Best Practice for the Success of Thai Character Business Development: Lessons from Successful Japanese Character Business

Abstract

This study is a qualitative research with a primary objective to find the ways to promote Thai
character business’s competitive advantage by employing a best practice from Japanese character
business. Additionally, it relies on literature review, as well as in-depth interviews with nine stakeholders
of Thai character business and four stakeholders of Japanese character business, to analyze and
compare the business situations and factors determining competitive advantage of Thai and Japanese
character businesses, to synthesize the best practice which contributes to Japanese character business’s
success and to create the possible practice for Thai character business based on such best practice.
The findings reveal that Thai character business is very small and has low competitive advantage due
to character design and marketing strategies which are not complied with consumers’ lifestyle and
lack of cooperation from other domestic businesses. In order to promote Thai character business’s
competitive advantage, entrepreneurs, professional associations, education institutes and public
sectors have to work cooperatively and improve their operations in accordance with the suggested
strategy map. This is the first study which focuses on Thai character business and tries to construct
the best practice for promoting Thai character business’s competitive advantage. Moreover, it sheds
more light upon what each stakeholder, entrepreneurs, professional associations, education institutes
and public sector, should do to promote Thai character business’s competitive advantage.