4.4 The relationship between sales, asset value and number of workers

The sales of the enterprises interviewed are plotted against asset value and number of workers, as shown in Figures 7 and 8 respectively. The sales, which are plotted on the vertical axis, have to be shown on a logarithmic scale because of the wide variations. Figure 7 gives a slight indication that firms with smaller asset value (less than 1 million Baht) would also have a smaller amount of sales, and firms with larger asset value would have a higher sales figure. The figure also shows that the group of small enterprises seems to be concentrated around sales figures and asset values of around 1 million Baht.

The relationship between sales and number of workers, as shown in Figure 8, shows that the smaller enterprises with 10 or less workers tend to have sales figures of about 100,000 Baht or less, while enterprises with more than 10 workers would have higher sales figure.

The relationship between asset value and number of workers seems to be quite diverse. Although there is a concentration around 10 or less workers and asset values of 1 million or less, firms with a more workers do not clearly possess a higher asset value (as can be seen in Figure 9).

Considering the purpose of this survey, and the fact that only a small sample was used, the discussion above is by no means conclusive. As the nature of the businesses is markedly different between manufacturing, services, and trading enterprises, their characteristics as discussed above should be addressed both separately, as well as collectively.

Therefore, it is recommended that a more comprehensive and detailed study be conducted on these issues, in order to establish an accurate information and knowledge base about Thai entrepreneurs and micro and small-scale enterprises.