Farmers' information behaviors that facilitate the strengthening of their management capacity from passive to active community enterprises: Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Purpose This paper is a partial reflection of a research in strategy development to help agriculturists in Nakhon Si Thamarat Province to increase the capacity of the community enterprises to a good level of performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the information behavior of farmers regarding the success of the community enterprises management in Nakhon Si Thamarat, Thailand. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research method was applied, using in-depth interviews, observation and field notes. The study area covered community enterprises located in the Muang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand, which were evaluated to study the levels of information behaviors. Data were collected from 45 respondents from 9 community enterprises 3 categories (passive, common, and active levels). Five interviewees were gathered in each category for the purpose of this research. Findings The findings show the following information behaviors of farmers that support the management capacity of the community enterprises between the passive level and the active level: information needs (arising from a clear occupational purpose of an individual or a group of individuals), information-seeking (the farmers knowing and understanding the problems that require information, choosing the right information sources), searching multiple sources and selecting the right information and using this information for development and occupation. Originality/value This research constructed a body of new knowledge of farmers' information behaviors of community enterprises. This knowledge will lead to the development of an information behavior model for community enterprises which will help strengthen the capacity toward the active level.