Pancasila International Journal of Applied Social Science E-ISSN 2988-0750 P-ISSN 2988-0769 Volume 4 Issue 01.
January 2026.
Pp.
DOI: https://doi.
org/10.
59653/pancasila.
Copyright by Author Factors Affecting the Degree of Staffing Autonomy in Vietnamese Public Universities: An Exploratory Study from Civil ServantsAo Perspectives Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong1*.
Ngo Huong Hoa2 Thu Dau Mot University.
Vietnam1 Thu Dau Mot University.
Vietnam2 Corresponding E-mail: duongntt@tdmu.
Received: 17-01-2026 Reviewed: 15-02-2026 Accepted: 20-03-2026 Abstract This study explores the factors influencing the degree of staffing autonomy in Vietnamese public universities from the perspectives of civil servants .
ncluding academic staff, administrative professionals, and university manager.
A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 286 respondents from 12 public universities across Northern.
Central, and Southern Vietnam.
The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale.
Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.
0 through CronbachAos Alpha reliability testing.
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).
Pearson correlation, and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR).
The EFA identified five factors affecting staffing autonomy: .
Financial Self-Sufficiency (FSS), .
Institutional Legal Framework (ILF), .
Internal Governance Capacity (IGC), .
University Council Effectiveness (UCE), and .
Organizational Culture of Change (OCC).
The regression model 4% of the variance (Adjusted RA = 0.
Financial Self-Sufficiency emerged as the strongest predictor ( = 0.
, followed by Institutional Legal Framework ( = 0.
Internal Governance Capacity ( = 0.
University Council Effectiveness ( = 0.
, and Organizational Culture of Change ( = 0.
An independent samples t-test revealed significant differences in perceived staffing autonomy between financially self-sufficient and partially state-funded universities.
This is among the first large-scale, multi-institutional quantitative studies on staffing autonomy in Vietnamese higher education that surveys civil servants across occupational categories.
The findings provide empirical evidence for policymakers and university administrators to prioritize financial self-sufficiency and legal reform as preconditions for effective human resource autonomy.
Keywords: staffing autonomy.
university autonomy.
public universities.
human resource Vietnam.
higher education governance.
institutional theory Pancasila International Journal of Applied Social Science Introduction University autonomy has been recognized globally as a prerequisite for institutional development, academic freedom, and efficient resource allocation in higher education (Estermann & Nokkala, 2009.
Matei & Iwinska, 2.
The European University Association (EUA) conceptualizes institutional autonomy through four pillars: organizational, financial, staffing, and academic autonomy (Pruvot & Estermann, 2.
Among these, staffing autonomyAidefined as a universityAos capacity to independently recruit, promote, dismiss, and determine remuneration for its personnelAiis widely regarded as a critical enabler of strategic human resource management in higher education (Choi, 2019.
Al Gharsi et al.
, 2.
Vietnam has undergone significant reforms in higher education since the promulgation of the Higher Education Law No.
08/2012/QH13 and its subsequent amendment by Law No.
34/2018/QH14, which expanded the scope of university autonomy across academic, organizational, financial, and human resource domains.
The implementation of Government Decree No.
99/2019/Na-CP further detailed the mechanisms for autonomy, while Decree No.
60/2021/Na-CP established the financial autonomy framework for public non-business units.
Most recently.
Decree No.
111/2025/Na-CP amended the financial autonomy provisions, and Decree No.
201/2025/Na-CP expanded the self-governance authority of national universities in staffing and organizational matters.
Despite these legislative advancements, the implementation of staffing autonomy in Vietnamese public universities remains constrained by several structural factors (Lambropoulos et al.
, 2022.
Wingrove et al.
, 2.
The Civil Servants Law (Lut Viyn ch.
and affiliated regulations on recruitment, appointment, and biyn ch .
ivil service staffing quota.
impose rigid constraints that often conflict with the autonomy provisions in higher education law (Do, 2.
As of 2024, only 23 out of 175 public universities have achieved full financial self-sufficiencyAia condition widely considered the gateway to meaningful staffing autonomy (World Bank, 2.
Research on Vietnamese university autonomy has primarily employed qualitative, policy-analytic, or single-case study approaches (Nguyen et , 2022.
Truong & Dang, 2023.
Ngo et al.
, 2.
Large-scale, multi-institutional quantitative studies examining the determinants of staffing autonomy from the perspectives of civil servants across occupational categories remain notably scarce.
This study addresses this gap by investigating the factors affecting the degree of staffing autonomy in 12 Vietnamese public universities.
Drawing on Institutional Theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983.
Scott, 2.
and the Resource-Based View (Barney, 1.
