Factors Related to Being a Smart Enterprise in the New Generation of Agricultural Community-based Enterprises

Abstract

The objectives of the research were to study; 1) the operational practices of the new generational agricultural community-based enterprises, 2) opinions about smart agricultural community-based enterprises
3) the relationship between the operation of the new generational agricultural community-based enterprises and opinions about those enterprises and, 4) problems of and suggestions for new generational smart agricultural community-enterprises. The sample set consisted of 60 entrepreneurs who work in new generational agricultural community-based enterprises. Data were collected by interview, and were statistically analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Chi-square test. The results of the research revealed that almost all of the entrepreneurs were female, of age 51 years old and older, and were married. Further, most of them had completed secondary school or an equivalent, and their businesses were operating at a healthy level with income of more than 300,000 Baht/year, and expenses of less than or equal to 100,000 Baht/year. Most of them had been conducting their business for a year. The study of the overall opinion of entrepreneurs showed the high level (mean 4.36). Hypotheses testing revealed that average income was related to the opinion of the smart enterprise operators at the significance level of 0.05 (p-value = 0.046). Moreover, the results indicated that the main problems faced by the entrepreneurs who ran the new generational agricultural-based enterprises related to knowledge and technology. Finally, the suggestions of the study were that the government sector and/or related agencies should provide learning facilities and technology for the new-generational farmers to help them build up their knowledge base, to better develop new products, and to improve group cooperation in order to be more competitive in the future.