Vol. 1 No. 2 (2020): July-December 2020

Foreword

          Globalization/Regionalization and Digital Transformation in the context of COVID-19 pandemic continue to be the major themes in this second issue of the Journal of ASEAN PLUS⁺ Studies.

          The authors from China ASEAN Studies of PIM (CASPIM), one of the most active think-tanks on China ASEAN in the country, ponder how resilient globalization might be, and the positive and negative impacts of the pandemic, in the case of Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) in Thailand.  

          On the front of regionalization, Poonsap Naknaka and Praphon Jearakul present the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and highlight 6 of its 26 regional centers. They also elaborate the implications of these centers on Thai higher education institutions in areas such as training and R&D projects.

          Digital transformation will bring about higher level of integration between human labor and AI/Robot, on line shopping behavior of the new consumers, Omni channel marketing, and innovations in product development for the suppliers. 

          Tatcha Sudtasan et al. survey the perceptions of senior managers in Thailand on the abilities of human labor viz-a-viz robots or AI, and construct a path of digital transformation with a matrix of cost and productivity. Chirawut Lomprakhon et al. study the on line shopping behavior through mobile applications in Bangkok and extract six important factors for decision making of the shoppers. Kritsana Lakkhongkha pays attention to the business of sports apparel and equipment in Thailand and explains how the “Omni Channel” strategy may be applied for the generations of the “Digital Native” or the “Digital Immigrants”. Thawat Ratyotha et al. introduce OTOP (One Tambon One Product) products, the community products of Thailand, and discuss the related innovation of product development as well as its value adding process. 

Prof. Dr. Zhimin Tang

Editor-in-Chief