, the research employs a quantitative survey design with SPSS-based analysis, including EFA and multiple linear regression.
The study contributes both empiricallyAiby providing cross-regional, multistakeholder evidenceAiand practically Aiby identifying actionable levers to enhance staffing autonomy in the Vietnamese context.
Factors Affecting the Degree of Staffing Autonomy in Vietnamese Public Universities: An Exploratory Study from Civil ServantsAo Perspectives Literature Review University Autonomy: Conceptual Foundations The concept of university autonomy has evolved considerably since its philosophical origins in the Humboldtian tradition of academic freedom(Ingersoll & May, 2012.
Yano et al.
Contemporary scholarship distinguishes between substantive autonomy .
he power to determine institutional goal.
and procedural autonomy .
he freedom to determine the means of achieving the.
(Berdahl, 1.
The EUAAos Autonomy Scorecard operationalizes this concept across four dimensions: organizational, financial, staffing, and academic autonomy (Pruvot & Estermann, 2.
The 2023 Scorecard, covering 35 European higher education systems, revealed that while incremental progress has been made in staffing flexibility, systemic restrictions persist in many national contexts (EUA, 2.
Staffing autonomy specifically encompasses a universityAos ability to make decisions regarding recruitment procedures, promotion criteria, salary determination, and dismissal processes for both academic and administrative personnel without external interference (Choi.
Mai et al.
, 2.
Research in the European and Asian contexts has demonstrated that staffing autonomy is positively associated with strategy implementation (Al Gharsi et al.
, organizational performance (Agasisti & Shibanova, 2.
, and academic staff development (Ngo et al.
, 2.
Staffing Autonomy in Vietnamese Higher Education VietnamAos journey toward university staffing autonomy can be traced through several policy milestones.
The pilot phase .
4Ae2.
under Resolution No.
77/NQ-CP granted four leading universities autonomy in human resources management.
Law No.
34/2018/QH14
formally codified autonomy across four pillars, establishing the university council (Hoi ceng tryn.
as the supreme governance body.
However, empirical evidence suggests a persistent gap between de jure and de facto autonomy.
Do .
analyzed 23 autonomous universities and found substantial variation in how staffing autonomy policies were understood and Mai et al.
, surveying nearly 2,000 academic staff across 17 institutions, reported low levels of staff participation in governance, particularly in financial and organizational decision-making.
Nguyen et al.
, studying VNU Hanoi, identified four dimensions of staffing autonomyAidocument development, strategy implementation, institutional mechanisms, and rectoral authorityAiall of which positively influenced academic staff development (Gawlik, 2008.
Mills et al.
, 2.
The key barriers consistently identified in the literature include: conflicting legal frameworks between higher education law and civil service regulations (Do, 2.
dependence on the state budget (World Bank, 2.
weak university council governance (Mai et al.
, 2.
and path-dependent organizational cultures resistant to change (Ngo et al.
, 2.
A recent study assessing the impact of autonomy policies on university competitiveness, based on a survey of 486 respondents, found that financial autonomy had the strongest influence among the five autonomy dimensions (Nguyen & Tran, 2.
Pancasila International Journal of Applied Social Science Theoretical Framework This study integrates two complementary theoretical lenses.
Institutional Theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983.
Scott, 2.
explains how coercive, mimetic, and normative institutional pressures shape university behavior (Singh et al.
, 2021.
Wei & Lau, 2.
In the Vietnamese context, coercive pressures from the supervisory ministry .
quan ch qu.
and rigid civil service regulations constrain staffing autonomy.
Normative pressures from international higher education standards .
, accreditation requirement.
may promote The Resource-Based View (RBV.
Barney, 1.
complements this by positing that universities possessing valuable, rare, and inimitable resourcesAiincluding financial capacity, governance expertise, and human capitalAican achieve superior performance.
Al Gharsi et al.
successfully applied RBV to demonstrate the staffing autonomyAeperformance link in Indian universities using PLS-SEM.
Drawing on this theoretical synthesis and the empirical literature, the following five hypotheses are proposed:
H1: Financial Self-Sufficiency has a positive effect on the degree of staffing autonomy.
H2: The Institutional Legal Framework has a positive effect on the degree of staffing H3: Internal Governance Capacity has a positive effect on the degree of staffing autonomy.
H4: University Council Effectiveness has a positive effect on the degree of staffing autonomy.
H5: Organizational Culture of Change has a positive effect on the degree of staffing autonomy.
Research Method Research Design and Sampling A cross-sectional quantitative survey design was employed.
The target population comprised civil servants .
iyn ch.
working in Vietnamese public universities, including three occupational categories: academic staff .
ing viy.
