Objective - Determination of the performance factors of the small culinary business sector is an important aim of this research. The research also aims to analyze the interconnectedness between the factors which generate competitive advantage and improve the performance of small and medium-sized enterprise businesses.

Methodology/Technique - Questionnaires were distributed to 115 such enterprises in the culinary field located in the city of Pekanbaru with the use of the cluster area a non-random sampling technique. In addition, a Likert scale was used to obtain responses from the participants, and the statistical analysis tool employed was PLS (Partial Least Squares).

Findings - The research reveals that business networking and human resource competencies are factors that influence the business performance of small entrepreneurs in the culinary sector. However, competitive advantage does not influence the effect of human resource competence and business networking on business performance.

Novelty - The variables studied in this culinary research field have not been comprehensively examined in previous studies.

Type of Paper - Empirical.

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Business Networking; Culinary; Human Resources.

JEL Classification: M10, M16, M19.

URI: http://gatrenterprise.com/GATRJournals/JBER/vol5.1_1.html

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35609/jber.2020.5.1(1)

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