Search Results (8)

To enhance the competitiveness of the traditional handicraft industry, providers should offer service experiences using their products (i.e., servitization) instead of merely selling them. Effective management for servitization in the traditional handicraft industry must consider the differences in customers’ prior knowledge. Nevertheless, previous studies have overlooked how this knowledge about traditional handicrafts impacts service experiences. This study explores which factors of consumer behavior (during services) and service outcomes (post-services) are affected by customers’ prior knowledge about a traditional handicraft. An organic food restaurant booth was provided at an annual summer festival about pottery as an experiment, and data were collected on customers’ meal experiences with a pottery plate through a questionnaire. The findings suggest that customers’ prior knowledge about a traditional handicraft promotes their search for information from service resources (i.e., organic foods) which are integrated with the traditional handicraft and their creativity during services, thereby changing their understanding of service resources and increasing satisfaction with service experience. This study contributes to services marketing by identifying the factors of during and post-services that are affected by customers’ prior knowledge about a traditional handicraft in the context of servitization. Full article

Live streaming commerce (LSC) effectively combines the traditional real economy and e-commerce. Based on more than half a million unique GIS data values on LSC activities sourced via Taobao (Alibaba), we traced the spatial distribution of different players along the supply chain and further highlighted the intermediary role of streamers in developing the inter-regional industry. This study guides industrial planning in a diversified regional context, especially in economically peripheral regions. Our results show the following outcomes: (1) in contrast to dispersed suppliers, streamers and consumers are highly clustered. This trend proves that streamers are rooted in a specific urban context while playing the role of an intermediary in inter-regional supply chains, effectively extending geographic interactivity between suppliers and (potential) customers. (2) LSC primarily promotes regional light industry, especially in economically peripheral and rural areas, and provides opportunities for rapid development in cities with skilled handicraft providers. (3) China’s LSC streams have a pyramid structure, and the top group is highly clustered in metropolitan regions, such as the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD). This clustering makes it easier for streamers to work with large, well-known brands. The bottom group is mainly in charge of expanding the supply chain within the region and relies more on the local industrial base. It is diversified due to the different types of businesses or products. Ultimately, we draw attention to adaptive spatial planning and resource allocation in the context of the economic and geographic reforms brought by this growing industry, and discuss the policy implications based on the relationships between the supply of and demand for live streamers from a broader regional perspective. Full article

This study proposes to extend the sustainable business framework of the Quadruple Bottom Line into the Quintuple Bottom Line. The five Ps of the Quintuple Bottom Line support purpose-driven businesses to consider economic profitability alongside social responsibility and environmental sustainability, rooted in place (purpose, profit, people, planet and place), and are based on reflections from the craft industry. Case studies from material-based creative businesses as found in the traditional handicraft and design-innovation communities in Nepal, and a designer-making community in Scotland, both explored circular-economy principles. The importance of localised supply chains and regenerative design enabled the development of the five-Ps framework so as to be more reflective of circular-economy models as operated by craft businesses. This qualitative research project took a case-studies approach, supported by primary research through workshops and interviews, and using the expansion of the Craft Toolkit of Applied Arts Scotland to embed the five Ps. The craft sector, with creative practices rooted in traditional manufacturing, material knowledge and yet a contemporary approach to design, can thus provide a useful model for other creative businesses that support purposeful, holistic sustainability and that engage with financial, environmental, and social sustainability that is rooted in place. Full article

The livelihood sustainability of the Rohingya refugees relocated in Bhashan Char, Bangladesh, has been questioned by various international stakeholders due to the remoteness and perceived vulnerabilities of the island. The Bangladesh government, a few international organizations, and some non-government organizations are working on developing livelihood opportunities in there. But there is scarce study about the livelihood opportunities and challenges of the Rohingyas living there. This study explores the vulnerabilities and livelihood opportunities of Rohingyas in Bhashan Char so as to help increase their resilience. The vulnerabilities include natural, geographical, and climatic shocks and stresses (e.g., cyclone, floods, storm surge, sea-level rise, geographical position). However, there are ample opportunities for their livelihood development, despite some challenges which can be overcome with concerted efforts. The opportunities include intensification and extensification of livelihood activities, such as modern agriculture, fish farming, livestock rearing, small business, handicraft, fishing net mending, crab fattening, biofloc aquaculture, and fish cage culture, but turning these opportunities into reality requires sufficient investment and internationally positive attitude. Better shelter, better disaster preparedness, cultural practices, education, and skill development can increase their capacity to bounce back, absorb shocks, and make them more resilient. National and international humanitarian organizations should plan to enhance the resilience of the Rohingya communities living in Bhashan Char and the island itself so that they can sustain in the long run, even after their anticipated repatriation to Myanmar. Full article

The purpose of this article is to analyze resilient female leadership as a sustainable promoter of business excellence in small and medium-sized Wayuu handicraft marketing enterprises. The present study uses a quantitative methodology with a non-experimental cross-sectional field design, with an analysis and interpretation of the data provided by the surveyed subjects. A 33-item questionnaire with multiple response options is applied. The population consists of 110.012 eradicated women. A probabilistic sampling technique is applied with a margin of error of 5% and a confidence level of 95%, for a total of 383 Wayuu women entrepreneurs in the Department of La Guajira, Colombia. Our findings explain that female leadership transcends the boundaries of business management, being present in both small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study confirms the positive relationship between sustainability and resilience in the Wayuu handicrafts market, being women who turn their actions into success factors by working with women who show technical, conceptual, and human skills. Full article

The objective of this paper is to investigate a unique type of entrepreneurship in women handicraft entrepreneurs. Data were collected from six women handicraft entrepreneurs by using in-depth interviews. Born after the 1980s, they strive for survival in a highly competitive marketplace. They are all passion-driven entrepreneurs. They have to engage in other activities (ranging from teaching handicraft classes to working in another full-time job) to financially support and sustain their handicraft work. It was found that challenges include high rental rates in the city, long product development processes, small market sizes, and insufficient knowledge in digital marketing. Almost all of them are skillful, innovative, and passionate on the artistic side, but reactive and passive on the business side. Measures were suggested to empower such women entrepreneurs in view of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Full article

Resource-based theory posits the deployment of resources by entrepreneurs to achieve performance without questioning the possibility of deploying these resources. The question, however, remains how resources are deployed in developing countries that constrain the choice in the deployment of resources. To answer this, we analyse the factors determining the business performance of women entrepreneurs in a developing country context. Data were collected through a survey sent to 211 Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs engaged in handicraft businesses. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses show that (1) the social environment in terms of socio-cultural norms and customs hinders the performance; (2) the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) dimensions, namely, combined Innovative–proactive EO and Risk-taking EO, and the business trainings positively affect the performance; and (3) the social ties negatively influence the performance, which may be due to the excessive presence of strong ties in a personal social network. Based on results, we suggest that environment (context) is a contingent factor for the way personal traits such as EO, human, and social capital can be used by women entrepreneurs to achieve performance in a developing world context. Full article

In this study, the relationship between environmental innovation and sustainability is analyzed in 168 handicraft businesses in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Tlaxcala. The results show a direct, positive relationship between environmental innovation and sustainability in three dimensions: economic, social, and environmental. In terms of determination, the variables that best explain sustainability are: organization type, product innovation, and process innovation. The age of the handicraft businesses was not a significant factor in explaining sustainability. This study concludes that handicraft businesses make sustainable choices more as a result of a desire for profit maximization than as a result of environmental consciousness, as can be explained by neoclassical view of economics. Full article