The increasing integration of the Thai automobile industry into the global economy throughout the last three decades has been influenced by a number of factors. Although the general increase in demand has created the basic precondition for global automobile firms to serve this particular market, the way in which these automobile firms operate in the Thai economy is subject to regulatory frameworks operating at different geographical scales. Indeed, the exercise of institutional power at the national and macroregional scale, regulating automobile production and trade within Thailand and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) has a significant impact on the way in which firms embed themselves into, and how value is created within, the Thai economy. However, the network configurations of the lead firms operating in Thailand vary significantly. The way and extent to which lead firms create and enhance value within this national economy are strongly dependent on the manufactured product.
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