, administrative professionals .
huyyn viy.
, and university managers .
yn bo qun l.
A stratified purposive sampling strategy was adopted to ensure representation across: .
three geographic regions (Northern.
Central, and Southern Vietna.
two financial autonomy categories .
ully self-sufficient vs.
state-funde.
three occupational categories.
Twelve public universities were selected, comprising four universities per region.
each region, two universities had achieved full financial self-sufficiency (Nhym 1Ae2 under Decree 60/2.
, and two remained partially state-funded (Nhym 3Ae.
A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed, of which 302 were returned .
esponse rate: 86.
3%).
After data screening for incomplete responses and outliers, 286 valid responses were retained for analysis.
Factors Affecting the Degree of Staffing Autonomy in Vietnamese Public Universities: An Exploratory Study from Civil ServantsAo Perspectives Measurement Instrument The questionnaire consisted of two sections.
Section A captured demographic information .
ender, age group, occupational category, years of experience, region, and the universityAos financial autonomy statu.
Section B contained 28 items measured on a five-point Likert scale .
= Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agre.
, adapted from established The independent variable items were adapted from the EUA Autonomy Scorecard framework (Pruvot & Estermann, 2.
, the staffing autonomy scale by Al Gharsi et al.
and context-specific items derived from Vietnamese regulatory documents and prior studies (Do, 2023.
Nguyen et al.
, 2.
The dependent variable (Degree of Staffing Autonomy.
DSA) was measured through five items capturing perceived autonomy in recruitment, appointment, salary determination, dismissal, and professional development.
The instrument underwent content validation by five experts .
wo higher education policy researchers, two university HR directors, and one public administration schola.
and was pilot-tested with 35 respondents from two universities not included in the main study.
Minor wording adjustments were made based on pilot feedback.
Data Analysis Procedures All analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.
The analytical sequence comprised: .
descriptive statistics for sample profiling.
CronbachAos Alpha for internal consistency reliability ( Ou 0.
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using Principal Axis Factoring with Promax rotation (KMO Ou 0.
BartlettAos test p < 0.
05, factor loadings Ou 0.
total variance extracted Ou 50%).
Pearson correlation analysis.
Multiple Linear Regression (Enter metho.
with comprehensive assumption testing (VIF < 5.
Durbin-Watson 5Ae2.
5, normality of residual.
Independent Samples T-test and One-Way ANOVA for group comparisons.
Results Respondent Profile Table 1 presents the demographic characteristics of the 286 valid respondents.
The sample was reasonably balanced across gender, regions, and occupational categories, with a slight majority being female .
2%) and academic staff .
4%).
Approximately 46.
5% of respondents worked at fully self-sufficient universities.
Table 1.
Demographic Profile of Respondents (N = .
Characteristic Gender Age group Category Frequency Percentage Male Female Under 30 30Ae40 Pancasila International Journal of Applied Social Science Occupational category Region Financial autonomy status Years of experience 41Ae50 Over 50 Academic staff Administrative Managers Northern Central Southern Fully self-sufficient Partially state-funded Under 5 years 5Ae10 years 11Ae20 years Over 20 years Source: Survey data, 2025.
Source: AuthorsAo Calculation.
Reliability Analysis CronbachAos Alpha coefficients for all six constructs exceeded the 0.
70 threshold recommended by Hair et al.
All corrected item-total correlations were above 0.
confirming that no items required deletion.
The results are summarized in Table 2.
Table 2.
Reliability Analysis Results Items CronbachAos Min.
Item-Total r Financial Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Institutional Legal Framework (ILF) Internal Governance Capacity (IGC) University Council Effectiveness (UCE) Organizational Culture of Change (OCC) Degree of Staffing Autonomy (DSA) Construct Note: N = 286.
All values meet the recommended thresholds ( Ou 0.
item-total r Ou 0.
Source: AuthorsAo Calculation.
Exploratory Factor Analysis EFA was performed on the 23 independent variable items using Principal Axis Factoring with Promax rotation.
The KMO measure of sampling adequacy was 0.
exceeding the recommended minimum of 0.
BartlettAos test of sphericity was statistically significant (NA = 3,284.
51, df = 253, p < 0.
, confirming the dataAos suitability for factor Five factors were extracted, cumulatively explaining 67.
83% of the total variance.
All Factors Affecting the Degree of Staffing Autonomy in Vietnamese Public Universities: An Exploratory Study from Civil ServantsAo Perspectives factor loadings exceeded 0.
50, with no significant cross-loadings .
ll below 0.
30 on nonprimary factor.
