and customer education, develop- ing these capabilities can assist businesses in achieving sustainable development and Adm. Sci. 2021, 11, 128. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11040128 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/admsci