The Participation of the Elderly in Family Business with SMART Innovation: A Case Study in Lopburi Province

Abstract

This qualitative case study examined approaches to promoting older adults’ participation in household businesses in Khok Salung and Ban Mi subdistricts, Lopburi Province. The study employed secondary data analysis drawn from an action research report in which the author was directly involved. Three household businesses were purposively selected as case studies. Data were analysed using content analysis based on the five dimensions of the SMART Ageing Business Model: Smart Service, Smart Material Management, Smart Art of Storytelling, Smart Regulation, and Smart Technology. The findings indicated that older adults demonstrated particularly strong participation in the dimensions of Smart Service and Smart Art of Storytelling across all three cases. Older adults played active roles as service providers, knowledge holders, and storytellers who convey family and community identities, thereby adding value to products and services. In contrast, other dimensions of the SMART Model vary according to the specific contexts of each business. The study suggested that promoting older adults’ participation in household businesses should prioritise roles aligned with their capacities and life experiences, and that the SMART Ageing Business Model was most effective when applied as a flexible analytical framework rather than a fixed development model.