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This study aims to identify the trend and sources of inefficiency of the construction sector in Indonesia causes expensive infrastructure development. The basic model was built on the basis of the intermediate input coefficients of Input–Output Table. The sources of inefficiency were metal goods industry, mining and other quarries, the non-metal goods and minerals industry, the cement industry, petroleum refining, building and business services companies, wood, land transportation, manufacture of rubber and plastic goods, financial institutions and machinery, electrical equipment and equipment industries. Indonesia needs a strong upstream industry on raw and supporting materials of iron-steel, wood and cement.

The sustainable performance of hotels which constitute a major part of the tourism industry, gains increasing importance day by day. Sustainability has become mandatory not only for the tourism industry but also for all industries producing goods and services. Reducing the negative impact of development on the environment and environmental innovation which aims to benefit from natural resources and energy effectively and consciously helps hotels to be sustainable. The tourism industry has a complex structure and exists as being intertwined with other branches of science. Tourism, which is a multidisciplinary industry, is nourished by other branches of science as well as supplies other fields of science by providing working space. Some new solutions that are put forward by materials science and engineering take place in the tourism industry as new innovations. Owing to this interaction, the workload of the personnel working in hotels is reduced and the enterprises save material and energy. At the same time, the customers who benefit from the services of the hotels consume the services in more comfortable and safer environments.

Ceramic materials are generally used in toilet and bathroom parts of hotels. However, ceramics are observed to be used in lobbies, cafes, restaurants, pools, facades, and similar areas in addition to toilets and baths in hotels. The aim of this study is to identify new ceramic solutions that affect and contribute to the sustainability of the hotels which is a major sector under the roof of the tourism industry and to contribute the literature. In order to actualize this aim, the document analysis method which is one of qualitative research methods was used and the literature search was carried out to identify new ceramic solutions. The result of study includes moisture control tiles with the ability to keep the humidity at normal standards in terms of human health and that can be used in hotels, facade systems that clean themselves and the polluted air, thermal coating systems for heat insulation, antibacterial materials that provide hygiene, and dirt repelling products. Also, it is seen that there are new ceramic solutions such as costless night lighting and security strips as well as materials with a phosphorescence property for aesthetical purposes and also, tiles with heat control which offer different possibilities aesthetically. It is observed that the different benefits obtained from each of identified new ceramic solutions ease off the workload of personnel working in the hotels, enable material and energy saving in hotels and at the same time, provide an accommodation in a more comfortable and safer environment for customers. In addition to this, the use of high-technology ceramics and nanomaterials in the field of tourism creates places where technology and aesthetics combine.

Collaborative advantage and geographical embeddedness of the firm have recently been receiving a growing amount of attention in a dynamic vision of the attainment and sustainability of the competitive advantage of firms. Concepts such as the Industrial District and Regional Cluster have been used in these studies, yet in spite of this interest little effort has been devoted to establishing links between these competitive dimensions and theories of differences in firm performance. This work consists of a multisource case study of the Spanish Ceramic Tile Industry. This empirical study focused on investigating the nature and implications of interfirm relationships and social control. The paper suggests that the competitiveness of clustered firms can be accounted for by low transaction costs and strategic knowledge-based resources.

Purpose: Preserving a country’s culture is crucial for its sustainability. Handicraft is a key draw for tourism destinations; it protects any civilisation’s indigenous knowledge and culture by managing the historical, economic, and ecological ecosystems and perfectly aligns with sustainable development. It has a significant role in creating employment, especially in rural regions and is an essential contributor to the export economy, mainly in developing nations. The study focuses on the skills required and existing gaps in the handicraft industry, its development and prospects by considering women and their role in preserving and embodying the traditional art of making handicrafts.

Approach: A framework has been developed for mapping and analysing the skills required in the handicraft sector using econometric modelling; an enormous number of skills have been crowdsourced from the respondents, and machine learning techniques have been used.

Findings: The findings of the study revealed that employment in this area is dependent not only on general or specialised skills but also on complex matrix skills ranging from punctuality to working in unclean and unsafe environments, along with a set of personal qualities, such as taking initiatives and specific skills, for example polishing and colour coding.

Implications: The skills mapping technique utilised in this study is applicable globally, particularly for women indulged in casual work in developing nations’ handicrafts industry. The sustainable development goals, tourism, and handicrafts are all interconnected. The research includes understanding skills mapping, which provides insights into efficient job matching by incorporating preferences and studying the demand side of casual working by women in the handicraft sector from a skills perspective.

Rishton, a small town in Uzbekistan, has been producing pottery for centuries. This chapter investigates how the pottery and ceramists’ society in Rishton changed during the 20th century, the 70 year-long Soviet era in particular. It seeks to answer the question of how the traditions of Muslim artisans in a feudal society were rearranged and relocated in the Soviet production system. Importantly, the apprentice system especially helped to preserve many older methods and customs, such as the veneration of Islamic patron saints, among ceramists. This chapter also sheds light on the ways in which these traditions have changed in the shifting economy since Uzbekistan became independent in 1991.

In the last two decades, a new form of organization has progressively become predominant on many global markets: networks. Very few worker co-operatives have adopted such a pattern though, despite the fact that, as the theoretical literature shows, the advantages of network industrial structures are numerous and networking can be considered a necessity in the context of globalization. After introducing a new framework for analyzing networks, we argue that combining several dimensions of integration has been an important factor of efficiency in three case studies: Mondragon Corporacion Cooperativa, the industrial districts of Emilia-Romagna, and Scop Entreprises.