Page 8 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

Executive Summary

The capitalist model of development, centered on market mechanisms and the pursuit of
maximum profit, has given rise to a number of systemic issues, including inequality,
environmental degradation, overexploitation of natural resources, and human exploitation. In
response to these challenges, social enterprises have emerged as a counter-current phenomenon.

However, fostering the growth of social enterprises within a capitalist context is by no means an
easy task. Nevertheless, a review of international experience suggests that when nurtured in the
right direction, social enterprises can grow successfully and become a viable alternative model
for economic and social development, one that leaves no one behind and promotes long-term
sustainability.

This study, supported by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), was carried out
between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. Its objectives are as follows:

1. To study successful examples of social enterprises in other countries in order to extract lessons
on key success factors, and to identify the ecosystems, contexts, and public policies that

contribute to cultivating high-impact social enterprises.
2. To examine successful social enterprises in Thailand and formulate strategies to foster their
growth, including an in-depth case study analyzing the supply chain in a selected industry.
3. To explore mechanisms for expanding the number of social enterprises in various forms.
4. To design a strategic research agenda and develop policy proposals aimed at establishing a
functional ecosystem for organizations involved in the development of social enterprises.
As the landscape of social enterprise in Thailand is highly diverse. It includes formally registered

businesses as well as unregistered entities that nonetheless contribute to solving social problems.
These include:

• General businesses whose production processes or products/services address social issues;
• Businesses with articles of association that mandate profit-sharing with society;
• Businesses that carry out documented Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities;
• Enterprises that aim to reduce social problems or employ marginalized individuals in ways

similar to registered social enterprises, despite not being officially registered with OSEP.

The scope of this study is intentionally broad in order to capture the overall evolution of the social
enterprise sector and to understand why many social enterprises choose not to register with the
Office of Social Enterprise Promotion (OSEP). However, for the purposes of quantitative analysis,
only those enterprises formally registered as social enterprises are included in the study
population. However, the in-depth statistical study focuses on social enterprises registered with

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