Recent decades have seen the growth of several streams of reform Buddhism among the urban middle class in Thailand. They can be categorized along two dimensions which give a sort of psychographic profile of followers of the streams. The different movements have similar views toward personal...

Thailand's recent coup was not received favorably in the West, but many parts of Thai society support it, including small business. The Bank of Thailand's Business Sentiment Index (BSI) has improved greatly since the coup in May. In late 2013 and early 2014, anti-government protests and...

This discussion looks at how strong spirituality provides role models to women entrepreneurs in Kuwait and Thailand. Although they lag some parts of the world at closing the gender gap (WEF 2016), both Kuwait and Thailand are among the leaders in their respective regions (MENA, ASEAN). However,...

ASEAN aims to build an integrated digital economy, which, in theory, will bring substantial benefits to companies in the region. However, not all companies may benefit equally from the dual trends of digitization and globalization. This paper investigates how Thai SMEs feel about their prospects...

This chapter examines the application of Buddhist principles by women small business owners in Bangkok. Kuan Im is the Thai-ized Kuan Yin from China, a prominent bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism famous for her compassion. She was brought to Thailand by Chinese immigrants over several centuries,...

Thailand and Egypt have seen some striking parallels in the past few years, culminating in military overthrows of elected governments, acts which were widely supported by the middle classes. This paper examines middle class thinking behind opposition to the governments, and subsequent support...

The West usually portrays Thailand’s coup negatively. Middle class Thai generally regard it as last-chance attempt to save Thailand from becoming a failed state. Middle class Bangkok originally supported Thaksin, but turned against him in late 2005. Middle class support originally was...