Public-private partnership in sustaining Thailand's food industry development

Abstract

Over the past decade, the number of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Thailand has risen significantly. The ‘Thailand 4.0’ economic model and the ‘Food Innopolis’ project, a pilot project initiated to utilize PPP as a tool for research and development (R&D) in the food industry, constitute two initiatives that emphasize the role of PPPs as a means of modernizing the nation’s food industry. However, despite the importance of PPPs in the food-processing sector, Thailand’s academic literature has not yet discussed this management tool in sufficient detail, and the topic has received minimal discussion in Public Policy and Public Administration academic literature. This study fills this knowledge gap, discussing the role of PPPs in the development of Thailand’s food industry with particular attention to the Food Innopolis project.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of Thailand’s food industry; to study the existing pattern of PPP involvement in the Food Innopolis project; to investigate the problems, obstacles, opportunities, and challenges in utilizing PPPs in the development of the nation’s food industry, and; to propose strategic measures to sustain the development of Thailand’s food industry in accordance with the ‘Thailand 4.0’ strategy.This study employs an exploratory descriptive research design, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methodology. The methodology was selected due to its suitability in portraying the qualities and experiences of the study subjects to discover the real nature and characteristics of the phenomena. Qualitative data was obtained through 5 structured interviews with government officials in administrative roles, and 9 interviews from board members of participating private businesses in Food Innopolis project. Quantitative data was gathered through self-completion questionnaires, with a total of 200 respondents from private companies operating in the Thai food industry. The quantitative questionnaires were designed to reaffirm and to gauge the convergence of findings from the quantitative interviews.

Findings offer some insight into the dynamic of the relationship between the public organizations and private companies involved in the Food Innopolis project. Study data distinguishes four types of partnerships within the Food Innopolis project. These are: partnerships for research, innovation and technology; partnerships for value chain development; partnerships for business consulting and services, and; partnerships for HR and talent mobility. Problems, constrains, opportunities, and challenges in various aspects were also identified and analyzed to formulate policy and practical recommendations to enhance the utilization of PPP in Thai food industry, as well as strategic measures to enhance value derived from the partnerships that benefit all stakeholders and sustain future Thai food industry development.

However, since this study is an exploratory descriptive research, which is a type of research that focuses on explaining the occurrence of phenomenon in a descriptive manner, therefore, the result of the research will not be able to measure the relations between variables or factors that cause or effect on the success or failure of the project. Conducting further quantitative research will then be beneficial to the determination of reasons for the success or failure of the PPP mechanism in public services.

Keyword: Public-Private Partnership, Food Industry, Food Innopolis