Sustainable Business Through Local Strength: A Qualitative Study of Financial, Social, and Cultural Strategies in Bandung’s Culinary Micro-Enterprises

Dinna Charisma (), Bambang Hermanto, Margo Purnomo, Tetty Herawati and Anne Charina
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Dinna Charisma: Graduate Program in Administrative Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung 40135, Indonesia
Bambang Hermanto: Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang 45363, Indonesia
Margo Purnomo: Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang 45363, Indonesia
Tetty Herawati: Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang 45363, Indonesia
Anne Charina: Agricultural Social Economics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang 45363, Indonesia

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-27

Abstract: This study examines how entrepreneurial finance, entrepreneurial networking, and entrepreneurial culture contribute to sustainable business among culinary micro-enterprises in Bandung City, Indonesia. This study fills a gap in the literature by highlighting that micro-enterprises’ sustainability, from economic, social, and environmental aspects, is not always underpinned by formal institutional support. Using a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews with 10 culinary micro-enterprise owners whose businesses have been able to survive across generations, this study found that business owners manage their finances adaptively, build trust-based social networks, and apply local cultural values to sustainable business practices. The findings show that trust and flexibility in informal funding play a crucial role in entrepreneurial finance, while challenging the view that access to formal financing is the main prerequisite for sustainability. Entrepreneurial culture proves to be a strategic internal resource in strengthening environmentally friendly practices. The originality of this study offers an alternative perspective that is more contextualized and grounded in understanding the sustainability strategies of micro-enterprises in developing countries.

Keywords: entrepreneurial finance; entrepreneurial networking; entrepreneurial culture; sustainable business; culinary micro-enterprises (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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