The Implication of Transnational Communication Framework on Domestic Plastic Policy Understanding. A Study of Tourism’s SMEs in Thailand

  • Ahmad Mujafar SYAH Royal Docks School of Business and Law University of East London, United Kingdom
  • Liou-Yuan LI Faculty of Business Administration Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand
  • Muhammad SYUKUR School of Management Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand
  • Tai-Ju WU Graduate Institute of Business Administration Cheng Shiu University, Taiwan
  • Viphawanee BOON Faculty of Business, Economics, and Communication Naresuan University, Thailand

Abstract

Ironically, with an overwhelming usage of plastic shopping bags, and product packaging among Thailand’s small medium enterprises like the nation’s tourism street markets, literature, and informed practices on Thailand’s domestic plastic policy communications towards a policy understanding, are still insufficient. The current condition has eventually made this study possible. The research significance has reflected the diffusion of transnational communication framework towards domestic policy transfer and underscored a better attempt of policy understanding process especially towards tourism’s SME. The research employed a quantitative methodology with a total of 380 paper questionnaires distributed to SME sellers at Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok. While the research endeavored to exercise the policy communications evidence of two major plastic policies in Thailand (National 3R Strategy Campaign & Plastic Debris Management Plan 2017-2021), of 380 respondents, 300 (79% response rate) were validated and proceeded to the next sequence of the survey as they had knowledge about mentioned two policies. With three types of communications venues proposed (non-formal, semi-formal & formal) and targeting three different policy understandings (objective, subjective & overall policy understanding), the finding has shown that all proposed communication venues, although robustly designed by an applicable theoretical foundation, did not contribute to the plastic’s overall policy understanding. Nevertheless, formal communication venues contributed positively toward an objective understanding of the policy, and non-formal venues toward subjective understanding. Most significantly, the distinctive finding of this research is a strong argument that Thailand’s government has not fully deemed the effective strategy and framework for its domestic plastic policy transfer - notably to tourism’s SMEs.

