Understanding the Internationalization Intention of Indonesian Food and Beverages SMEs

Globalization has enabled more businesses such as Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to internationalize their product. This study aims to understand what influences internationalization intention within SME owners and how it affects the behavior of SME owners. To understand this behavior, this study utilizes the Theory of Planned Behavior and a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews as a data collection method. In-depth interviews were conducted with Indonesian Food and Beverage SME owners. Based on the result, SME owners have strong attitudes towards internationalization due to their perspective regarding the importance of internationalization. Subjective norm shows there is a mixed result for some owners. It has a major influence on their internationalization intention while others have a minor influence because they are focusing on their attitude. Through the perceived behavior control point of view, SME owners explain deeper the reason why they can or cannot export their products as well as the degree of their readiness to face the international market. The result of this research creates an addition in literature to an unexplored area of internationalization and understanding the source of SME owners’ intentions. Through this study, we also understand that there is another factor that influences internationalization intention which is not categorized in the Theory of Planned Behavior as an opportunity for future research.