Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chulalongkorn University, 2008

The dissertation analyzes the impact of economic globalization on competitiveness of Thai firms. The banking industry is chosen for this study. The study compares cost efficiency of domestic and foreign banks in Thailand by using bank-panel data on quarterly financial statements of the selected Thai commercial banks between 2000 and 2007. Also, it is to investigate empirically the relation between the value creation efficiency and firms' financial performance by capturing the perception of intellectual capital in the banking industry and identifying perceived value of this organizational variable in the bank. It is found that profitability and productivity of foreign banks are better than the Thai ones. The results come significantly from the effects of cost efficiency and intellectual capital especially from human capital. The findings recommend that Thai firms should concentrate on enhancing their competitiveness on cost at the same time as investing in intellectual capital to continue their sustainability.