Factors Influencing the Sustainable Performance of Smoked Rubber Sheet Producer Cooperatives in Southern Thailand: The Mediating Role of Organizational Resilience

Abstract

This study aims to examine the factors influencing the sustainable performance of smoked rubber sheet producer cooperatives in Southern Thailand, with a particular focus on the mediating role of organizational resilience in the relationships between quality management, cost and process efficiency, and sustainable performance. A mixed methods research design was employed in two phases. The first phase involved qualitative research, consisting of         in-depth interviews with executives from 30 cooperatives across six major rubber-producing provinces, to develop a measurement instrument for organizational resilience. The second phase employed a quantitative research approach, with the sample consisting of opinions obtained from 600 cooperative executives representing a total of 200 cooperatives. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that quality management has a significant positive effect on organizational resilience (β = 0.472, p < .001), while cost and process efficiency also exerts a significant positive effect on organizational resilience (β = 0.361, p < .001). Furthermore, organizational resilience has a direct positive effect on sustainable performance (β = 0.344, p < .001), and cost and process efficiency also directly influences sustainable performance (β = 0.302, p < .001). The analysis of indirect effects confirms that organizational resilience plays a mediating role in the relationship between quality management and sustainable performance (β = 0.162, p < .001), as well as between cost and process efficiency and sustainable performance (β = 0.124, p < .001). The model explains 46.5% of the variance in organizational resilience (R² = 0.465) and 31.7% of the variance in sustainable performance (R² = 0.317). These findings highlight organizational resilience as a critical mechanism through which operational capabilities are translated into the long-term sustainable performance of smoked rubber sheet cooperatives.