Barriers to Small Enterprise Growth in the Developing Countries: Evidences from Case Studies in Indonesia and Malaysia

Small enterprises have played a significant role in developing economies of a nation. Researchers in the developing countries who examine the small enterprises recognize their contributions towards economic growth of these countries. Whilst only a minimum number of studies have highlighted the issues pertaining to the uniqueness of small business development that provide useful insights, the different evidence from one country to another indicates the need to report and document the insights from various countries. This paper highlights the barriers to growth of small enterprises in the context of Indonesia and Malaysia from comparative case studies done in both countries. The case studies were carried out in 2018 to achieve the four propositions set out in the research, which are (i) limited number of products being developed as a barrier (ii) wider area of marketing as another potential barrier, (iii) lack of marketing strategy by the small enterprises as the associate barrier and (iv) the inconsistent sales turnover as the final potential barrier. The internal and external forces affecting the small business case studies were carefully analyzed to determine the kind of barriers that hinder potential growth.