STRATEGIES’ COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF ENTREPRENEUR IN FLOATING MARKET, CENTRAL OF THAILAND

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to study the operating conditions, problems, and operational barriers of entrepreneurs 2) to study the strategic entrepreneurship elements in creating a competitive advantage 3) to evaluate the strategic entrepreneurship elements, focusing on competitiveness, of floating markets in the central region of Thailand. The methodology used in this research was mixed methods, between Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research including a qualitative approach that involved conducting in-depth interviews with 15 respondents from managers of the community’s floating markets and entrepreneurs and the data analyzing by content analysis. The quantitative research collecting the data by using Accidental sampling was conducted with 500 samples from entrepreneurs in 5 floating markets located in the central region. The statistical data analysis consisted of frequency distribution, percentage, mean, standard deviation, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and suitability evaluation of the strategic elements using descriptive data analysis.
The results of the research revealed that 1) the operating conditions, problems, and operational barriers of entrepreneurs in the central region of Thailand: They delivered good quality of products and services with reasonable price and met customers’ needs. A modern financial system was used and stayed up to date on the latest technology, however, the entrepreneurs may lack the ability to learn and adapt to the current situation. 2) the strategies in creating the competitive advantage of the entrepreneurs in floating markets, located in the central region of Thailand, consisted of 8 elements as follows (1) strategy for implementing technology in the business (2) strategy to create products or unique ones. (3) continuous improvement strategy (4) quality-based strategy (5) right pricing strategy (6) strategy for building a healthy relationship with customers (7) location strategy (8) audience targeting strategy. 3) the evaluate of the strategic entrepreneurship elements in creating the competitive advantage of the entrepreneurs in floating markets, located in the central region of Thailand, showed that the entrepreneurs were at a suitably high level, and agreed on the proposed strategies elements. In conclusion, the outcomes of this research could be used as a guideline in order to create the competitive advantage of the community’s floating market, aiming to move the business towards success.