SOCIAL NETWORK, EXPLORATORY AND EXPLOITATIVE LEARNING IN ETHNIC MINORITY ENTERPRISES : CASE STUDIES OF LOCAL CULTURAL PRODUCT, NORTHERN THAILAND

บทคัดย่อ

     The network of Micro and Small Enterprises Development Policy in Thailand was formally launched in 2003 with the government supports, though, during the 20 years of development, some of them were no longer sustained especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study explored the elements of sustainable Ethnic Minority’s Micro and Small Enterprises Network (MSEs) and mapped out of the networking model by using the network analysis tool to explain the learning outcomes of the firm: the exploration or exploitation that will help them sustained until now. The research used a mixed-method. The data were collected by an in-depth interview, two MSEs networks in northern Thailand were selected as case studies. 30 people were interviewed; 15 members per network. Data were analyzed by using content analysis, constant comparison and confirmed by descriptive statistic for analyzing Social Network by using the number of network relationships from UCINET (2022). The research findings found that these two MSEs networks represented the characters of the Industrial Districts (IDs) Model; the geographical location, the coordination & competition, the network alliance, and new inventions. For the network development, each network had an external relationship with other institutes. However, internally, each network had different types of ties, levels of strength of strong/weak ties. One case was the business network the other one was social embeddedness. It confirmed by a number of network relationship for 0.4 and 0.7 of 1. These reflected the type of learning outcomes of networks as explorative and exploitative of knowledge respectively. This research results demonstrated that the sustainability of MSEs in this context came from the relationships in the networks and the innovative development of their products both exploration and application of the traditional knowledge.