Modernizing Batik Clothes for Community Enterprises Using Creative Design and Colorimetry

The objective of this study was to modernize batik clothes, a cultural heritage of Southeast Asia, through creative design, color characterization, and collection presentation. Three community enterprises from the southern regions of Thailand participated in designing batik motifs based on their local identities. The pattern of the first manufacturer group was influenced by stones and ancient beads of vivid orange and blue shades. The second community was inspired by the nearby sea, resulting in ocean blue, white, and emerald green colors on batik fabrics. Floras in the south of Thailand dominated the design of the final manufacturer group. Smartphone colorimetry was then used to characterize the batik fabrics. It was demonstrated that this proposed color quantification was not confined to the laboratory, and could easily be carried out by vendors or customers. The collaboration encouraged local batik artisans to use a variety of inspirations, new tools, as well as professional design and production methods. To introduce modernized batik to the public, collections of these newly designed clothes were displayed in a fashion show staged under the theme “Southern Chic.” The presentation of Thai batik clothes in seasonal collections highlighted the transformations of local manufacturers and products with increasing appeal to younger people. In addition to conservation and commercial advantages, the modernized approach is accessible and attractive for education purposes, engaging students in cultural heritage. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01319 Full Text: PDF

Community Enterprises: Enduring Institutions for a Newer World

<p>Community enterprises have long endured. Why they have endured and why there are undergoing a renaissance is explained by the very nature of their constituent parts: a sense of self, a love of and the need for community, the pursuit of solidarity, and enterprise attributes. These are the driving forces behind community enterprises, which have melded together to deliver significant benefits to many New Zealand communities over many years. Although community enterprises are not for every enterprise circumstance and every community, they reflect underlying truths of human nature, and when successfully employed, will endear themselves to their communities. When unsuccessful, they may generate strong emotions of rejection. This thesis explores these themes and their relevance to contemporary New Zealand society. It pursues the question of why some communities have a strong affinity for the concept of community enterprises and others do not; and argues for their importance as a complementary structure in a global world rightly and properly dominated by private enterprise. Distinctive features of community enterprises, including ownership, the pursuit of mixed economic and social goals, and the influence of politics, are also examined. Finally, the thesis tells the dynamic story of community enterprises in contemporary New Zealand through eight vignettes and four case studies. This thesis supports a contention that community enterprises are enduring and endearing institutions that can significantly benefit the well-being of a community.</p>

Community Enterprises: Enduring Institutions for a Newer World

<p>Community enterprises have long endured. Why they have endured and why there are undergoing a renaissance is explained by the very nature of their constituent parts: a sense of self, a love of and the need for community, the pursuit of solidarity, and enterprise attributes. These are the driving forces behind community enterprises, which have melded together to deliver significant benefits to many New Zealand communities over many years. Although community enterprises are not for every enterprise circumstance and every community, they reflect underlying truths of human nature, and when successfully employed, will endear themselves to their communities. When unsuccessful, they may generate strong emotions of rejection. This thesis explores these themes and their relevance to contemporary New Zealand society. It pursues the question of why some communities have a strong affinity for the concept of community enterprises and others do not; and argues for their importance as a complementary structure in a global world rightly and properly dominated by private enterprise. Distinctive features of community enterprises, including ownership, the pursuit of mixed economic and social goals, and the influence of politics, are also examined. Finally, the thesis tells the dynamic story of community enterprises in contemporary New Zealand through eight vignettes and four case studies. This thesis supports a contention that community enterprises are enduring and endearing institutions that can significantly benefit the well-being of a community.</p>

Farmers’ perception of rice production community enterprise’s roles: evidence from Chachoengsao Province, Thailand

Rice production community enterprises (RPCEs) have emerged in Thailand as a group initiative supported by the government to help address the challenges of rice farmers in rural areas. However, farmers still faced problems due to a lack of targeted programs and policies to improve the enterprise’s roles in the community. This study investigated farmer-members’ perception of an RPCE’s specific roles. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 201 farmers in Sanam Chai Khet District, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Data were analyzed using the weighted average index (WAI) method to assess the farmers’ perception of the RPCE’s roles. Results reveal that RPCE members have a strong perception of the enterprise’s role in increasing their income. Other roles such as knowledge and skills improvement, supplying inputs at a fair price, increasing social network, product competition with rivals, and provision of credit facilities, were rated as medium, demonstrating the considerable efforts exerted by RPCEs to improving its members. Moreover, a weak rating was given by members for the enterprise’s role as a saving source implying that government should further intensify its support for RPCEs in terms of promoting the saving behavior among members. This study suggests that stronger policy support should be given to upgrade RPCEs based on how members perceived them. This would encourage more member participation and secure more benefits and income for members of the community enterprise.

