Critical Success Factors of A Partnership between Traditional Shop & Startup Business: A Preliminary Findings

Micro and Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Indonesia have been providing significant economic development and employment. The majority of MSMEs are the micro-business sector; one is the traditional shop or Warung in Bahasa. Given the contributions, the MSMEs owner faces crucial obstacles, mainly in supply chain issues and their lack of perception and readiness to meet industry changes thanks to their informalities. The owners could leverage innovation in a business partnership and ICT (Information, Communication & Technology) adoption as leverage to overcome these obstacles and increase their capabilities. In Indonesia, startups highlight these issues to initiate a business partnership entity that integrates ICT into the traditional shop's business process. Previous studies confirm that business relationships positively impact small business performance, which will contribute to their success. However, the lack of understanding about factors contributing to business partnerships' success leads to the inability to achieve their goals. Given the MSME business entity's informalities, restrained resources, and the novelty of this business relationship, the understanding of its success factors becomes essential. Thus, this study intends to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSF) of traditional shop and startup business relationships using literature reviews and field interviews validated by industry experts. This study's outcomes would help the stakeholders identify the factors which essential to lead these relationships achieving their goals and empowering the MSMEs owner at the same time.