Potential adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in Vietnam: From legitimacy to isomorphism

Purpose - This paper discusses the perception of Vietnamese accountants regarding the legitimacy motives and institutional isomorphisms upon the consideration of IFRS adoption by Vietnamese policy makers. Design/methodology - A total of 728 received responses from 3,000 mailing questionnaires to Vietnamese auditors, accountants and academics across Vietnam in 2012 produce an effective response rate of 24 per cent. Findings - The results confirm the influence from coercive, normative, mimetic isomorphisms and legitimacy motives on the consideration of IFRS adoption in Vietnam. Research limitation - The sample was not large enough to generalise the findings. The non-response bias may be present in the results. Practical implication - The confirmed presence of institutional isomorphisms suggests the Vietnamese policy makers to recognise these influential forces and utilise them to support the accounting transformation process in Vietnam. Originality/value - This is the first study examines the influence of institutional isomorphism on the consideration of IFRS adoption by Vietnamese accounting policymakers.