Dominant growth barriers for small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand | |
| Author | Tana Chanyatipsakul |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.DBA-SOM-13-02 |
| Subject(s) | Organizational change--Thailand Small business--Thailand Marketing--Management--Thailand |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation;no.DBA-SOM-13-02 |
| Abstract | Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand play an important role as the key enterprises that generate the gross domestic product (GDP). With the largest number of enterprises, Thai SMEs also employ the biggest part of the workforce in this country Therefore this study is worth to evaluate and study in-depth on how these enterprises were born and have developed along their life cycle. Although many previous academic scholars have been studying many key factors to monitor on how to do the business successfully, this study focused on how these small and medium sized enterprises confront with their dominant growth barriers in each period time. Gathering the knowledge body from many literature reviews, this study has applied the knowledge of organizational life cycle (OLC) to be as the guideline to capture each one of the growth barriers that obstruct the firms in each significant time. To facilitate an in-depth study of each barrier characteristic and their affect to growth of the firm, this study has been designed to apply the qualitative using cross cases study methodology. The study focused to collect the empirical data from the field study by applying an in-depth interview with all the founders of the Thai SMEs in all segments. There were nine firms, three firms in each sector, had participated in this study. To strengthen the finding, the research design also has covered the data collection from other stakeholders, which were two government agencies, three financial institutes and, another one of private organization. With carefully considering on the reliability and validity of the study, the data triangulation and methodological triangulation have been applied in this study. The study has found that there were basically four stages of the organizational life cycle, which were pre-start-up, start-up, growth, and decline stage. The study has been designed to monitor how the Thai SMEs were born to understand in depth of the firm formation and the root causes of the dominant growth barriers after the market entry period. Therefore this study has also presented the pre-start-up stage before the market entry of the Thai SMEs. There were four driving over confidences that motivate the new Thai SMEs entrepreneurs to establish a newborn small business which were the overconfidence of having long term experiences, overconfidence of business opportunities realization, overconfidence of having education background, underestimation of the challenge that comes with starting up the Thai SMEs entrepreneurs’ own businesses. These all four elements were considered as the first dominant growth barrier consider as the entry mistake of the Thai SMEs owners. After the firms enter into the market there were four growth barriers that dominantly obstructed the firm to be developed in the start-up period. Those were having market penetration difficulty, having difficulty to search good supplier, having difficulty to recruit good quality human resources in operating level, having skill human resource resign to other larger firm or more competitive firm. The study also has found that there were five dominant growth barriers in the growth stage of the firm which were having difficulty to gather financial resource supports and having difficulty in managing financial resources, having shortage of production capacity, having missed-investment, having difficulty to recruit human resource in operation level and management level and the lack of work system. In the decline stage, the lack of company risk factors analysis and protection was the growth barrier of the firm. Based on all the mentioned dominant growth barriers characteristics in each stage of the organizational life cycle, the proposed strategies to overcome those all dominant growth barriers have been formulated and have been discussed in details. The finding of all the dominant growth barriers in each stage of the firm life cycle together with the proposed strategies formulation in this study should be benefit and being as the guideline warning sign to many new entrepreneurs who desire to own a business by themselves. It would be a good knowledge body for all the existing of Thai SMEs in the different stage of the firm to have well preparation to confront with the high possibility barriers that might obstruct the firm to grow larger. Furthermore the findings would facilitate all other stakeholders like the government agencies to understand wider and in-depth of the problems, which were confronting the Thai SMEs. More precise future business development policy of the government might be designed from the knowledge body of this study. Finally the finding of this study would generate more opportunities either a new or the current Thai SMEs to grow larger with sustainability in longer term rather than being obstructed and excluded from the entire markets. |
| Year | 2013 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology.Dissertation;no.DBA-SOM-13-02 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Management |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Publication code = DBA-SM, SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Winai Wongsurawat; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh;Supasith Chonglettham; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2013 |