Table 3 presents the rotated pattern matrix.
Table 3.
EFA Rotated Pattern Matrix (Principal Axis Factoring.
Promax Rotatio.
Items FSS
FSS1: Revenue self-generation capacity FSS2: Tuition autonomy level FSS3: Budget independence from state
FSS4: Financial reserves for HR investment FSS5: Revenue diversification capability ILF
ILF1: Clarity of legal framework for HR
ILF2: Coherence between HE law & civil service law
ILF3: Degree of decentralization from supervisory body ILF4: Flexibility in staffing quota policy ILF5: Regulatory support for contract-based hiring IGC
IGC1: HR department professional competence IGC2: Strategic HRM planning capacity IGC3: Performance evaluation system maturity IGC4: Digital HR management infrastructure IGC5: Transparency in HR decision-making UCE
UCE1: University CouncilAos HR oversight role
UCE2: Council independence from Party committee UCE3: CouncilAos strategic HR decision authority UCE4: Stakeholder representation in council
OCC
OCC1: Leadership commitment to HR reform OCC2: Staff readiness for autonomous HR practices OCC3: Innovation orientation in HR management OCC4: Tolerance for performance-based accountability Eigenvalue % Variance explained Cumulative % Note: KMO = 0.
BartlettAos NA = 3,284.
f = 253, p < 0.
Loadings < 0.
50 suppressed.
Source: AuthorsAo Calculation.
Pearson Correlation Analysis Table 4 presents the bivariate correlations among the five independent factors and the dependent variable.
All correlations between independent variables and DSA were positive and statistically significant at the 0.
01 level, ranging from 0.
428 (OCC) to 0.
614 (FSS).
Inter-factor Pancasila International Journal of Applied Social Science correlations ranged from 0.
287 to 0.
512, indicating moderate relationships without multicollinearity concerns.
Table 4.
Pearson Correlation Matrix
Variable FSS
ILF
IGC
UCE
OCC
FSS
ILF
IGC
UCE
OCC
DSA
DSA
Note: ** p < 0.
wo-taile.
N = 286.
Source: AuthorsAo Calculation.
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis Prior to regression, diagnostic tests confirmed that all assumptions were satisfied.
The Durbin-Watson statistic was 1.
cceptable range: 1.
5Ae2.
, indicating no autocorrelation.
All VIF values were below 3.
0, confirming the absence of multicollinearity.
The KolmogorovSmirnov test for normality of residuals was non-significant .
= 0.
, and the scatterplot of standardized residuals against predicted values showed no systematic pattern, supporting Table 5 presents the regression results.
The model was statistically significant (F.
, .
= 96.
478, p < 0.
and explained 62.
4% of the variance in the Degree of Staffing Autonomy (Adjusted RA = 0.
All five hypothesized factors were significant predictors at 01 level.
Table 5.
Multiple Linear Regression Results (Dependent Variable: DSA) VIF (Constan.
Ae Ae Financial Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Institutional Legal Framework (ILF) Internal Governance Capacity (IGC) University Council Effectiveness (UCE) Organizational Culture of Change (OCC) Predictor Note: ** p < 0.
RA = 0.
Adjusted RA = 0.
, .
= 96.
478, p < 0.
Durbin-Watson = 1.
Source: AuthorsAo Calculation.
The standardized coefficients indicate that Financial Self-Sufficiency ( = 0.
was the most influential predictor, followed by Institutional Legal Framework ( = 0.
Internal Governance Capacity ( = 0.
University Council Effectiveness ( = 0.
, and Factors Affecting the Degree of Staffing Autonomy in Vietnamese Public Universities: An Exploratory Study from Civil ServantsAo Perspectives Organizational Culture of Change ( = 0.
All five hypotheses (H1AeH.
were therefore Group Comparison Analyses An independent samples t-test comparing perceived staffing autonomy (DSA) between respondents at fully self-sufficient universities (M = 3.
SD = 0.
and partially state-funded universities (M = 3.
SD = 0.
revealed a statistically significant difference .
= 7.
p < 0.
CohenAos d = 0.
, indicating a large effect size.
This confirms that financial selfsufficiency is not merely a predictor in the regression model but is also associated with meaningfully higher perceived staffing autonomy at the institutional level.
One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in DSA scores across occupational categories (F.
, .
= 8.
614, p < 0.
Post-hoc Tukey HSD tests indicated that university managers (M = 3.
SD = 0.
perceived significantly higher staffing autonomy than both academic staff (M = 3.
SD = 0.
65, p = 0.
and administrative professionals (M = 3.
SD = 0.
71, p < 0.
