The Development and Sustainability of the Automotive Parts Business in Thailand

Abstract

          This qualitative study explored the development, the trends of automotive parts, the people development and the sustainability of the automotive parts business in Thailand. The particpants all had experience of more than 20 years as Managing Directors, General Managers, Engineering Managers, and Human Resources Managers with companies or organizations which have been in operation for more than 20 years. It was a qualitative research design. The phenominological research strategy was selected to conduct this study by using an in-depth interview method with 19 participants.  A tape recorder was used, and the researcher transcribed and analyzed the data by applying manual coding. The major findings of the study according to four research questions about the development of the automotive parts business in Thailand were: The first discovery is the framework for the development of the automotive parts business which began from the beginning and expansion stage, later on the businesses were supportted by government, customers, Thailand’s infrastructure and Thailand’s economy, while automotive parts operation had to develope by managed 4Ms, improved continuously, trained and developed, the study found that the networks or connection between supporter and operation made the development of the automotive parts business. The second discovery is a framework for human resources development in the automotive parts business, people began by to recruit and select the right people, train and develop people, do organization managent, working in the same culture and values, do continuous improvement, finally evaluations and awards need to be provided for the motivation. The third discovery is a figure of the trends of the automotive parts business in Thailand, participants agreed that future will be EV, also raw material, automotive parts, energy, technology, environment and safety need to change to be aligned with the new EV trends. The last discovery is a figure of the sustainable development of the automotive parts business in Thailand, the things that should be done for the sustainability are for instance need to prepare human resources, policy from government, continuous improvement, evaluations and awards system and raw material etc. In conclusion, this study has contributed important new knowledge that benefits the current investments, new investors, CEOs or upper management, general managers, HR managers, engineering managers, academics and future research.