“Expansion into international markets opens significant opportunities for companies to deepen their understanding of global business dynamics. In this context, aggregators play an important role as a bridge connecting local products, business actors, and global markets,” said doctoral candidate Fetty Kwartati during the open doctoral defense of Untar’s Doctor of Management Science Program, Wednesday (17/6/2026), at Untar Campus I.
On this occasion, Fetty Kwartati, who currently serves as President Director of PT Berkat Cipta Karsa (Brightstone) as well as Executive Director of HIPPINDO (Indonesian Retailers and Shopping Center Tenants Association), successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Multi-Causal Analysis of Aggregators in the Context of International Expansion (A Study on PT Sarinah Partners)” and officially earned the Doctor of Management Science degree as the 26th graduate of Universitas Tarumanagara’s Doctor of Management Science Program with the predicate “With Distinction.”
The dissertation was supervised by Main Promoter Prof. Dr. Haris Maupa, S.E., M.Si. and Co-Promoter Dr. Hadi Cahyadi, S.E., MBA., MCL. This research examines the role of government support and dynamic capabilities in supporting international expansion, particularly in the context of aggregators that assist MSME products in entering global markets.
The background of this research stems from the doctoral candidate’s concern for the sustainability of Indonesian MSMEs. The study was partly inspired by the experience of Ibu Riana Kesuma, an MSME actor in the batik sector, which shows that local business actors have great potential to survive, grow, and reach broader markets when supported by the right and strong aggregator.
In her presentation, the doctoral candidate explained that successful international expansion is not determined solely by product readiness, but also by an organization’s ability to identify market opportunities, build strategies, strengthen networks, and learn from both the successes and failures of others.
The research findings show that the success of aggregators in international expansion is influenced by several key factors, namely intangible assets, financial strength, international experience, implant strategy, and local partners. These factors help build aggregators’ capacity to understand global markets, manage risks, and strengthen the position of local products at the international level.
The study also found that government support plays an important role in shaping the expansion ecosystem, through regulation, infrastructure, promotion, market access, and mentoring mechanisms for business actors. In the context of PT Sarinah, the role of aggregators becomes strategic because they are able to bridge MSME actors with global market opportunities.
In addition, learning from both success and failure is an important aspect of developing a more adaptive expansion strategy. Success stories can serve as references for best practices, while failures help companies avoid similar risks and obstacles in the internationalization process.
Through this research, the doctoral candidate emphasized the importance of collaboration among the government, aggregators, business actors, and local partners in strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian products in international markets. For Fetty, building MSMEs successfully requires not only the right strategy, but also passion, sincerity, and consistency. She believes that knowledge is not meant to be kept, but to be shared so that it can open paths and benefit more people. (JAT)