Abstract
The study is focus on the management of community distilled liquor which is local wisdom and a cultural product in the form of a social business case study. The study explains the origin of liquor in Thailand, as well as the cause of the change in the crisis of the community business and the solutions, and expands the boundaries of knowledge to ensure an understanding about Thai local wisdom, which is a soft power with potential in knowledge from the past to the present along with the importance of using alcohol relevant to Thai traditions. This chapter integrates a social business to find the value to be provided to communities and stakeholders and anticipates business trends by applying a population ecology theory for business survival. Therefore, the benefit represents the ability to expand the soft power of the community distilled liquor to promote cultural knowledge and entrepreneurship, as well as applying the factors to conduct next studies.
TopIntroduction
Liquor in Thailand can indicate a status and social class. The term solidarity liquor is newly established to show that in terms of cultural tourism, liquor is more than merely a communication to consumers who choose to drink alcohol based on their social status, but it is a spiritual communication that connects to wisdom from the past to the present. The history of traditional liquor production in Thailand has evolved through the history of human beings who have acquired knowledge on rice farming. Humans use rice to ferment beer or liquor to satisfy the mood or momentary thoughts of the drinkers and consumers in order to determine possible behaviors after drinking. As a result, liquor has two roles in society: Something that makes people happy, or it may be narcotics that cause disadvantages to abusers. However, in some societies, apart from being auspicious or prohibited items, liquor is considered as one of controlled drugs, otherwise it would have adverse effects on drinkers. Therefore, liquor has a duality that is constantly in conflict in Thai society.
It is difficult to do the liquor business in Thailand due to legal prohibitions. Nevertheless, a social business refers to a business that generates income from all stakeholders in order to utilize profits to meet social missions that require assistance, while being able to contribute and develop their business to be able to survive sustainably. This is a form of business that creates value for society. Therefore, to operate the community liquor business does not expect to maximize profits (Agafonow, 2015). The community wants to inherit the culture and tradition of making liquor for ceremonies or taking part in the community's way of life. This way of life is an adaptation to understand the use of culture to match the behavior of community members or the needs of human life. Community lifestyles motivate consumption through symbolic and cultural media that may be derived from food or social activities (Maycroft, 2004). The engagement of the social conditions presents an expansion of the scope of business. The social business concept has gained popularity because of the non-profit social responsibility trend, philosophy for business sustainability, a not-for-profit community growth based on cultural values, and market dominance as an indicator of sustainable community performance (Herranz, Council, & McKay, 2010). The community must stimulate the grassroots economy and have cultural communication in order to inherit local wisdom for the development of cultural products in the future.
The objective of the study in this chapter is to conduct a case study through various fields of knowledge in order to gain understanding about the origin of the community distilled liquor and crisis arising from community enterprises, raise an understanding that solidarity liquor is a cultural product made from local wisdom in order to preserve the traditions of communities in each region of Thailand, as well as explaining the potential emerge of the distilled liquor economy in the future through the population ecology theory, with the aim of analyzing and finding solutions for the management of the community distilled liquor business in the future.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social Enterprise: The business that established for solving social and environmental issues. Social enterprise business must generate income for the business at a level that can continue to operate on their own, and support their financially sustainable. It also including encourage and develop people, social, or environment around the community. The social changes arising to improve their business and cope with changes which can be happed in the future.
Business Inertia: The inertia of business structures is the speed of restructuring is slower than the surrounding environment. The ability to run different businesses makes adapting to the context of each business not the same as well. Businesses must have the behavioral responsiveness and knowledge to survive and thrive in that environment.
Solidarity Liquor: Liquor that does not discriminate against the status of people. This sense is a local liquor born from community wisdom in Thailand. It is used in all kinds of Thai traditions and refers to liquor that unites everyone in the community through specific tradition and culture in each community.
Crisis Management: It defined as a situation that may affect the long-term capacity of a community group or organization or interfere with an ability to function normally. It is usually caused by external environments, such as natural disasters or epidemics.
Local Wisdom: Knowledge of people in community area which derived from experience and ingenuity of the ancestors or members. It including the knowledge that has been accumulated since the ancestors from generation to generation. There is an adaptation, apply, and change during inheritance. This may arise as new knowledge according to social, cultural, and environment.
Population Ecology: The reinforcement to the organization and an overview of what will happen to the organization as it changes over time. Thus, this study compares the characteristics of the organizational structure with the structure of the community which operates businesses.