Knowledge management model on empowering group management of a successful leading pomelo farmer group, northeast Thailand

บทคัดย่อ

Pomelo orchard is not popular and limited to produce in Northeast Thailand, but one group of pomelo farmer in Chaiyaphum province has been successful in exporting pomelo to abroad. How this group is able to manage pomelo production for local and export market is an interesting question. This study believes that their knowledge management is one of the key for their success. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to understand knowledge management processes and to formulate the knowledge management process model on empowering group management of this group of pomelo farmer. This study collected data from August 2014 to July 2015 by group interview. The discussion with five key informants was used to understand the context of pomelo farmer group while in-depth interviews were used with seventeen households out of 47 pomelo farmer households to identify knowledge management practices. The participant observations during the interview were also included. Data collected indicated that even though original knowledge on empowering group management were from outside their community, success factors particularly on empowering group management were within their own group and community context. These factors were leadership, network, regular, learning platform, trial and error, informal meeting. These factors allowed effective knowledge flows in both horizontal and vertical fashions. Their tacit knowledge and knowledge sharing flows were possible through social space and shared two-way communication while tacit knowledge was captured to produce explicit knowledge on some issues. Thus, enable researchers to formulate the knowledge management model on empowering group management of a successful leading pomelo farmer group, northeast Thailand. This model may be applied to another group management.