OPERATIONS TO ENHANCE THE POTENTIAL OF OTOP ENTREPRENEURS TOWARD THAILAND 4.0 IN SONGKHLA PROVINCE

Abstract

This research is a quantitative study using a survey method to examine the operations aimed at enhancing the potential of OTOP entrepreneurs in the Thailand 4.0 context within Songkhla Province. The objectives of this study were to 1) Investigate the outcomes of development initiatives aimed at enhancing the potential of OTOP entrepreneurs, 2) Compare the entrepreneurs' capabilities before and after participating in the capacity development program, 3) Explore the entrepreneurs’ attitudes toward being Thailand 4.0 entrepreneurs, and 4) Examine the relationship between the entrepreneurs’ potential and their attitudes toward becoming Thailand 4.0 entrepreneurs in Songkhla Province. The sample consisted of 50 potential OTOP entrepreneurs selected through simple random sampling from 16 districts in Songkhla Province. The research instrument was a
five-level Likert scale questionnaire. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, dependent t-test, and Pearson correlation. The findings revealed that 1) OTOP entrepreneurs in Songkhla Province had a high level of satisfaction with the training overall ( = 4.398), with the highest satisfaction in the area of knowledge application, 2) After the training, the entrepreneurs demonstrated a significantly higher level of overall potential ( = 4.347) compared to before the training, with statistical significance at the 0.01 level across all aspects , 3) The entrepreneurs’ attitudes after the training were at the highest level ( = 4.622), particularly the belief that online business is essential for the new generation ( = 4.760), and 4) There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the entrepreneurs' potential and their attitudes toward becoming Thailand 4.0 entrepreneurs.