References

[1] Allal, M. and Finnegan, G.1999. Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Thailand - Definitions and contributions. Working Paper 6. International Labour Organization. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/1999/99B09_432_engl.pdf
[2] Arinder, M. K. 2016. Bridging the divide between evidence and policy in public sector decision making: A practitioner's perspective. Public Administration Review, 76(3): 394-398. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12572
[3] Bandura, A. 1993. Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational psychologist, 28(2): 117-148. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2802_3
[4] Bunea, A. and Thomson, R. 2015. Consultations with Interest Groups and the Empowerment of Executives: Evidence from the European Union. Governance, 28(4): 517-531. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12119
[5] Burgess, J., Harrison, C. M. and Filius, P. 1998. Environmental communication and the cultural politics of environmental citizenship. Environment and planning A, 30(8): 1445-1460. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1068/a301445
[6] Buurma, H. 2001. Public policy marketing: marketing exchange in the public sector. European Journal of Marketing. DOI: 10.1108/EUM0000000006483
[7] Cairney, P., Oliver, K. and Wellstead, A. 2016. To bridge the divide between evidence and policy: reduce ambiguity as much as uncertainty. Public Administration Review, 76(3): 399-402. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12555
[8] Carlson, L., Grove, S. J. and Kangun, N. 1993. A content analysis of environmental advertising claims: A matrix method approach. Journal of advertising, 22(3): 27-39. DOI: 10.1080/00913367.1993.10673409
[9] Cook, F. L., Jacobs, L. R. and Kim, D. 2010. Trusting what you know: Information, knowledge, and confidence in Social Security. The Journal of Politics, 72(2): 397-412. DOI: 10.1017/S0022381610000034
[10] Crowley, D. M. and J. Taylor Scott. 2017. Bringing rigor to the use of evidence in policy making: Translating early evidence. Public Administration Review, 77(5): 650-655. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12830
[11] Glenn, T. 2014. The management and administration of government communications in Canada. Canadian Public Administration, 57(1): 3-25. DOI: 10.1111/capa.12057
[12] Haas, P.M. 1992. Introduction: epistemic communities and international policy coordination. International organization: 1-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300001442
[13] Head, B. W. 2016. Toward more “evidence‐informed” policy making? Public Administration Review, 76(3): 472-484. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12475
[14] Hohmann, R., et al. 2016. An exploration of the factors concerned with reducing the use of plastic carrier bags in Bangkok, Thailand. ABAC ODI Journal: Vision. Action. Outcome, 3(2): 162-181. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/270165496.pdf
[15] Holzinger, K. and Knill, C. 2005. Causes and conditions of cross-national policy convergence. Journal of European public policy, 12(5): 775-796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760500161357
[16] Howlett, M. 2009. Government communication as a policy tool: A framework for analysis. Canadian Political Science Review, 3(2): 23-37. Available at: https://ojs.unbc.ca/index.php/cpsr/article/view/134
[17] Kamuang, T. and Siriratpiriya, O. 2017. State of the 3Rs in Asia and the Pacific: The Kingdom of Thailand. United Nations Centre for Regional Development. https://www.uncrd.or.jp/content/documents/5695[Nov%202017]%20Thailand.pdf
[18] Koopthavonrerk, M. 2018. Barriers to Adoption of ‘No Plastic Bag’ Behavior by Supermarket Shoppers in Bangkok (Doctoral Dissertation, Thammasat University). Available at: http://ethesisarchive.library.tu.ac.th/thesis/2018/TU_2018_6002040290_10334_9998.pdf
[19] Kroll, A., and Moynihan, D. P. 2015. Does training matter? Evidence from performance management reforms. Public Administration Review, 75(3): 411-420. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12331
[20] Liang, Y. et al. 2021. An analysis of plastic waste trade and management in Asia. Waste Management, 119: 242-253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.09.049
[21] Liefferink, J. D., Jörgens, H. and Lenschow, A. 2014. Introduction: theoretical framework and research design. In: Jörgens, Helge, Andrea Lenschow, and Duncan Liefferink, eds. Understanding environmental policy convergence: the power of words, rules and money. Cambridge University Press.
[22] Menon, A. and Menon, A. 1997. Enviropreneurial marketing strategy: the emergence of corporate environmentalism as market strategy. Journal of marketing, 61(1): 51-67. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299706100105
[23] Mu, R., Li, Y. and Fu, Y. 2018. Can Government Communication Facilitate Policy Understanding Toward Energy Conservation? Evidence from an Old Industrial Base in China. Sustainability, 10(9): 3222. DOI:10.3390/su10093222
[24] Pintrich, P. R. 1999. The role of motivation in promoting and sustaining self-regulated learning. International journal of educational research, 31(6): 459-470. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-0355(99)00015-4
