Abstract:
ABSTRACT
This research aimed to study: 1) the level of internal environmental factor and competitive advantage of Chinese banquet entrepreneurs in Nakhon Pathom Province; 2) the internal environmental factor which affected competitive advantage; and 3) the development guidelines for competitive advantage. Mixed methods research was used in this study. In quantitative research, the sample was 118 Chinese banquet entrepreneurs calculated by Krejcie & Morgans formula. The sample was derived by stratified random sampling together with quota sampling. The research instruments were questionnaires constructed by the researcher with the content validity between 0.67-1.00. The reliability coefficients were 0.93 for internal environmental factor and 0.90 for competitive advantage. The statistics used were percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. For qualitative research, the 6 key informants derived by purposive selection were interviewed using an interview form constructed by the researcher. They were a consumer, a public health officer, an officer of Federation of Thai Industries, the President of Chinese Banquet Association, a food academic, and a business administration academic. The data were analyzed by content analysis.
The results showed that:
Overall the internal environmental factor of Chinese banquet entrepreneurs in Nakhon Pathom Province was at the highest level. When considering each aspect, all aspects were at the highest level. The aspects, in the descending order, were production, operation and internal management, and human resource management, marketing, and finance, respectively. Overall the competitive advantage of Chinese banquet entrepreneurs was at the highest level. The aspect, in the descending order, were differentiation, niche market, and cost leadership, respectively.
2. The internal environmental factor in the aspects of human resource management (X4), operation and internal management (X5), finance (X3), and marketing (X2) together predicted the competitive advantage of Chinese banquet entrepreneurs at the percentage of 71 with the statistical significance level of .05. The regression equation was Y ̂tot =1.12* + 0.17*(X4) + 0.24*(X5) + 0.18*(X3) + 0.18*(X2).
3. The development guidelines for competitive advantage of Chinese banquet entrepreneurs in Nakhon Pathom Province were: 1) in cost leadership, the ingredients should be supplied directly from the production source. The ingredients should be bought in large volume, and local and seasonal ingredients should be used. 2) In differentiation aspect, the entrepreneur should develop food deliciousness and cleanliness, more variety of menu, good services, and public relations in various media channels. 3) In niche market aspect, the marketing should focus on working age group. The entrepreneur should set the menu based on the customers need. Consumers need analysis should be done and the results should be applied for business improvement. Plating should be designed to promote food tasty looks.
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