Date of Award
2020
Degree Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Information Systems and Technology, PhD
Program
Center for Information Systems and Technology
Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair
Tamir Bechor
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Lorne Olfman
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Sonya Zhang
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Pakdee Manaves
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Rights Information
© 2020 Watanyoo Suksa-ngiam
Keywords
Agriculture, Digital Capabilities, Digital Economy, Digital Innovation, Digital Transformation, Thailand
Subject Categories
Economics | Public Policy
Abstract
The Thai government has been attempting to move the country out of the middle-income trap through digital economy strategies. Among these strategies, digital innovation is the most central. Leveraging digital capabilities in the agriculture industry, a sector that a large number of low-income farmers work in, conveys digital innovations to farmers. Digital innovation is expected to increase farmer incomes and ultimately help the country step out of the middle-income trap. This dissertation aimed to 1) identify the major challenges of digital economy transformation, 2) develop a model that explains digital agriculture innovations, 3) apply the model to real use cases of digital transformation, and 4) identify a set of lessons learned from the entire research model that can guide policymakers to leverage digital capabilities to advance the agriculture industry. The dissertation identified how digital capabilities might improve farmer welfare by using multiple case studies. Three cases were studied individually and then synthesized into a data model. The participants covered five groups of stakeholders: developers, government officers, mid-tier employees, user farmers, and non-user farmers. The findings provide a data model explaining the practices of digital agriculture innovations. Moreover, the results guide policymakers to invest in and implement digital strategies to advance the agriculture industry and help lift the middle-class economy. Digital policies, strategies, and investment programs can be implemented in the agriculture sector and applied to other industries such as automobile, healthcare, and tourism.
ISBN
9798645446833
Recommended Citation
Suksa-ngiam, Watanyoo. (2020). Thailand’s Digital Economy Transformation: Rectifying the Middle-Income Trap by Leveraging Digital Capabilities in the Agriculture Industry. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 611. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/611.
