ABSTRACT
The field research work behind these chapters was never conceived as a large small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sample survey. Such a survey would have required interviewing hundreds of SMEs active in different sectors and well distributed all over the country. In November 1997, despite its close subcontracting links with O.E.I., the major Japanese automotive contractor decided to cancel its orders from nearly 9,000 sets a month to nil. The major positive outcome from the whole crisis is that O.E.I. has been forced to drastically reduce its over-dependence on one single major automotive contractor. Sathien Shompoosri had been working in the area of technical planning for Toyota for ten years before quitting to help his father-in-law run his local business for a few years. The major component of the cost is plastic, and Thai plastic is more expensive than imported plastic. However, the government helps local producers by placing high tariffs on imports.
