Graduate School of Business and Advanced Technology Management , Assumption University
Abstract
The awareness of sustainability is increasing in people across the world. Business needs to incorporate social responsibility practices in its product or process, while there is a new type of business called Social Enterprise (SE) that has a main mission aligned with sustainable development goals. SE shares common characteristics with the typical business but aims to solve social and environment problems in specific areas. This paper aims to explore key success factors of SE in Thailand as it can benefit future research and practitioners. The main research question is the key success factors for SEs in Thailand. Samples were purposively selected from Thai SEs listed in SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand) Social Impact that has been operated on for more than five years. These organizations were categorized into seven groups. Each group had organization representatives voted for the most successful organization among them. There were seven organizations and 12 participants in this study. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using theory-driven thematic analysis. There were 63 emerged themes according to McKinsey's 7s framework, namely: strategy, shared value, system, structure, staff, skill, and style. The outcomes of this study reflected characteristics of SE, the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, and healthy organization. Researchers in this field can use the quantitative study to confirm the themes of this study, using phenomenology to study living experiences. Practitioners can consider the results as a guide to developing and managing SE in Thailand