Satawat Bunyasiriroj

Composition of the Jury

Abstract

Social enterprise aligns with the principles of sustainable development and aims to organically reduce social problems and generate impact by combining non-profit social organization mechanisms with more economic logics. This topic is particularly important for service-based social enterprises, where strengthening knowledge networks (link strength), which includes internal and external knowledge transfer processes, leads to the creation of economic and social value through the organization's absorptive capacity. Currently, there is no published empirical research in this area and in the context of service-based social enterprises in Thailand. One gap is identifying the strength of different links within knowledge networks and the types of knowledge (content-based) relevant to the organization's absorptive capacity in the context of service-based social enterprises. Another gap is the missing link between link strength, absorptive capacity based on knowledge type, and value creation in service-based social enterprises. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach was used. First, a qualitative research approach explores the different types of link strengths within the network of Thai service-based social enterprises, their absorptive capacity, and their relationship to various types of knowledge. This exploratory case study approach identifies the types of links and describes the roles and characteristics of each link type within service-based social enterprise networks (business links, social enterprise links, etc.). Furthermore, it examines the role of absorptive capacity in service-based social enterprises in greater depth. It also explores the types of knowledge (content-based) transferred within Thai service-based social enterprise networks (social enterprise management knowledge, technological knowledge, etc.). The qualitative findings reflect a degree of contextual sensitivity, which helps to better understand the implications of these additional links and knowledge types in this new context. They are used to develop research hypotheses and a theoretical model, which is then tested in the quantitative section. The second part of this study adopts a quantitative approach to investigate the relationships between ties strength, absorptive capacity associated with different types of knowledge, and value creation (social and economic) for service-based social enterprises in Thailand. A survey was used to collect data from a sample of 72 social enterprises. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) based on partial least squares modeling. The unit of analysis was the organizational network level. The empirical results highlight the positive relationships between ties strength, absorptive capacity according to knowledge type, and value creation. Absorptive capacity acts as a mediator between ties strength and value creation in service-based social enterprises, underscoring its importance and the role of managers in these contexts. Furthermore, the practical results of this research should help social enterprises to better formulate and implement effective knowledge transfer strategies that allow them to better integrate existing knowledge for more effective decision-making and policy development. This can lead to improvements in the sustainability and social impact of Thai social enterprises.

Read the thesis