The Roles of Female Involvement and Risk Aversion in Open Access Publishing Patterns in Vietnamese Social Sciences and Humanities

Abstract Purpose: The open-access (OA) publishing model can help improve researchers’ outreach, thanks to its accessibility and visibility to the public. Therefore, the presentation of female researchers can benefit from the OA publishing model. Despite that, little is known about how gender affects OA practices. Thus, the current study explores the effects of female involvement and risk aversion on OA publishing patterns among Vietnamese social sciences and humanities. Design/methodology/approach: The  study  employed  Bayesian  Mindsponge  Framework  (BMF) on a dataset of 3,122 Vietnamese social sciences and humanities (SS&H) publications during 2008–2019. The Mindsponge mechanism was specifically used to construct theoretical models, while Bayesian inference was utilized for fitting models. Findings: The  result  showed  a  positive  association  between  female  participation  and  OA  publishing probability. However, the positive effect of female involvement on OA publishing probability was negated by the high ratio of female researchers in a publication. OA status was negatively associated with the JIF of the journal in which the publication was published, but the relationship was moderated by the involvement of a female researcher(s). The findings suggested that Vietnamese female researchers might be more likely to publish under the OA model in journals with high JIF for avoiding the risk of public criticism. Research  limitations:  The  study  could  only  provide  evidence  on  the  association  between  female  involvement  and  OA  publishing  probability.  However,  whether  to  publish  under  OA  terms  is  often  determined  by  the  first  or  corresponding  authors,  but  not  necessarily  gender-based.Practical  implications:  Systematically  coordinated  actions  are  suggested  to  better  support  women and promote the OA movement in Vietnam.