INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS IN INDONESIA

This study examines the factors influencing innovation development in small businesses in Indonesia across various sectors. Innovation is widely recognized as a critical factor in the competitiveness of businesses. This development potential is essential for the entrepreneurs who participated in the questionnaire survey. In fact, out of a total of 85.50% of them are already currently running a business, and they also consider innovation very important. A sample of 400 small business owners was analyzed using descriptive analysis to identify eight factors related to innovation development, including knowledge exploitation, interactive processes, knowledge-intensive business process improvement, new technology based firms, go-to-market strategies, stricter regulation, and stimulation. The results revealed that three factors were particularly dominant in innovation development. Specifically, knowledge exploitation was strongly correlated with knowledge-intensive, while interactive processes were strongly correlated with knowledge exploitation. Finally, knowledge-intensive was strongly related to knowledge exploitation. These findings underscore the importance of knowledge and interaction in driving innovation among small businesses in Indonesia. By prioritizing these dominant factors, small businesses can develop strategies to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving business environment.