Abstract:
The objective of this research was to study strategic platforms, success level and relationships between strategies and business success of machinery firms in Samut Prakan province in order to propose proper and effective strategies for entrepreneurs. The samples were 213 business owners or management teams whose firms were located in Samut Prakan province. Data were analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and chi-square statistic.
The results revealed that the majority of firms were SMEs with over 50 employees and having been operated for over 5 years. The respondents opinions toward the overall strategic platforms were at a high level while those on the improvement of goods and services were at the highest level. Moreover, the level of their business success on internal business process was rated high while the ability to leverage technology to its fullest was at the highest. For business growth aspect, most of the respondents agreed that their performance was better and gained more customers.
Hypothesis testing indicated that there were significant differences in firm sizes and types at the level of 0.05. Besides, all of the strategies including overall aspect, differentiation strategy, low cost strategy, improvement of goods and services strategy, customer relationship strategy and innovation strategy were correlated with internal business success at the significance of 0.01. The chi - square test indicated that all of the strategies were related to business performance and customer increase at the significance of 0.05 except for the improvement of goods and services strategy. It is also suggested that the improvement of products and services and the customer relationship should be adopted in business operation.