SMEs and E Commerce   The Asia Foundation

3.4 Samples  

The samples included 200 small and medium sized companies in five regions and 

five sectors in Thailand. A stratified sampling approach was primary used to 

achieve the proportion of 75:25 between the Internet users to the non users. 

However, small and medium sized Internet users in hotel, telecommunication, 

and IT industries are not many in some cities. Consequently, respondents from 

these sectors were less than other sectors. The actual proportion of samples of 

Internet users to non users, thus, is 76:24. 

3.4.1 City breakdown 

By geography, the samples included companies in 5 regions as follows (Table 

1.1):  

     Northern : 40 companies in Chiang Mai 

     Northeastern: 40 companies in Nakhon Ratchasima 

     Central: 40 companies in Bangkok 

     Eastern: 40 companies in Chonburi 

     Southern: 40 companies in Phuket 

Table 1.1 

Respondents classified by cities 

City Small 

business 

Medium 

business 

Total 

Bangkok 26 

14 

40 

Chiang Mai 

28 

12 

40 

Chonburi 22 

18 

40 

Nakhon Ratchasima 

30 

10 

40 

Phuket 32 

8 

40 

 Total 

138 

62 

200 

3.4.2   Sector breakdown  

The samples included companies in 5 sectors as follows (Table 1.2): 

     43 companies in the manufacturing sector (i.e., manufacturers of 

industrial  agricultural, and handicrafts products excluding IT and 

telecommunications related products) 

     45 companies in the distribution and trade sector (i.e., wholesalers, 

retailers, dealers, and distributors) 

     41 companies in the hotel and tourism sector (i.e., hotels and tour 

agencies) 

     36 companies in the business services sector (i.e., services providers 

excluding hotel, tour agencies, and telecommunications and IT related 

services)  

3