The causal factors of transformational leadership and sufficiency economy philosophy practice influencing the performance of coast tourism business in Thailand

Abstract

Purpose

Transactional leadership and old-school management practices may not answer the changes in today’s world. Therefore, the study aimed to examine the influences of transformational leadership and the practice of sufficiency economy philosophy (SEP) on the performance of the coast tourism business in Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

The population of this study comprised all Thai coast tourism businesses. Using simple random sampling, the quantitative data were collected from 407 coast tourism businesses in Thailand as the samples. Transformational leadership, SEP practice and business performance were adapted from the literature. Path analysis and factor confirmation including a correlation matrix were used to test the causal factors influencing the Thai coast tourism business’s performance.

Findings

Transformational leadership, SEP practice and performance of coast tourism business in Thailand were on a high level. Moreover, there were positive influences of transformational leadership (direct and indirect) and SEP practice on the coast tourism business’s performance.

Practical implications

Tourism business managers should pay attention to transformational leadership and SEP practice to lead to better performance for their businesses. Policymakers should educate businesses about new management practices to prepare for the changes in the future.

Originality/value

The findings of this study demonstrate that stakeholder theory can be used to explain the positive influences of transformational leadership and SEP practice on the coast tourism business’s performance in Thailand.

Citation

Suttipun, M. (2024), "The causal factors of transformational leadership and sufficiency economy philosophy practice influencing the performance of coast tourism business in Thailand", Management & Sustainability: An Arab Review, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MSAR-06-2024-0047