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Social and environmental accounting research manifests varying levels of awareness of critical global problems and the need to develop alternative approaches to dealing with economy and society. This paper explores Buddhist thought and, specifically, Buddhist economics as a means to informing this debate. We draw on and expand Schumacher's ideas about ‘Buddhist economics’, first articulated in the 1960s. Our analysis centres on Buddhism's Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and associated Buddhist teachings. The examination includes assumptions, means and ends of Buddhist approaches to economics; these are compared and contrasted with conventional economics.To consider how thought and practice may be bridged, we examine a practical application of Buddhism's Middle Way, in the form of Thailand's current work with ‘Sufficiency Economy’.Throughout the paper, we explore the implications for the development of social accounting, looking for mutual interactions between Buddhism and social accounting thought and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that both leisure and sustainability objectives can be achieved via Buddhist economics informed agritourism. Buddhist economics differs significantly from mainstream (neoclassical) economics in its ontological underpinning. This means that assumptions about human nature are different: the core values of mainstream economics are self-interest and competition in the pursuit of maximum welfare or utility; while in Buddhist economics, “self” includes oneself, society and nature, which are all simultaneously interconnected. The core values of Buddhist economics are compassion and collaboration through which well-being is achieved, leading to higher wisdom (pañña). Because of this, the interconnectedness of activities and relationships, even those not initially obviously so linked, is crucial.

The theoretical argument is illustrated by a pilot study of an agritourism, package tour to visit the properties of Thai farmers involved with a project known as “running a one rai farm to gain a one hundred thousand baht return”. The research is exploratory in character.

A result of this study is to reveal agritourism as a significant market channel to promote sustainable agriculture.

Agritourism can be considered an instrument for rural development with its contribution to positive economic impacts, providing economic opportunities to sustain financial security for the farming family, maintaining viability of the agricultural sector and local communities and creating jobs for rural residents together with sustainable agriculture.

The aim of this paper is to propose a basis upon which accounting reporting can be developed to reflect real values and the real economy. It aims to address the environmental considerations discussed in the UN debate (Bebbington and Unerman, 2020) and the concern for a “better life-world”, which is the theme of this special issue.

Addressing the task involves the application of the philosophy of pragmatic constructivism (which explains how people can relate to their reality in ways that lead to successful action) and the philosophical concept of the “good life” (which establishes the values to be pursued through action and so defines action success). Also, it outlines the necessary characteristics of measurement frameworks if they are to be effective in the development and control of human practices to achieve desired values.

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for guiding the measurement of how a sustainable good life has improved and/or deteriorated as a result of organisational activities. It outlines a system of concepts on basic and instrumental values for analysing the condition of maintaining a sustainable good life in real terms. This is related to the financial results and societal regulations to analyse and adjust controls according to the real economic goals. Also, it provides a system of value measurands to produce valid information about the development of a sustainable good life. The measurand makes accounting reporting reflect the conditions of the good life that constitute the real economy instead of merely the financial economy driven by shareholder capitalism. Providing tools to analyse whether the existing practices of business and social regulations promote or counteract the real economic goals of producing a sustainable good life means the measurement system proposed makes the invisible hand of the market visible.

The mechanism proposed to enable accounting reporting to reflect real values and the real economy is a new conceptual framework that will allow accounting to more fully realise its potential to contribute to a “better world”. In aiming to serve a sustainable good life, accounting reporting will inherently foster ethical social practices.

While most efforts to combat climate change are focussed on energy efficiency and substitution of fossil fuels, growth in the built environment remains largely unquestioned. Given the current climate emergency and increasing scarcity of global resources, it is imperative that we address this “blind spot” by finding ways to support required services with less resource consumption.

There is now long overdue recognition to greenhouse gas emissions “embodied” in the production of building materials and construction, and its importance in reaching targets of net zero carbon by 2050. However, there is a widespread belief that we can continue to “build big”, provided we incorporate energy saving measures and select “low carbon materials” – ignoring the fact that excessive volume and area of buildings may outweigh any carbon savings. This is especially the case with commercial real estate.

