Transfer of ‘Western’ Institutions to a Transition Economy Context: Experiences from the Vietnamese Petroleum Sector

Abstract

The article addresses possibilities and challenges in the transfer of ‘western’ institutions to a transition economy context. It examines how the transition economy context and attention to context can explain the outcome of a health, safety and environment (HSE) project that was implemented in the petroleum sector in Vietnam 1997–2011. This was part of a larger programme to convey insights and experiences from the Norwegian petroleum sector to petroleum-rich developing countries. Norwegian attention to context and Vietnamese adjustments of Norwegian experiences made it possible to enhance competence and systematic thinking on HSE in Petrovietnam (PVN) and to develop a more modern regulatory framework for HSE. The fact that PVN still holds a strong political position in Vietnam's market-oriented state socialism has facilitated this and ensured fast enactment of the regulations. Implementation of the new regulatory framework in the industry has been more demanding however. Control of information as a basis of power is important in explaining this. Moreover, the industry complains that enforcement of the regulations develop at a slower pace than norms and cognition in the part of the industry that competes internationally. The findings clearly underscore the notion that institutions may at best be imported, never exported.

Keywords:

• transition economies
• institutions
• petroleum industry
• Oil for Development
• Vietnam

Acknowledgements

I am thankful to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam for funding the fieldwork [SRV-10/0055] and to project partners and industry representatives who have shared their views and experiences. I am also thankful indeed to Ngot Thi Hoang for her invaluable contribution during the field work and for being such a good discussion partner.

Notes on contributor

Hege Merete Knutsen is Professor in Human Geography, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo. She works in the intersection of development geography, economic geography and labour geography. Her two main research interests are industrial development in global production networks, and labour regimes in transition economies and social-democratic welfare states.

Notes

¹In an equitized enterprise the state, workers and private investors hold the shares. Majority shares are either held by the state or the private investors.

² http://export.gov/vietnam/static/BP-Oil%20and%20Gas%20Machinery%20and%20Services_Latest_eg_vn_030123.pdf, last accessed May 2012.

³ http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=VM, last accessed October 2013.

⁴ http://faolex.fao.org/docs/texts/vie41074.doc, last accessed October 2013.

⁵ http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/vie84159.pdf. This is the Official Gazette, Issue nos 9–10 August 2008, Vietnam Law and Legal Forum, last accessed October 2013.

⁶ http://english.pvn.vn/?portal=newsandpage=detailandcategory_id=82andid=1058, last accessed October 2013.

⁷The partners have exchanged documents and notes on Projectplace, an online collaboration tool. Comments to baseline study in Projectplace 6.1.2010.