2023 Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 81-96
The Thai government launched Thailand 4.0, a long-term growth strategy aimed at overcoming the middle-income country trap through industrial upgrading and the ensuing transition to a high-income economy. Accordingly, three eastern provinces have been designated as special economic zone, and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) was chosen as the flagship project of the aforementioned strategy. A Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy that leverages Thailand’s competitive advantages was established as the new national agenda in 2021. In the business domain, PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), a typical resource-dependent public corporation whose core business is fossil fuels, is under pressure to adapt to various business environmental changes, such as climate change issues.
In consideration of these matters, this research examined PTT’s shift in business strategy in relation to the Thai government’s recently announced national plan and derived its implications for the nature of innovation in the country, focusing on government–private sector partnerships. To these ends, focus was directed toward the innovation hub called Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECi), developed in the EEC. In response to the changing business environment, PTT has revised its vision and is actively diversifying its business into future energy directions, such as the Electric Vehicle (EV) supply chain, and new business avenues, including the life sciences. The EECi is one of the principal innovation initiatives of the Thai government, following Thailand 4.0 and BCG Economy. It involves creating an innovation ecosystem in collaboration with PTT and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA). We discuss what the Thai government’s future role should be in guiding private sector innovation toward leveraging Thailand’s comparative advantage in the global economy.
