DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

The study examines how sustainable competitive advantage can be enhanced using strategic information practices and digital communication technologies in the Thai digital wellness and beauty industry. By analysing the behaviour of SMEs in dealing with digital information, patient use of social media...

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Main Authors: Jaruwan Lim, Sumaman Pankham
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Regional Association for Security and crisis management, Belgrade, Serbia 2025-03-01
Series:Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications
Subjects:
Online Access:https://oresta.org/menu-script/index.php/oresta/article/view/862
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author Jaruwan Lim
Sumaman Pankham
author_facet Jaruwan Lim
Sumaman Pankham
author_sort Jaruwan Lim
collection DOAJ
description The study examines how sustainable competitive advantage can be enhanced using strategic information practices and digital communication technologies in the Thai digital wellness and beauty industry. By analysing the behaviour of SMEs in dealing with digital information, patient use of social media platforms, and the implementation of communication technologies, the research investigates how these practices contribute to developing resilience, innovation, and sustained competitiveness in a data-driven market environment. A mixed-methods design was utilized. Expert interviews were conducted as the initial step, following the Rough Set e-Delphi methodology, with 21 experts focusing on key constructs related to the information-centric nature, including digital content strategy, social media involvement, and knowledge-based customer relationship management. The second phase involved a quantitative study of 652 SME entrepreneurs, utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine causal relationships. Key findings reveal that social media significantly enhances customer relationship management, while market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation positively influence innovation capability. Innovation capability and brand trust significantly increase the sustainable competitive advantage, while customer relationship management has a significant negative impact on sustainable competitive advantage, which suggests the need for more personalized and value-aligned CRM practices. Mediation analysis further indicates that customer relationship management fully mediates the effect of social media on sustainable competitive advantage, and innovation capability fully mediates the market orientation and sustainable competitive advantage relationship. The study findings can theoretically contribute to the literature in the field of strategic management by combining resource-based, market-based, and dynamic capability perspectives to explain them in the case of digital SMEs. In practice, the confirmed model can provide a set of recommendations to entrepreneurs, policymakers, and business strategists to improve SMEs' resistance to change and sustainability.
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spelling doaj-art-a49f88f95fb04a0986072c0bccd6dcbe2025-08-26T06:21:16ZengRegional Association for Security and crisis management, Belgrade, SerbiaOperational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications2620-16072620-17472025-03-0181DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK Jaruwan Lim0Sumaman Pankham1College of Digital Innovation Technology, Rangsit University, Thailand.College of Digital Innovation Technology, Rangsit University, Thailand. The study examines how sustainable competitive advantage can be enhanced using strategic information practices and digital communication technologies in the Thai digital wellness and beauty industry. By analysing the behaviour of SMEs in dealing with digital information, patient use of social media platforms, and the implementation of communication technologies, the research investigates how these practices contribute to developing resilience, innovation, and sustained competitiveness in a data-driven market environment. A mixed-methods design was utilized. Expert interviews were conducted as the initial step, following the Rough Set e-Delphi methodology, with 21 experts focusing on key constructs related to the information-centric nature, including digital content strategy, social media involvement, and knowledge-based customer relationship management. The second phase involved a quantitative study of 652 SME entrepreneurs, utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine causal relationships. Key findings reveal that social media significantly enhances customer relationship management, while market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation positively influence innovation capability. Innovation capability and brand trust significantly increase the sustainable competitive advantage, while customer relationship management has a significant negative impact on sustainable competitive advantage, which suggests the need for more personalized and value-aligned CRM practices. Mediation analysis further indicates that customer relationship management fully mediates the effect of social media on sustainable competitive advantage, and innovation capability fully mediates the market orientation and sustainable competitive advantage relationship. The study findings can theoretically contribute to the literature in the field of strategic management by combining resource-based, market-based, and dynamic capability perspectives to explain them in the case of digital SMEs. In practice, the confirmed model can provide a set of recommendations to entrepreneurs, policymakers, and business strategists to improve SMEs' resistance to change and sustainability. https://oresta.org/menu-script/index.php/oresta/article/view/862Operational ResearchDecision Support SystemsRough Set TheorySmall and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)Innovation CapabilityDigital Strategy
spellingShingle Jaruwan Lim
Sumaman Pankham
DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications
Operational Research
Decision Support Systems
Rough Set Theory
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Innovation Capability
Digital Strategy
title DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
title_full DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
title_fullStr DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
title_full_unstemmed DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
title_short DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MODELING AND SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS IN THAI SMES IN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY SECTOR: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
title_sort data driven decision modeling and sustainable competitiveness in thai smes in wellness and beauty sector an operational research framework
topic Operational Research
Decision Support Systems
Rough Set Theory
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Innovation Capability
Digital Strategy
url https://oresta.org/menu-script/index.php/oresta/article/view/862
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