Sustainability Indicators for Community Enterprises Producing Renewable Energy in Thailand

This study aims to propose sustainability indicators for community enterprises producing renewable energy in Thailand by applying the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) as a conceptual framework. The literature review, a survey of the community enterprise producing renewable energy, and the assessment by eighteen experts and academics were able to summarize nineteen sustainability indicators for community enterprises producing renewable energy in Thailand which could be divided into six perspectives: (1) financial perspective of three indicators (2) stakeholder perspective of three indicators (3) internal process perspective of five indicators (4) learning and growth perspective of two indicators (5) social perspective of two indicators (6) environmental perspective of four indicators. Community enterprises producing renewable energy in Thailand can use these sustainability indicators to set their operational goals or management plans. In addition, government sector and related agencies are able to use the sustainability indicators as guidelines for the formulation of appropriate policies or measures to jointly develop and support community enterprises producing renewable energy in Thailand to self-reliance and achieve more sustainable success, affect strengthening the grassroots economy, reducing the negative social and environmental impacts of non-renewable energy production and use, increasing energy security.

Strategic guidelines for community enterprise development: a case in rural Thailand

Purpose In spite of the government’s support for small-scale rice farmers in rural areas of Thailand, several problems still affect their production and marketing performance. This study aims to assess a rice production community enterprise (RPCE) through an in-depth investigation of its problems and capabilities; and formulate internal strategic guidelines for enterprise development. Design/methodology/approach This study used a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with the community enterprise leader and committee members, and focus group discussion with eight farmer-members, purposively selected in Chachoengsao, Thailand. Data were transcribed, sorted and organised to determine themes and patterns. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) matrix situational analyses were done to develop strategic options. Strategic guidelines were formulated through a final deliberation with all members to ensure strategies aligned with the enterprise’s goals and objectives. Findings The results have identified three main problem categories encountered by the community enterprise in the areas of membership and labour; production and milling operations; and product design and marketing. The enterprise’s main strengths and opportunities include its product certifications and support from external organisations. Strategic points were developed, and policy support programmes are recommended for capacity building and product development as most problems identified relate to these aspects. Originality/value The utility of this study is its focus on an RPCE. The findings will help policymakers and concerned government agencies implement better programmes and policies to develop RPCEs. Furthermore, this study will be a source for future qualitative literature that will provide helpful information to other studies aiming to develop other types of community enterprises (CEs).

Interpreting community enterprises’ ability to survive in depleted contexts through the Humane Entrepreneurship lens: evidence from Italian rural areas

PurposeDoing business in depleted contexts requires the adoption of an unconventional strategic orientation based on the involvement of the local community and driven by the attainment of economic, environmental and social goals. Previous studies have explored the specific nature of community enterprises (CEs); notwithstanding, little attention has been paid to the understanding of the strategic posture adopted by community entrepreneurs to overcome difficulties and make the business up. In this vein, the study aims to investigate how CEs operating in depleted contexts manage to survive, by successfully achieving multiple – conflicting – goals.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted the Humane Entrepreneurship (HumEnt) framework as a form of institutional entrepreneurship where resources are leveraged to evolve the institutional context. This research adopts the case study strategy, focusing on Italian rural CEs.FindingsThe HumEnt approach, which takes into account both economic and non-economic and altruistic values of entrepreneurs, turned as better suited – compared to other approaches – to explain why people try to make business in such high-risk contexts. Second, the holistic approach of the HumEnt framework allowed catching up the particular mechanism that has enabled the CEs to obtain positive achievement.Originality/valueThe adoption of the HumEnt perspective enabled us to understand better the way CEs may survive and even grow where other initiatives have failed.

Community enterprise consumers’ intention to purchase organic rice in Thailand: the moderating role of product traceability knowledge

PurposeOrganic rice forms the largest portion of the Thai organic food market. Because of its increasing popularity, marketers need to better understand consumer behaviour to address emerging concerns regarding product safety and quality and to tailor better marketing strategies relevant to the development of organic rice. As such, this study aims to examine consumers' purchase intention towards organic rice, using traceability information, and to investigate the direct and moderating roles of product traceability knowledge, using the theory of planned behaviour.Design/methodology/approachResponses were collected from 243 organic rice consumers in a farmers' market in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand, following a convenience sampling approach. The gathered data were analysed using structural equation modelling to evaluate the strength of the relationship between the constructs.FindingsThe findings reveal that subjective norms, health consciousness and product traceability knowledge have a significant positive influence on consumers’ intention to purchase organic rice. This study also establishes the moderating role of product traceability knowledge in perceived behavioural control and purchase intention, indicating that elaborated product information through traceability is essential for consumers who feel capable of buying the product. However, the direct effects of attitude and perceived behavioural control are insignificant, indicating the presence of external barriers to the purchase of organic rice, and that people may have a negative attitude towards the product. In addition, the cost perception result reveals that consumers consider price as an indicator of organic product quality, thereby increasing their desirability.Social implicationsThe findings of this study will help community enterprises in Thailand develop a more effective marketing strategy based on the identified motivators of organic rice purchase intention.Originality/valueThis study develops a model that integrates important factors related to organic food consumption to generate a more comprehensive analysis of this mainstream research. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first study to investigate the moderating role of product traceability knowledge to obtain a new and more focused understanding of how this factor influences purchase intention when applied explicitly to organic food. Finally, the findings provide theoretical contributions and implications for both the community enterprise and policymakers on developing strategies for organic rice marketing among community enterprises in Thailand.