Challenges Rice-Farmer Entrepreneurs Face in Agricultural Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, in Northeast Thailand

Abstract: Thailand's reign as the world's top rice exporter for three decades has come to an end since 2011, as the country experienced a decline in market share without recovery. Despite this, empirical studies on the rice agricultural entrepreneurial ecosystem in developing nations, especially in Thailand, remain scarce. Our research examines the interconnection between challenges faced by key elements within the entrepreneurial ecosystem and their impact on overall performance. Through semi-structured interviews with six teams of rice-farmer entrepreneurs, complemented by an interview with a government officer from Thailand's Rice Research Center in Sakon Nakon, and analysis of publicly available online information, we employed the Gioia Research Methodology to identify common themes and aggregate dimensions using first- and second-order categorization. Our findings and analysis shed light on the interconnected nature of challenges within the current rice-farmer entrepreneurial ecosystem and their influence on Thailand's rice industry performance. Furthermore, we present anticipated outcomes resulting from addressing these challenges, along with proposed avenues for further research and actions to invigorate the Thai rice industry and regain its global market-leading position.