Entrepreneurs Characteristics of Thematic Small and Medium Industries in Innovation Sub District of Palu City

Abstract

Nowadays, the development and growth of Small and Medium Industries (SMEs) have become the government’s centre of attention which leads the government's commitment, policies and programs are always continuously improved, with the aim that SMEs in Indonesia can keep developing and being competitive. SMEs play an important role in being the backbone of the national economy, and they are even able to stand up straight during unstable global economic conditions. Therefore, this research aimed to produce a Model of the Success of Thematic SMEs in the Innovation Sub district of Palu City, which was predicted to be influenced by the variables of characteristics of group ethnic entrepreneurs, marketing innovation, and the competence of counterparts. The research sample consisted of 150 business group members from 30 Thematic SMEs, analysed using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that of the seven research hypothesis models, the results were acceptable with the structural model constructed, namely the characteristics of group ethnic entrepreneurs, marketing innovation and the competence of counterparts influenced significantly on the success of the Thematic SMEs businesses in Innovation Sub-districts in Palu City. The biggest influence contribution was the competence of business counterparts by 0.526, and the group ethnic entrepreneurship on the marketing innovation by 0.443.