The difference between academic staff and administrative professionals was not statistically significant .
= 0.
No significant regional differences were found (F.
, .
= 1.
842, p = 0.
Discussion Financial Self-Sufficiency as the Primary Driver The finding that financial self-sufficiency exerts the strongest influence on staffing autonomy ( = 0.
is consistent with both theoretical expectations and prior empirical From an RBV perspective, financial resources constitute a valuable and rare organizational capability that enables universities to invest in competitive salary packages, recruit beyond civil service quota constraints, and fund professional development programs This finding aligns with the World BankAos .
assessment that financial autonomy serves as the gateway to meaningful reform in other dimensions of autonomy.
The significant t-test result .
= 0.
further corroborates this: universities that have achieved full financial self-sufficiency reported substantially higher perceived staffing autonomy, likely because they can circumvent biyn ch restrictions by hiring contract-based personnel funded from non-state revenues.
The Role of Legal and Regulatory Coherence The institutional legal framework emerged as the second strongest predictor ( = .
, reflecting the persistent regulatory tensions identified in previous studies.
Vietnamese universities must simultaneously comply with the Higher Education Law .
mphasizing autonom.
, the Civil Servants Law .
mphasizing standardized public employmen.
, and Party regulations on cadre appointment (Regulation No.
105-Qa/TW).
This regulatory incoherence creates what Do .
described as Aucognitive obstaclesAy for practitioners.
From an Institutional Theory perspective, coercive isomorphic pressures from conflicting regulatory bodies constrain the degree to which universities can exercise de facto staffing autonomy, even Pancasila International Journal of Applied Social Science when de jure provisions exist.
The recent promulgation of Decree 125/2024 and Decree 111/2025 represents positive steps, but systemic harmonization between education and civil service legislation remains incomplete.
Internal Governance and University Council Effectiveness Internal governance capacity ( = 0.
and university council effectiveness ( = .
together represent the organizational dimension of staffing autonomy.
The significance of governance capacity underscores that autonomy is not merely a legal entitlement but requires commensurate institutional competence to exercise effectively.
Universities with mature HR management systems, transparent decision-making processes, and strategic planning capacity are better positioned to exercise their autonomy.
The somewhat lower coefficient for university council effectiveness may reflect the nascent stage of council governance in Vietnam.
Mai et .
reported that many councils remain ceremonial rather than substantively operational, with limited authority in practice.
Organizational Culture as a Facilitating Condition Organizational culture of change, while the weakest predictor ( = 0.
, remained statistically significant.
This suggests that entrenched bureaucratic norms and risk-averse cultures characteristic of the Vietnamese public sector constitute a real, if secondary, barrier to staffing autonomy.
The finding that administrative professionals perceived the lowest staffing autonomy (M = 3.
may reflect their greater proximity to bureaucratic procedures and civil service regulations than academic staff and managers.
Conclusions Theoretical Contributions This study makes three theoretical contributions.
First, it extends the application of Institutional Theory and RBV to the underexplored domain of staffing autonomy in Vietnamese higher education.
Second, it provides the first large-scale, multi-institutional quantitative evidence on the determinants of staffing autonomy from a cross-occupational Third, it establishes an empirically validated five-factor model that can serve as a foundation for future confirmatory research using structural equation modeling.
Practical Implications For policymakers, the findings support prioritizing the expansion of financial selfsufficiency mechanisms .
ncluding tuition flexibility, research commercialization, and publicprivate partnership.
as a precondition for effective staffing autonomy.
Legal reform should focus on harmonizing higher education autonomy provisions with civil service regulations, particularly regarding biyn ch quotas and contract-based hiring.
For university administrators, investing in internal governance capacityAiincluding professional HR departments, performance management systems, and digital infrastructureAiis essential for translating legal autonomy into operational reality.
Strengthening the substantive authority of university councils will also enhance accountability and strategic HR decision-making.
Factors Affecting the Degree of Staffing Autonomy in Vietnamese Public Universities: An Exploratory Study from Civil ServantsAo Perspectives Limitations and Future Research Several limitations should be acknowledged.
First, the cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
future studies should consider longitudinal designs to capture the dynamic evolution of staffing autonomy as VietnamAos reform process continues.
Second, the exploratory nature of the factor analysis (EFA) requires subsequent confirmatory validation (CFA/SEM) with independent samples.
Third, the purposive sampling approach, while appropriate for the research objectives, limits generalizability.
Fourth, the study measures perceived autonomy through self-report, which may differ from actual .
e jur.
or practiced .
e fact.
Future research could triangulate survey data with documentary analysis and institutional performance metrics to provide a more comprehensive assessment.
References