Applying ISO26000 and the sufficiency economy philosophy to measure the sustainability of state owned enterprises in Thailand

Abstract

This study intends to construct a composite index for the government, in order to assess and improve Thai State Owned Enterprises (SOEs)'s financial performance, operations, and ethical behaviours; according to the sustainability definition as put forward by Coblentz (2002). The construction of the index follows the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s approach, and was compiled by surveying existing literature related to ISO 26000, the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, and the Sustainable Balanced Scorecard (SBSC). After in-depth and semi-structured interviews with the experts, the data from 55 SOEs during the period 2010 to 2017 were statistically tested. The resulting index was composed of four dimensions namely, leadership which focuses on ethics and balanced growth; sustainable strategic management; managing finances with balance and sufficiency; and good governance and the promotion of responsibility and sufficiency within SOEs. The assessment results from this index will benefit the government in terms of the determination of policy and lead to improvements to SOEs' sustainability.