Sustainable Leadership at Thai President Foods

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION Corporate sustainability is becoming increasingly significant for business leaders, given many alarming factors including energy and resource shortages, global warming, unethical business practices, and enhancing corporate reputations (Wong and Avery, 2009). Numerous scholars (e.g., Avery, 2005; Kantabutra, 2006; Piboolsravut, 2004; Wilson, 2003) are seeking an alternative to the prevailing Anglo/US business model that promotes short-term, shareholder-value even if it arguably does not lead to sustained business success. Are there other approaches? In Europe, Rhineland capitalism is seen as an alternative philosophy to promote corporate sustainability (Albert, 1992). It is concerned about the long-term sustainability of an enterprise and its relationships with many interest groups, not just with shareholders (Albert, 1993). The search for corporate sustainability appears similar in Asia. One alternative is Japanese human capitalism, which with its strong employee focus, places Japan at the most advanced stage of capitalism (Ozaki, 1991). Another variation comes from South-East Asia, where governments take an active role in creating, shaping and guiding markets. Singapore is a highly successful example of this business model. There governments require firms to take considerable responsibility for social welfare of their employees (Stiglitz, 2002). In Thailand, the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, which aims at creating balance and sustainability for society, has been widely acclaimed as an approach to corporate sustainability (UNDP, 2007). Sustainability in business organizations goes beyond the traditional view of adding on being 'green' and 'socially responsible' to business-as-usual. Sustainable businesses need to do more than merely comply with internationally accepted rating systems such as ISO14001, the Triple Bottom Line or the Global Reporting Initiative. Instead, sustainability needs to be fully integrated and embedded in every aspect of the organization (Marrewijk and Werre, 2003). Avery's (2005) Sustainable Leadership Grid containing 19 elements offers a relatively comprehensive approach to assessing embedded sustainable leadership practices in organizations. The leadership philosophy and practices underpinning the Rhineland approach provide the research framework in the present study for examining business practices in one of the world's largest instant noodle manufacturers? The present study's purpose is to assess the applicability of this framework, developed from observations in western economies, to an enterprise in Thailand's less developed economy. Traditionally, sustainability grounds the development debate in a global framework, within which continuous satisfaction of human needs constitutes the ultimate goal (Brundtland, 1987). Accordingly, corporate sustainability refers to meeting the needs of a firm's direct and indirect stakeholders (e.g. shareholders, employees, clients, pressure groups, communities), without compromising its ability to meet the needs of future stakeholders as well (Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002). Towards this end, firms are required to maintain and grow their economic, social and environmental capital bases. Sustainability is not inevitably achieved at the expense of business performance, rather research suggests that adopting management practices aimed at promoting sustainability can enhance a firm's performance (Avery, 2005; Doppelt, 2003; Dunphy et al., 2003; Stone, 2000). In this paper, an enterprise is regarded as 'sustainable' when over time it meets the following three conditions: (a) delivering strong financial performance, (b) demonstrating the capacity to endure economic and social difficulties, and (c) demonstrating the capacity to maintain a leadership position in its relevant market (Avery, 2005). The research framework, the enterprise, research methodology and findings are discussed below. II. SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP: THE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK Given the enormous diversity of the world, it is usual to find different leadership philosophies operating in different regions, sometimes competing, sometimes coexisting. …

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