A Proposed Method to Develop Good Governance Attributes of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) for Higher Education Students

Abstract

This research aims (1) to study current conditions relating to practices of good governance attributes of Thai SMEs and (2) to study perception, recognition and presentation of methods to develop good governance attributes of SMEs for higher education students. The data was collected by using interviews and surveys from the samples including higher education students who were studying in the fields of entrepreneurship, business owners, trading and management of SMEs since the third year up in a total of one hundred people and entrepreneurs in SMEs who won good governance award of the year during 2008-2014 in a total of five people. The data was analyzed by statistics, frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation and content analysis.

The research results can be found that the students had perception and recognition in good governance attributes of SMEs in a single dimension by focusing on practices in good governance of SMEs that relates to good governance in a good level. This reflects that these students had morality, ethics and good governance in their good natures. However, considering a crossroad between realization of profits and good governance in responsibility on stakeholders, it indicates that the students focused on realization of profits over the issue of good governance. Therefore, developing students on good governance attributes of SMEs should be focused on creating a balance between these two factors through three good practice guidelines including good practices on (1) Employee (2) Consumers or Customers and Partners (3) Society and Environment on the basis of six principles of good governance including (1) Accountability (2) Ethics (3) Participation (4) Rules of Law (5) Value for Money and (6) Transparency.