As the inception and planning phases of projects offer most potential for reduction in both operational and embodied carbon, we must turn our attention to previously overlooked options such as “build nothing” or “build less”. This involves challenging the root cause of the need, exploring alternative approaches to meet desired outcomes, and maximising the use of existing assets. If new build is required, this should be designed for adaptability, with increased stewardship, so the building stock of the future will be a more valuable and useable resource.

This points to the need for increased understanding and application of the principles of strategic asset management, hitherto largely ignored in sustainability circles, which emphasize a close alignment of assets with the services they support.

Arguably, as the built environment consumes more material resources and energy than any other sector, its future configuration may be critical to the future of people and the planet. In this regard, this paper seeks to break new ground for deeper exploration.

The aims of this study are to study the problems and challenges of community enterprises; to analyze their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; and to examine the guidelines of strategy management for community enterprises.

The authors utilized a qualitative method using in-depth interviews with 25 community enterprises and a focus group of 10 specialists to discuss strategy management of community enterprises, then analyzed the data using content analysis and descriptive analysis.

The study found that community enterprises face numerous problems, such as marketing challenges and the inability to transfer businesses to the next generation. However, the strong points of community enterprises include the involvement and support of a lot of government agencies and the opportunity presented by consumer requirements for the handicraft of goods and products. In this paper, the authors recommend eight strategic guidelines for the management of community enterprises; they also recommend that the government use the model of the Bangsai Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Centre of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand to set up policies that support community enterprises.

This study will be beneficial for the Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative, Royal Thai Government, as a guideline for support of community enterprises in Thailand, and this study will benefit other countries with similarities to Thailand.

This study aims to measure the Thai approach of corporate sustainability. In the corporate world, the Thai philosophy of Sufficiency Economy can be applied to ensure corporate sustainability. Derived from the literature, a structural model expressing relationships between six independent variables of Sufficiency Economy indicators and three dependent variables of sustainability performance outcomes is formed accordingly, followed by hypotheses to be tested.

The model is tested through a random sample of 294 chief executive officers (CEOs) in Thailand who were asked to respond to a questionnaire. Factor and regression analyses are adopted to test the hypotheses.

Findings indicate that “perseverance” and “resilience” are two direct predictors of three sustainability outcomes of the firm’s enhanced capacity to deliver strong performance, endure social and economic crises and deliver public benefits. “Geosocial development” is a direct predictor of firm’s enhanced capacity to deliver public benefits and an indirect predictor of firm’s enhanced capacity to deliver strong performance and to endure social and economic crises. “Moderation” is an indirect predictor of the firm’s capacity to endure social and economic crises, while “sharing” is an indirect predictor of all three sustainability performance outcomes.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises business leaders should develop a “perseverance” culture in their organizations and practice “resilience” to enhance their corporate sustainability prospect. Moreover, they should adopt “geosocial development”, “moderation” and “sharing” practices in their organizations, as these practices positively affect corporate sustainability performance directly or indirectly.

This study is among the first few studies that identify corporate sustainability performance predictors.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a formal set of information technology (IT) governance practices based on sufficiency economy philosophy (SEP) to support the generic context for Thai universities.

The research methodology in this study is divided into two main phases that are conceptualization and operationalization. In the phase of conceptualization, the authors reviewed literature related to the implementation of IT governance in universities and the principles of SEP in order to conceptualize an initial idea of IT governance on the basis of SEP. In the phase of operationalization, the authors performed in-depth interviews with the CIOs of 20 universities, five IT experts, and five SEP experts in order to verify the proposed concept.

This study provides two key findings: the IT governance practices based on SEP for Thai universities and the mapping of IT governance practices based on SEP with ISO/IEC 38500.

The total of 65 practices presented in this study can be used as a guideline for handling of IT governance issues in Thai universities.

