Abstract

Evy Rachmawati Chalduna, Gatot Yudokob, Eko Agus Prasetioc, Jessica Setiawand, Sri Herlianae, Qori Ainaf, Sri Hartatig.

Motivation is one of the initial triggers in the internationalization process. This paper intended to understand the motivation of Indonesian culinary SMEs' when entering international markets and how they are involved in the internationalization process. A qualitative approach was applied to the focus on the culinary sector as a case study. Data were taken on 10 Indonesian culinary SMEs that have exported for at least three years. Data collection was done through in-depth interviews. Research findings indicate that the involvement of Indonesian culinary SMEs is mostly driven by proactive motives and internal and external motives with a very simple process of engagement through indirect exports to reduce risk due to the limited knowledge of the targeted market and trust the buyer.