[25] Porumbescu, G. A., Lindeman, M. I., Ceka, E. and Cucciniello, M. 2017b. Can transparency foster more understanding and compliant citizens? Public Administration Review, 77(6): 840-850. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12790
[26] Porumbescu, G., Bellé, N., Cucciniello, M. and Nasi, G. 2017a. Translating policy transparency into policy understanding and policy support: Evidence from a survey experiment. Public Administration, 95(4): 990-1008. DOI: 10.1111/padm.12347
[27] Proshad, R., et al. 2017. Toxic effects of plastic on human health and environment: A consequences of health risk assessment in Bangladesh. International Journal of Health, 6(1): 1-5. DOI: 10.14419/ijh.v6i1.8655
[28] Rhodes, R. A. W. 1997. Understanding governance: policy networks, governance, reflexivity, and accountability. Buckingham: Open University Press.
[29] Risse, T. 2002. Transnational Actors and World Politics. In: W. Carlsnaes, T. Risse & B. Simmons. (eds.), Handbook of International Relations. London: Sage.
[30] Rose, R. 1991. What is lesson-drawing? Journal of Public Policy, 11: 3–30. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X00004918
[31] Singh, P. and Sharma, V. P. 2016. Integrated plastic waste management: environmental and improved health approaches. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 35: 692-700. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2016.07.068
[32] Van Waarden, F. 1992. Dimensions and types of policy networks. European Journal of Political Research. 21, 29-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1992.tb00287.x
[33] Veenman, S. and Liefferink, D. 2014. Transnational communication and domestic environmental policy learning. ESSACHESS–Journal for Communication Studies, 7(1): 147-167. Available at: https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/40660
[34] Villarrubia-Gómez, P., Cornell, S. E. and Fabres, J. 2018. Marine plastic pollution as a planetary boundary threat–The drifting piece in the sustainability puzzle. Marine Policy, 96: 213-220. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.11.035
[35] Wichaiutcha, N. and Chavalparit, O. 2019. 3Rs Policy and plastic waste management in Thailand. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 21(1): 10-22. DOI: 10.1007/s10163-018-0781-y
[36] Wolman, H. 1992. Understanding cross-national policy transfer: the case of Britain and the US. Governance, 5(1): 27-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1992.tb00027.x
[37] Zhengjia, N. 2018. A study of Chinese Tourists' Satisfaction and Revisiting Intention at Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok. Available at: https://e-research.siam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMBA-2018-IS-A-study-of-Chinese-Tourists-Satisfaction-and-Revisiting-Intention-at-Chatuchak_compressed.pdf
[38] Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C. and Griffin, M. 2010. Business Research Methods (8th ed.). Canada: Cengage Learning.
[39] British Plastics Federation. 2021. Plastics Applications. https://www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/applications/Default.aspx
[40] German Cooperation. 2021. Upstream solutions for the plastic pollution crisis in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. https://www.thai-german-cooperation.info/en_US/upstream-solutions-for-the-plastics-pollution-crisis-in-thailand-malaysia-and-indonesia/
[41] Greenpeace Southeast Asia. 2019. Policy Brief: Southeast Asia’s struggle against the plastic waste trade. https://www.greenpeace.org/southeastasia/publication/2559/southeast-asias-struggle-against-the-plastic-waste-trade/
[42] Ministry of Industry. 2002. White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises 2002. https://sme.go.th/upload/mod_download/whitepaper_2545_Eng-20171024122438.pdf
[43] Ministry of Tourism. 2018. Tourism receipts from International Tourist Arrivals Q1-Q4 in January – December 2018. https://www.mots.go.th/mots_en/News-link.php?nid=3627
[44] Pollution Control Department, 2015. Thailand State of Pollution Report 2015. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. (ISBN: 978-616-316-205-2). http://infofile.pcd.go.th/mgt/PollutionReport2015_en.pdf
[45] Thailand’s First Biennial Update Report. 2015. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/thabur1.pdf
[46] Tourism Authority of Thailand (2018). Chatuchak market. https://www.tourismthailand.org/Shop/chatuchak-market
[47] UNCRD. 2020. 10th 3R forum. Country 3R progress report – Thailand. https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/202011/UNCRD_10th%203R%20Forum%202020_Country%20Report_Thailand.pdf
[48] United Nations Environment Programme. 2018. Plastic planet: How tiny plastic particles are polluting our soil. UN Environment. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/plastic-planet-how-tiny-plastic-particles-are-polluting-our-soil
[49] United Nations. 2021. Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day. https://www.un.org/en/observances/micro-small-medium-businesses-day
Published
2021-09-10
How to Cite
SYAH, Ahmad Mujafar et al. The Implication of Transnational Communication Framework on Domestic Plastic Policy Understanding. A Study of Tourism’s SMEs in Thailand. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 5, p. 1155-1170, sep. 2021. ISSN 2068-7729. Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/6343>. Date accessed: 01 may 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.14505//jemt.v12.5(53).01.