ROLES OF COMMUNITY LEADERS IN MOBILIZING INCOME GENERATION FOR OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

This research article aims to examine the roles of community leaders in the Khok Salung  and Ban Mi communities of Lop Buri Province within a project designed to empower older  adults through communication innovations and community-based business development tools.  A qualitative research design was employed, collecting data through in-depth interviews and  lesson-learning activities with key informants from 14 family-based enterprises during May 2024  and July 2025. The analysis draws upon concepts of community leadership, personal media, and  Bass and Avolio’s (1994) Four I’s model of transformational leadership. The findings reveal four  key roles of community leaders: (1) serving as initiators and coordinators who inspire collective  action; (2) using personal media to build trust and foster participation among older adults; (3) designing income models appropriate for older adults by developing mechanisms grounded in  each community’s cultural and production assets—for example, establishing structured revenue  systems based on cultural tourism activities, homestay operations, handicraft production, and  cultural demonstrations in Khok Salung, as well as facilitating food processing, household-based  production, and flexible employment systems in Ban Mi, which enable older adults to work  according to their physical capacity and generate continuous income at both the individual  and household levels; and (4) creating collaborative ecosystems within and beyond the  community that strengthen sustainable income structures. Additionally, the study advances  leadership scholarship by highlighting community leaders as opinion leaders who rely on  face-to-face interpersonal communications as a primary tool to stimulate economic engagement  among older adults—an understudied dimension in rural Thai contexts.