COVID-19 severely impacted small industries in Indonesia and many collapsed. Sustainable education is essential to help small industries recover post-pandemic through an open innovation design program to improve small industries’ economic, social, and environmental performance. This paper examined the impacts of the sustainable education program implemented and explored open innovations suitable for the sustainability of small industries in developing countries, such as Indonesia, after the pandemic. This research employed a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach involving academics, government, the community, and four small industries in West Java, Indonesia. Our findings reveal that the sustainable education program through learning activities and direct practice provides valuable knowledge and experience for small industries in designing economic, social, and environmental innovations. Open innovations post-pandemic suitable for small industries in Indonesia include simple business digitalization for company economic growth, the recruitment of people losing their jobs due to the pandemic to achieve social benefits, and innovations in using environmentally friendly packaging and charcoal briquette fuel as an environmental awareness effort. This study recommends that the open innovation designed for small industries be right on target and done using a participatory method to achieve sustainability after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study investigates traditional culture as one of the factors of the longevity and cross-generation sustainability of Sundanese small industries in Indonesia. The failure rate of small industries in Indonesia is high, and thus, this study is critical. We mapped the relationship between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, longevity, and business sustainability in ten selected Sundanese small industries surviving up to three generations. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews and company data. The results revealed that the strength of Sundanese cultural traditions, including high long-term orientation, high collectivism, low power distance, and high indulgences, positively contribute to the longevity of small industries in Indonesia. In addition, the social performance of Sundanese entrepreneurs is mainly based on their religious values and a highly collectivist culture; educational experience also affects their environmental performance. This study highlights the need to understand the traditional culture, which can play an essential role in achieving business longevity but also can present some limitations, especially in terms of economic performance. Therefore, to create a sustainable small industry, efforts are needed to change the mindset of Sundanese entrepreneurs to be more open to an innovative global culture while maintaining local values that positively contribute to business.

This study investigates the sustainability level of small industries that have persevered for up to three generations in rural areas of Indonesia, addressing the significant issue of high failure rates among small industries. Utilizing the Triple Bottom Line framework, this study examined the economic, social, and environmental performance of four small industries that have thrived for multiple generations in Indonesia. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and secondary company data. Thematic analysis principles using N-Vivo 12 software were applied to analyze qualitative data, while the RAP 2016 software version R was used for assessing the sustainability index and status. The research findings revealed that the sustainability status of small industries that survived for up to three generations in rural areas was predominantly unsustainable. Economic performance exhibited variability, some falling into the less sustainable category, while social and environmental performances were deemed moderately sustainable. The practical implications of the findings are as follows: the level of competition, government policy, and market access are the most sensitive factors that should be considered to improve economic performance. Meanwhile, small industries must maintain and enhance their social and environmental performance to ensure stability. In addition, the theoretical implication of this finding suggests that the concept of “sustainability” cannot solely be represented by the company’s longevity. Long-lasting small industries may not necessarily be economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.

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.

Indonesia's potential in the halal industry is currently very calculated, because Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. This role should not only be seen as a mere captive market but must also encourage the growth of the halal industry in Indonesia which is able to compete globally. However, currently the Indonesian halal food and beverage industry is not yet included in the top 10 countries with the best performance in the world for halal food and beverages. Whereas on the other hand, Indonesia actually has a great opportunity to develop halal products in this sector. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of implementing the halal value chain (HVC) ecosystem in the halal food and beverage industry in Indonesia. This research method uses a type of qualitative research with a descriptive analysis approach. Data collection techniques were carried out by observation and literature study. The results of this study indicate that based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) regarding the Data on the Number of Exports of Halal Food and Beverages for 2022 after the implementation of HVC shows that there has been an increase in the export process and a reduction in the import process; this means that the application of HVC to halal food and beverages in Indonesia is very influential so that it can increase the effectiveness of these halal products even though they are not fully running optimally. The supporting factors for the success of HVC are government support, halal assets, information technology, human resource management, collaborative partnerships, halal certification and halal traceability.

Informal industries are prevalent in developing countries such as Indonesia. However, due to their unofficial nature, these industries face numerous challenges, including limited access to capital, low-skilled human resources, and insufficient technology and market information necessary for business growth. This research focuses on Ciparay, Ibun, and Majalaya—three sub-districts with the highest concentration of informal industries in Bandung Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia. The study aims to analyze empowerment's role in enhancing informal industries' performance in Bandung Regency. A random survey was conducted with 115 food-based informal industry entrepreneurs, and data were analyzed using the PLS-SEM. Findings indicate that empowerment indirectly influences business performance through entrepreneurs' characteristics, managerial skills, and business knowledge (b=0.445). Entrepreneurial competence among informal entrepreneurs improves with empowerment programs, leading to enhanced industry performance. Based on these results, several policy recommendations are proposed: (1) strengthening entrepreneurial attitudes through training and mentoring, (2) enhancing managerial skills through practical support, (3) expanding business knowledge through digital literacy, and (4) creating an integrated empowerment ecosystem involving government, financial institutions, and private sector. Implementing this policy is expected to support the growth of the informal industry sector, and increase the contribution of the local economy in Bandung Regency.