Value Co-creation for Strategic Development in Public Service: A Study of the OTOP Programme in Thailand

Abstract

OTOP (One Tumbon, One Product) is a grassroots enterprise development programme initiated by the Thai government that aims to promote the local economy by encouraging locals to create and sell products that use local resources. However, the programme's top-down execution has resulted in a lack of local involvement at the strategic level. Consequently, government-led activities and a one-sizefits-all approach can sometimes be irrelevant to the actual needs of locals, leading to an oversupply of certain types of support. To address this, this research proposes involving all stakeholders' viewpoints, including local authorities, entrepreneurs, and OTOP customers, in a bottom-up approach to co-create new value that can lead to new strategic development for the OTOP programme and mitigate the negative impact of the programme. As this research is part of doctoral research, it first explores current practices from the customer's point of view, with future work to be done with other stakeholders. This paper collected data from online questionnaires in nine areas: (1) attitudes towards OTOP products, (2) perceptions of the OTOP programme, (3) perspectives on the OTOP standard mark, (4) opinions on the working procedures of local authorities in providing support for local communities, (5) product accessibility, (6) buying decisions, (7) expectations for OTOP products, (8) effectiveness of brand touchpoints, and (9) value perception for the local brand. The findings are divided into two relationship groups: (i) between local authorities and OTOP customers, and (ii) between OTOP customers and enterprises. The research concludes potential strategies and emerging themes for both relationships, such as new training and communication methods, programme value-adding, new distribution channels, and customer engagement strategies.