Abstract:
This research aimed to 1) investigate key success factors of Thai SMEs entrepreneurs,
2) study their entrance into the markets of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam or CLMV countries,
and 3) find out problems and obstacles, and provide suggestions.
The samples, selected by Convenience Sampling, were 400 export entrepreneurs listed by
the Department of International Trade Promotion. The instrument for data collection was a
questionnaire. The statistics used for data analysis were Correlation analysis and Multiple
Regression Analysis. The results indicated that most of the respondents had been running their
business for 1-15 years with not over 30 million baht of investment value and 1-50 employees.
Their business sectors were retail trade, food and beverage industry and mining industry. The
factors correlated with their success were the corporate strategy, structure and competition,
operation or production factors, demand and government respectively.
Their first and foremost strategy applied to enter the CLMV markets was exporting their
products. Their choice for foreign direct investment by 100% of their investment capital was found
at a moderate level. The key success factors in entering the CLMV markets were the operation or
production factors, demand, force majeure or opportunities, related industries and support industries,
and government respectively.