Sustainable business model strategy for resilience among pisciculture firms in Thailand

Figures & data

Figure 1. Final sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) model.

Table 1. Summary of respondents’ characteristics (FCPSs).

Batch	Gender	Central region of Thailand (Province)	Respondents’ role	Number of interviews	Percent of total interviews	Average interview length (Minutes)
1	Male	Kanchanaburi	FCPS	12	11.0%	39
2	Male	Ayutthaya	FCPS	9	8.3%	36
3	Male	Nakhon Pathom	FCPS	8	7.3%	32
4	Male	Ratchaburi	FCPS	8	7.3%	34
5	Female	Kanchanaburi	FCPS	6	5.5%	34
6	Female	Ayutthaya	FCPS	7	6.4%	35
7	Female	Nakhon Pathom	FCPS	5	4.6%	30
8	Female	Ratchaburi	FCPS	6	5.5%	32
	Subtotal	61	55.9%	34
	Grand total	109	100.0%	32

Abbreviation: FCPSs - Fish-cage pisciculture start-ups.

Table 2. Summary of respondents’ characteristics (customers).

Batch	Gender	Central region of Thailand (Province)	Respondents’ role	Number of interviews	Percent of total interviews	Average interview length (Minutes)
9	Male	Kanchanaburi	Customer	5	4.6%	35
10	Male	Ayutthaya	Customer	4	3.7%	30
11	Male	Nakhon Pathom	Customer	5	4.6%	32
12	Male	Ratchaburi	Customer	4	3.7%	30
13	Male	Bangkok	Customer	2	1.8%	32
14	Female	Kanchanaburi	Customer	5	4.6%	34
15	Female	Ayutthaya	Customer	4	3.7%	33
16	Female	Nakhon Pathom	Customer	4	3.7%	30
17	Female	Ratchaburi	Customer	4	3.7%	32
18	Female	Bangkok	Customer	3	2.8%	32
	Subtotal	40	36.9%	32
	Grand total	109	100.0%	32

Abbreviation: FCPSs - Fish-cage pisciculture start-ups.

Table 3. Summary of respondents’ characteristics (regulators).

Batch	Gender	Central region of Thailand (Province)	Respondents’ role	Number of interviews	Percent of total interviews	Average interview length (Minutes)
19	Male	Kanchanaburi	Regulator	1	0.9%	30
20	Female	Ayutthaya	Regulator	1	0.9%	30
21	Male	Nakhon Pathom	Regulator	1	0.9%	30
22	Male	Ratchaburi	Regulator	1	0.9%	30
23	Male	Pathumthani	Technological Expert	2	1.8%	30
24	Male	Bangkok	Business Expert	2	1.8%	30
	Subtotal	8	7.2%	30
	Grand total	109	100.0%	32

Abbreviation: FCPSs - Fish-cage pisciculture start-ups.

Figure 2. Thematic and direct content analysis flow.

Figure 3. Design of the innovative feeding machine system.

Figure 4. Workflow and components of the innovative feeding machine system.

Figure 5. Innovative feeding machine system used during market and usability testing.

Table 4. Average performance obtained from applying the innovative feeding system over six months (total costs and cost element details).

Cost Element	Manual feeding (TBM)	Feed with innovative feeding machine (SBMI)	Calculation details and performances (%):
Increase/Decrease
Feed cost (USD/Year)	3,856.24	3,040.12	[(3,040.12–3,856.24) / 3,856.24]*100 = −21.16%
Labour cost (USD/Year)	475.36	237.68	[(237.68–475.36) / 475.36]*100 = −50.00%
Utility cost (overhead and electricity energy costs included) (USD/Year)	238.04	242.54	[(242.54–238.04) / 238.04]*100 = +1.89%
Maintenance cost (USD/Year)	270.00	265.50	[(265.50–270.00) / 270.00]*100 = −1.67%
Medical treatment and prevention cost of fish diseases (USD/Year)	1,512.20	1,512.20	[(1,512.20–1,512.20) / 1,512.20]*100 = 0.00%
Total Cost	6,351.84	5,298.04	[(5,298.04–6,351.84) / 6,351.84]*100 = −16.59%

* Exchange rate = 33.6596 THB per 1 USD (exchangerates.org.uk, 2022).

