This paper provides an overview of the institutional structure of the business system of Vietnam. It explores the role of the state, the financial system, ownership and corporate governance, the internal structure of the firm (management), employment relations, education and skills formation, inter-company relations (networks), and social capital. It highlights the critical crossroads Vietnam is facing, after a period of steady growth, in a desperate effort to save its economy from going virtually bankrupt as a result of ideological ambiguity, cronyism, vested interests, corruption, poor governance, and the absence of stakeholders’ participation in the process of sustainable development of the country. This paper contributes to the business systems and varieties of state capitalism literatures and identifies institutional contingencies for comparative and international social science research in general.