From Needs to Impact: Designing and Testing a Short-Format Curriculum for Sustainable Competitiveness in Thai F&B SMEs

This mixed-methods research and development (R&D) study designs and evaluates a short-format curriculum to strengthen sustainable competitiveness in Thailand’s food and beverage (F&B) SMEs. Phase 1 diagnosed capability gaps via a survey of 400 owners/managers and 20 key-informant interviews, identifying five priority domains: market adaptation, digital/technology application, product/process innovation, financial management, and sustainability aligned with circular/BCG principles. Phase 2 translated these needs into an eight-hour online curriculum integrating digital marketing, financial discipline, and sustainability-oriented innovation; six experts reviewed the program, confirming strong content validity and delivery feasibility. Phase 3 implemented a single-group pretest–posttest evaluation with 35 SMEs. Knowledge scores improved significantly (t = 6.86, p < .001), yielding a large within-participant effect (dz ≈ 1.16). Self-reported skills rose consistently across domains (posttraining means = 3.80–4.13 on 5-point scales), and participant satisfaction was high (4.6–4.8). The study contributes a needs-to-impact pathway that (1) operationalizes RBV/dynamic-capabilities logic into concrete managerial routines and (2) integrates sustainability with digital and financial practices in a time-efficient format. Findings suggest that targeted, practice-oriented, short-format training can deliver substantial learning gains and actionable skills for SMEs in an emerging-economy context, informing program design and policy scaling.