Accidental and Intentional Exporters: Comparing Indonesian and Malaysian MSMEs

Abstract

This study uses an analytical framework that combines the stages, network and international new ventures theory as well as policy and institutional support, to investigate several case studies in Indonesia and Malaysia. The approach provides richer and deeper insights into the internationalization journey of these MSMEs. Semi-structured interviews based on the same analytical framework are used in all cases. The cases are chosen from a list of exporting SMEs provided by the relevant government agencies in each country, and are also based on the companies’ willingness to be interviewed. Malaysian cases were supplementarily obtained through word-of-mouth recommendations following a high rejection rate from companies on the list. This paper is organized as follows. A brief overview of the SMEs in Indonesia and Malaysia is provided in section 2, after the introduction. The findings are presented in section 3, followed by a discussion of the findings. The conclusion summarizes the main findings and provides some policy suggestions relevant at the country and ASEAN level.