Assessing Financial Performance Disparities in the Vietnam Logistics Sector Amidst COVID-19: A Hybrid MCDM Evaluation Approach Using MEREC-COBRA

Assessing Financial Performance Disparities in the Vietnam Logistics Sector Amidst COVID-19: A Hybrid MCDM Evaluation Approach Using MEREC-COBRA | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Assessing Financial Performance Disparities in the Vietnam Logistics Sector Amidst COVID-19: A Hybrid MCDM Evaluation Approach Using MEREC-COBRA Chia-Nan Wang, Thanh-Tam Truong This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6484793/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in global supply chains, causing a 5.2% decline in global GDP and a sharp drop in merchandise trade. However, as borders reopened, global dynamics gradually recovered. The pandemic prompted strategic changes, creating opportunities for sustainable recovery. However, logistics companies faced challenges in measuring performance due to traditional methods not reflecting the complexity of modern operations. The lack of effective data integration and management hindered the adoption of digital technology. This study proposes a combined MEREC-COBRA method to assess the performance of 17 logistics companies in Vietnam, using 17 financial criteria, including liquidity ratio, financial leverage ratio, activity ratio, profitability ratio, and growth ratio. The MEREC-COBRA model is compared with methods such as TOPSIS, CODAS, and MARCOS, using Kendall's tau-b and Spearman's rho tests to evaluate the impact of the pandemic. The results show that the MEREC-COBRA model provides stable ratings, with profitability accounting for 35.48% in assessing financial performance. The study reveals the varied impact of the pandemic, with companies such as 3PL-06 showing significant performance improvements, while others maintained stability. These results indicate that while the pandemic had a strong impact, companies with adaptability and strategic flexibility recovered more effectively. This research introduces an advanced MCDM approach for evaluating financial performance in the logistics sector, providing both academic and practical value. It also offers the potential for broader application beyond logistics to other industries and regions. Business and commerce/Business and management Business and commerce/Economics Business and commerce/Operational research Social science/Business and management COBRA method Financial Performance evaluation logistics enterprise MEREC method Multi-criteria decision making Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Appendix.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 25 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 03 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 19 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 09 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 05 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 01 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 28 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6484793","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":510797154,"identity":"c2ce312a-38e6-4509-adfd-b04b4a7eea2d","order_by":0,"name":"Chia-Nan Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chia-Nan","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":510797155,"identity":"8f405335-ae0b-4d00-927e-3bdfe85b85e9","order_by":1,"name":"Thanh-Tam Truong","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+0lEQVRIie3RMYvCMBTA8ZRAszyuawIFv8JzkRsKfpXn0qmb4CSlUMjkcat+jC66CoW61JuFW1oEpxtuEic1xfHO6G035D9kCPx4vIQxl+sf5nMvbwim4It87WW3S7QTwTU2YRUGUFFH5I2QxQQiU03EIzVP8Dnywr0MKfEB6/rYLnSaMpEvpXcqbbtkDdUh4OZt1S90KRlUE8nITnA066Zsl6rVa8lkMjDk00rk6MwBd8nBkFSy3tcThICDWd9XheZmCjwkGgkqMI88UPOPUmmIx68UX+6S3vtm355gOjRfeVCzSRoEoix231F8l/wytzvoD8DlcrlcP7sChZFOb7aH+i8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thanh-Tam","middleName":"","lastName":"Truong","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-19 12:53:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6484793/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6484793/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":90869724,"identity":"975b0648-e43d-4778-9913-d11d8f8d2428","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-09 08:01:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1022460,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ReviseArticle.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6484793/v1_covered_9dfe0ea6-ae5e-493e-bc49-83f404f61791.pdf"},{"id":90868740,"identity":"168b9146-f4dc-4bb9-b68d-4500f8949f25","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-09 07:53:02","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":95008,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Appendix.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6484793/v1/8a88ba184370d4b5abf75a51.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Assessing Financial Performance Disparities in the Vietnam Logistics Sector Amidst COVID-19: A Hybrid MCDM Evaluation Approach Using MEREC-COBRA","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"COBRA method, Financial Performance evaluation, logistics enterprise, MEREC method, Multi-criteria decision making","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6484793/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6484793/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in global supply chains, causing a 5.2% decline in global GDP and a sharp drop in merchandise trade. 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