This study provides university IT governance practices based on the principles of SEP that is widely accepted and highly appreciated in Thailand.

The purpose of this paper id to examine the successful community development by enabling people to help themselves so that they could increase their career opportunities and recover the fertile natural environment previously lost through overstraining the local ecosystem. Sustainability is of central importance for many countries in the world. Especially developing countries need to strive for sustainability and continuity in their economic, social and political systems. This paper aimed at identifying sustainable human resource development in relation to the Huay Sai Royal Development Project initiated by His Majesty the King Bhumipol Adulyadej of Thailand as a case study.

This study was a case study. Data were collected from documents, interviews and project visits. Then, the analysis was made by document analysis and observation during the study visit, and the information from the interviewees was recorded and transcribed in the Thai language. Some information from the interviews was then added to the analysis to confirm the case that the project had generated sustainable development and encouraged a better life for the local people.

It was found that the nature of people development for sustainability in the project was based on two central themes: people-centered development and whole system-focused development. People-centered development aims to make people succeed in their life. The latter theme aims at helping people become social beings that are willing to place societal concerns before personal interests. This reflected the eastern approach of people development, which puts people and their mindset at the center of development. Other findings pertaining to the methods of people development showed that action learning was a central method of development.

The Sufficiency Economy and people-centered development served as an alternative development path, pursuing balanced growth based on development from within and on the accumulation of knowledge. The main thrust emphasized development from within, self-protection, conservation, caution and moderation, which called for the sustainable use of resources and concern for the social and environmental impact of economic decisions. This contributed to the action learning approach that the success of the project was not only economic returns but also the learning process to which the people engaging in dialogue could share their problems and develop solutions for themselves and for each other.

There were three key success factors that can be seen in the case. First, the development approach was aligned with the lifestyle and local wisdom of the people. Second, this project promoted step-by-step development, beginning with building a good basis for the people at the individual level. Lastly, the initiation of the project stemmed from an in-depth study of the problems in the area and action research, with a closely coupled monitoring system by which feedback was always fed into the study center.

It could be noted that the Sufficiency Economy and people-centered development served as an alternative development path, pursuing balanced growth based on development from within and on the accumulation of knowledge. The main thrust emphasized development from within, self-protection, conservation, caution and moderation, which called for the sustainable use of resources and concern for the social and environmental impact of economic decisions.

The Sufficiency Economy strengthened sustainability as a goal and means of development; the ultimate goal of the development was to develop people to help themselves to become self-reliant. The means of this development were participatory development through a wide variety of methods and the use of local knowledge as a basis for cultivation. Sharing knowledge made people feel more empowered and encouraged them to change their basic attitudes and behaviors. Once people changed their mindset, they became able to enhance their potential. They also had the power to make choices in their life.

This chapter assesses the regional and national approaches to improving food security for rice consumption in West Africa.

Using the Arkansas Global Rice Model and the RICEFLOW frameworks, we examine the consequences of pursuing self-sufficiency in rice. National rice development strategies have been designed to double the 2008 rice production levels by 2018. The Coalition for African Rice Development and the Africa Rice Center have assisted 23 nations in developing national strategies. We evaluate the strategies of 15 nations for rice land expansion and intensification to increase yields for regional self-sufficiency.

West Africa accounts for nearly 25% of global rice imports. The elimination of rice imports reduces global rice prices. Results show that achieving self-sufficiency in West Africa is inefficient at the global level. However, if self-sufficiency makes domestic rice uncompetitive with imported rice, then West African consumers will demand a significant price discount for domestic rice, thus reducing benefits to producers and consumers.

Because of the partial equilibrium nature of this study, the consequences for diversification of West African diets are not explored. Although beyond the scope of this chapter, a coordinated policy sequencing approach toward enhancing productivity and quality of rice production – as well as increasing investment in infrastructure, institutions, and emergency food reserves – should be studied more thoroughly to achieve food and nutritional security for West Africa.