Exploring the corporate sustainability process: a Thai perspective

Abstract

To explore the empirically derived relationships between sufficiency economy corporate sustainability measures and outcomes in an SME in Thailand, a case study approach is adopted to explore business processes at a 'sustainable' SME in Thailand. Interviews with management team members and key stakeholders were conducted. Findings as well as relationships among them are compared against a research framework based on a prior study by Kantabutra (2014). The sustainability process from the five predictors of perseverance, resilience, moderation, geo-social development, and sharing to sustainability performance outcomes has been identified and discussed. Moreover, the role of reasonableness, as a core of the sufficiency economy philosophy, has been identified and discussed throughout the process, extending the previous research by Kantabutra (2014). Moreover, the process by which geo-social development and sharing indirectly affects sustainability performance through stakeholder satisfaction, innovation and cost has also been identified and discussed. Business leaders can apply the sustainability process identified in the present study to enhance the sustainability prospect of their organisations. This study is among the first few studies that explore the process by which corporate sustainability indicators impact sustainability performance outcomes directly and indirectly.