Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage industry play an important role in advancing economic, social and environmental sustainability in emerging economies. However, many resource-endowed SMEs remain unable to translate their potential into sustainable business outcomes. This study examines the factors influencing the business sustainability of food and beverage SMEs in Northeastern Thailand and explains how organizational capabilities are hierarchically structured to create sustainable competitive advantage. A mixed-methods design was employed. Qualitative in-depth interviews with entrepreneurship-incubation experts informed the development of the research instrument, while quantitative data were collected from 401 entrepreneurs in the three highest-GPP provinces: Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani. Structural equation modelling was used to test causal relationships among strategic planning, finance and accounting, leadership, business knowledge, product development and external factors. The model demonstrated acceptable fit and explained 92% of the variance in business sustainability. Strategic planning emerged as the strongest direct driver, supported by business knowledge and product development as complementary capabilities. In contrast, finance, leadership and external factors showed no significant direct effects, suggesting indirect or contextual roles. The study proposes a Planning-Centric Sustainability Model and contributes to Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities perspectives in emerging economies.

This empirical study aimed to examine the relationship between dimensions of customer-based hostel brand equity based on Aaker’s (1991) conceptual framework in the context of Thailand’s economy hostels owned by locals. A sample of 400 Thai tourists who have experienced staying at hostels was chosen to test the hypothesis using the purposive sampling method. The results showed that brand association had the positive effect on other proprietary asset, whereas brand awareness had the least effect on perceived quality. The key findings were significant as they contradict the literature for large-sized or chained hotels. The research implications also highlighted the need for hostel managers to perform marketing activities to strengthen the brand association and proprietary brand assets to gain competitive advantage, particularly for budget travelers that have become increasingly information-savvy, knowledgeable in brand choices, and demanding in using social media to review traveling experience.

This systematic literature review synthesizes existing knowledge on wellness tourism, a sector increasingly influenced by demographic, technological, health-related, and environmental changes. The adaptation of wellness tourism to these evolving conditions is closely linked to branding. However, the existing literature lacks a systematic conceptual framework that explains the relationship between organizational adaptation and wellness tourism brand development. This study aims to examine adaptation and branding in health tourism, identify key factors and organizational adaptive capabilities, explore research gaps in the relationship between organizational adaptation and brand value, and develop an integrated conceptual framework linking organizational adaptation to brand development in the health tourism business. This study conducted a systematic literature review in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and employed thematic analysis to synthesize 36 selected articles that underwent screening and descriptive appraisal. The literature was retrieved primarily from Google Scholar and SAGE, covering the period from January 2020 to August 2026. The synthesis identified six key themes: leadership and strategic capabilities; digital technology and branding; safety, trust, and brand reputation; culture and brand identity; the environment and sustainable brand development; and tourist experiences. Based on these issues, this study proposes an integrated conceptual framework linking adaptation and branding in health tourism, addressing the gap in their integration within the literature. The framework supports future empirical research and provides insights for stakeholders to align their responses with destination branding strategies, while guiding future research and tourism management practices.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage industry play an important role in advancing business sustainability in emerging economies. However, many resource-endowed SMEs remain unable to translate their potential into sustainable business outcomes. This study examines the factors influencing the business sustainability of food and beverage SMEs in Northeastern Thailand and explains how organizational capabilities are hierarchically structured to create sustainable competitive advantage. A mixed-methods design was employed. Qualitative in-depth interviews with entrepreneurship-incubation experts and entrepreneurs revealed that SME sustainability problems were closely associated with weak planning practices, limited market knowledge, informal financial systems, and insufficient product development capability. These insights informed the development of the research instrument. Quantitative data were then collected from 401 entrepreneurs in the three highest-GPP provinces: Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, and Ubon Ratchathani. Structural equation modelling was used to test causal relationships among strategic planning, finance and accounting, leadership, business knowledge, product development, external factors, and business sustainability. The model demonstrated acceptable fit and explained 92% of the variance in business sustainability. Strategic planning emerged as the strongest direct driver, supported by business knowledge and product development as complementary capabilities. Finance, leadership, and external factors showed no significant direct effects. The study proposes a Planning-Centric Sustainability Model and contributes to Resource-Based View, Competency-Based View, and Dynamic Capabilities perspectives in emerging economies.