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The purpose of this paper is the study of the electro-vortex flow (EVF) as well as heating and melting processes for mini industrial direct current electric arc furnace (DC EAF).

A mini DC EAF was designed, manufactured and installed to study the industrial processes of heating and melting a small amount of melt, being 4.6 kg of steel in the case under study. Numerical modelling of metal melting was performed using the enthalpy and porosity approach at equal values and non-equal values of the solidus and liquidus temperatures of the metal. The EVF of the liquid phase of metal was computed using the large eddy simulation model of turbulence. Melt temperature measurements were made using an infrared camera and a probe with a thermocouple sensor. The melt speed was estimated by observing the movement of particles at the top surface of melt.

The thermal flux for metal heating and melting, which is supplied through an arc spot at the top surface of metal, is estimated using the thermal balance of the furnace at melting point. The melting time was estimated using numerical modelling of heating and melting of metal. The process started at room temperature and finished once whole volume of metal was molten. The evolution of the solid/melt phase boundary as well as evolution of EVF patterns of the melt was studied.

Numerical studies of heating and melting processes in metal were performed in the case of intensive liquid phase turbulent circulation due to the Lorentz force in the melt, which results from the interaction of electrical current with a self-magnetic field.

This paper aims to investigate the antecedents of process innovation to provide more alternates for Vietnamese firms as they are still struggling to find an appropriate innovation strategy.

The research analyzes the separate impacts of each innovation strategy on process innovation using logistic regression models. Data were collected using a stratified random sampling method.

The results show that having an innovation strategy is good for innovation, regardless of whether the strategy is internal or external. Internal and external strategies are proved not complements but substitutes. However, the internal strategy seems to be most beneficial. Weak institutional settings further strengthen the importance of internal strategies, whereas strong institutional settings favor external strategies.

This paper analyzes the impact of different innovation strategies on process innovation in Vietnamese firms using firm-level data. The findings strongly recommend that in weak institutional settings such as Vietnam, firms should focus on an internal strategy because the emphasis on external innovation strategies might be a western bias stemming from research in mostly strong institutional contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to explain a possible relationship between the country brand and internationalization topics, searching in the literature the possible connections between them.

An integrative literature review of the past 15 years of research (2003–2017) was acquired using the well-known databases Web of Science and Scopus.

Studies linking country brand and internationalization are new, often quantitative, descriptive and focused on emerging markets. In terms of content, it was shown first that a country brand, when well-managed, is not only essential to attract foreign direct investment into the country, but it can also help the outflows of investments. Referring specifically to outflows of foreign investment, internationalization affects the country brand, generating positive attitudes toward the brand in international markets. However, it is also affected by the country brand because the country image influences the entry modes of business and the country of origin affects the performance of multinationals abroad.

With the strengths and deficiencies of a body of literature exposed in this paper, a better understanding of the topic through synthesis can be provided.

Findings show that internationalization can influence country brand and country image. The internationalization process might positively affect the attitude toward a place brand. In terms of country image, when a company rebranding is entering international markets, it can integrate the brand of its products with the country brand and its image, generating positive effects in relation to brand in the new market. However, this relationship is not clear and should be explored by new studies.

This paper contributes both to the literature through an overview of the relationship between the two topics and a research agenda for future studies; and to governments and companies by providing information that enables them to become more competitive in the international market.