Table 5. Average performance obtained from applying the innovative feeding system over six months (total cost, volumes, profit, ROI, ROS).

Item	Manual feeding (TBM)	Feed with innovative feeding machine (SBMI)	Calculation details and performances (%): increase/decrease
Total Cost	6,351.84	5,298.04	[(5,298.04–6,351.84) / 6,351.84]*100 = −16.59%
Fishery Yield (Kg/Year)	3,266.08	3,290.32	[(3,290.32–3,266.08) / 3,266.08]*100 = +0.74%
Fishery Price (USD/Kg)	2.67	2.67	[(2.67–2.67) / 2.67]*100 = 0.00%
Sales Revenue (USD/Year)	8,720.43	8,785.15	[(8,785.15–8,720.43) / 8,720.43]*100 = +0.74%
Profit	2,368.59	3,487.11	[(3,487.11–2,368.59) / 2,368.59]*100 = +47.22%
Return on Investment (Percentage)	37.29%	65.82%	[(0.6582–0.3729) / 0.3729]*100 = +76.51%
Return on Sales Revenue (Percentage)	27.16%	39.69%	[(0.3969–0.2716) / 0.2716]*100 = +46.13%

*Exchange rate = 33.6596 THB per 1 USD (exchangerates.org.uk, 2022).

Table 6. Key results regarding the adoption of the SOI model and SBMI in the pisciculture sector in Thailand (innovation objective).

Approach	Operational optimization ‘eco-efficiency’	Organizational transformation ‘new market opportunities’	System building ‘societal change’
Innovation Objective	FCPSs aim to optimize their operations, reflecting an internally-oriented sustainability perspective, but through novel operations and incremental innovation driven by the pursuit of efficiency.	FCPSs focus on novel processes and business models by implementing good and novel practices to enable the transformation from TBM to SBMI, but still emphasize both existing and new markets.	Even though effective and wider collaborations are being sought, it is still not possible to have a sectoral innovation system (SIS) for the pisciculture sector in Thailand.

Abbreviations: FCPSs – fish-cage pisciculture start-ups; SOI – sustainability-oriented innovation; SBMI – sustainable business model innovation; SIS – sectoral innovation system; TBM – traditional business model.

Table 7. Key results regarding the adoption of the SOI model and SBMI in the pisciculture sector in Thailand (innovation outcome).

Approach	Operational optimization ‘eco-efficiency’	Organizational transformation ‘new market opportunities’	System building ‘societal change’
Innovation Outcome	Reduction in feed and labour costs and harm from wastewater, and increase in productivity and hygienic quality of farming.	Creates shared value, but does not benefit the wider society because this system is limited to the fish-cage pisciculture sector, which has currently emerged in only some provinces of Thailand. There are also restrictions on disseminating knowledge at the national level because FCPSs encounter limited access to resources and inefficiency in building strategic partnership networks through SIS for the pisciculture sector in Thailand.	It is still limited in creating a net-positive impact from partnership-led networking at the SIS level for the pisciculture sector in Thailand.

Abbreviations: FCPSs – fish-cage pisciculture start-ups; SOI – sustainability-oriented innovation; SBMI – sustainable business model innovation; SIS – sectoral innovation system; TBM – traditional business model.

Table 8. Key results regarding the adoption of the SOI model and SBMI in the pisciculture sector in Thailand (relationship between innovation and a firm).

Approach	Operational optimization ‘eco-efficiency’	Organizational transformation ‘new market opportunities’	System building ‘societal change’
Relationship between innovation and a firm	Apply SBMI with incremental innovation to business as usual, but FCPSs need to support closed networking relationships among strategic partners.	Fundamental shift in firm purpose emerged in some industrial sectors, wherein entrepreneurial innovators acted as leaders and influencers to transform their business models.	Creating and supporting the relationship between the fish-cage pisciculture sector and strategic partnership through innovation is insufficient and ineffective in strengthening and sustaining SIS for the pisciculture sector in Thailand.

Abbreviations: FCPSs – fish-cage pisciculture start-ups; SOI – sustainability-oriented innovation; SBMI – sustainable business model innovation; SIS – sectoral innovation system; TBM – traditional business model.

Data availability statement

Data will be made available on request due to privacy/ethical restrictions. The data are not publicly available because they contain information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.