Abstract
As vocational and college-level institutions increasingly engage in applied research, digital learning resource development, and industry collaboration, institutional administrators must convert intellectual property (IP) awareness into institutionally supported practice. This study examines the relationship among administrators’ IP awareness, their participation in IP-related professional activities, self-reported application, and perceived enabling conditions in vocational secondary schools and colleges in Ho Chi Minh City. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design combined a survey of 113 administrators from 15 institutions followed by semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively selected administrators with at least five years of management experience. Quantitative results were used to identify patterns across four analytical domains, and qualitative evidence was subsequently used to explain areas of convergence, divergence, and implementation difficulty. The administrators reported strong awareness of IP’s institutional importance, but lower levels of regular participation and practical application, particularly in protecting research outputs and transferring innovative products. Internal policies, staff competence, specific legal guidance, external support, and inter-organizational collaboration emerged as enabling conditions. The study contributes an empirically grounded awareness-participation-application framework for understanding why favorable perceptions do not automatically produce IP governance capacity in vocational education. It recommends differentiated action by state management agencies and institutions, including operational guidance, internal rules, designated focal points, practice-oriented training, and external support networks.