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Despite their economic and cultural significance, the growth of handicraft micro firms is vulnerable, given their small size and resource limitations. By examining the impact of cooperation on firm performance via innovation capability, this study shows how micro firms can address constraints and achieve sustainable development by acquiring and utilizing external resources, complemented by innovation capability, through internal development.

Data were collected from 164 handicraft micro firms in Pakistan via a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was employed to estimate interrelations of various constructs simultaneously and control measurement errors.

The impact of cooperation with customers and suppliers on firm performance via innovation capability was positive and significant. Contrarily, competitor cooperation did not significantly affect innovation capability. Furthermore, there was a positive and significant interaction effect of customer and competitor cooperation on innovation capability. Thus, micro firms must reinforce their customer and supplier relationships through innovation capability and internal transformation for sustainable development. Moreover, a balance must exist between cooperation and competition to achieve optimal innovation returns for the sustainable development of firms.

This study emphasized that micro firms must strengthen their customer and supplier relationships via innovation capability and internal development to achieve higher performance. Moreover, the study introduced a new dimension for measuring firm performance.

Relying on the theoretical lens of a knowledge-based view, the purpose of this study is to explore the sources and roles of experiential knowledge in the rapid internationalisation of an emerging market-based micro export firms (EMMFs).

This is an inductive theory building study, which attempts to understand the “how” and “why” questions. In so doing, the study used nine micro export firms operating in the handicrafts sector of Nepal.

The findings suggest that internationalisation of resource-poor EMMFs relies on the entrepreneurs’ experiential knowledge, which is mainly acquired through prior experience, social networks and participation in international trade-fairs.

This study contributes by formulating a number of propositions on the sources and roles of experiential knowledge, which could be tested in pursuit of theory building on micro firms’ internationalisation based in emerging markets.

The paper advances an understanding on the patterns of firms’ internationalisation, and discusses EMMFs’ possibilities to emerge as a faster internationalising firm, so-called “born globals”.

Rural entrepreneurship is an emergent field of study, with these start-ups becoming one of the most noticeable ways to promote rural development, but the few studies concerning innovation among artisans have thus far only been exploratory. The purpose of this paper is to examine the entrepreneurial artisan initiatives of young innovators in a peripheral northern area of Portugal where black pottery is produced.

Qualitative data analysis was carried out on in-depth semi-structured interviews with three young artisan innovators and entrepreneurs and one individual who functions as a cultural booster. The content analysis was done using QSR International’s NVivo Version 11 software.

These young entrepreneurs have developed commercial activities and introduced innovations (i.e. design and process) into black pottery production, while taking advantage of endogenous materials, local culture and traditional knowledge. These individuals have sought not only to generate their own innovations but also to keep their culture and local traditions alive, thereby contributing to rural development by establishing networks with local young artisans.

Some limitations are linked to the sample’s size and basis in a specific geographic reality.

The findings provide a fuller understanding of why some rural artisan firms grow, suggesting that artisans’ networks and innovative and entrepreneurial behaviours play a key role.

This research’s results contribute to the literature on the role that innovation can play as a booster of rural artisanship through networks and entrepreneurship. This paper is among the first to discuss black pottery as a form of artisan entrepreneurship. The results underline the value of innovations and networks, which were found to be the core ingredients in rural artisan entrepreneurship.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of innovation in handicraft industry of Fiji and Tonga.

Data for this study was collected via face-to-face interviews with handicraft sellers in Fiji and Tonga. In total, 368 interviews were conducted in Fiji and Tonga out of which, 48 was from Tonga and 320 was from Fiji.

The results of this study show that eight factors; namely, value adding, design uniqueness, new product development, cultural uniqueness, advanced technology, experience of owner, ability of owner to adapt to trends in market and quality of raw materials have significant impact on level of innovation in handicraft industry of Fiji and Tonga.

To date, none of the existing studies have examined determinants of innovation in handicraft industry of the Pacific Island countries. This is a pioneering study that examines determinants of innovation in handicraft industry of Fiji and Tonga.

The learning objectives of this case are as follows: identify and understand the major challenges/problems faced by a social enterprise in promoting handicraft business; examine the value chain architecture of handicraft products; assess the role of the protagonist (Sanjay) as a social change agent in shaping a successful social enterprise; assess Sahaj Crafts' initiatives and analyze whether the key intervention/s planned/executed were required for skilling up of rural artisans and upgradation of handicraft business; know the marketing strategies for handicraft products; and understand the “strategies” which need to be applied for uplifting people's lives at the bottom of pyramid in general and for enlivening of artisans’ clusters in particular. The outcomes are as follows: examining the value chain architecture of handicraft product; understanding the difficulties and challenges of structuring a viable social business model; examining the role of Sanjay as a social change agent in shaping a successful social enterprise; and examining the model of Craft Incubation Center and design education proposed by Sahaj Crafts for improving rural artisans’ livelihood and skills upgradation.

Sanjay Joshi – the promoter and CEO of “Sahaj Crafts” (a social enterprise established in Western Rajasthan, India), an initiative to strengthen indigenous skills and mainstream rural craft products and artworks – is faced with the question of how to scale up his organization’s operations. Doing so requires that he address these fundamental challenges in terms of – how to deal with unorganized craft communities; match up product orientation to market demands; integrate modern technology / processes in craft business; combat restricted mobility of women artisans; and make effective interventions so that the artisans learn and enjoy working in the current model and solve the financial issues faced by the social enterprise. Providing effective and implementable answers to those questions is vital to Sahaj Craft’s development in attaining its mission to alleviate poverty in the region. Failing to expand operations above a critical scale may leave Sahaj Crafts vulnerable in meeting sufficient demand for contemporary craft products in the mainstream markets.

This case study is primarily suitable for post-graduate level management students to teach the concepts of designing and operationalizing a “social” business model in a social entrepreneurship module. This case study can also be used for highlighting business model innovations in the social sector of emerging markets. The case could be taught in the following academic domains: social entrepreneurship; bottom of the pyramid; social inclusion; supply chain consolidation (vertical integration in a value chain); marketing strategies for handicraft products; branding; brand positioning; cost and management accounting.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

This study aims to examine issues affecting the growth and survival of traditional handicraft enterprising community in Pakistan, and analyzes their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as develops strategic solutions to overcome the problems identified for their revival.

This exploratory study is based on a descriptive approach because it attempts to investigate the critical issues faced by traditional handicraft enterprising community. To operationalize the theoretical approach, this paper used a SWOT analysis of craft enterprising community. After thoroughly reviewing relevant literature, this study put forward strategic solutions for the revival of the traditional enterprising community. Moreover, secondary data on employment and gender wage gap were used to provide empirical evidence of the issues identified and emphasize the importance of strategic solutions.

This study found that traditional handicraft producers are facing many problems that hinder their survival and growth. This paper, therefore, makes some essential strategic recommendations on how to overcome these issues. The current research argues that Pakistan’s handicraft industry must be revived; else, centuries-old traditional culture and patrimonial knowledge will vanish. Moreover, there is a need to attract foreign investment to overcome resource limitations and improve the competitive capability of the enterprising community. Notably, government intervention is necessary for the revival of the traditional handicraft industry.

This study provides in-depth knowledge of issues faced by the Pakistani traditional handicraft enterprising community and suggests possible strategic solutions for the problems identified. Unlike previous studies, this research also discusses the essential characteristics of traditional handicrafts that differentiate them from identical mechanized products.

The digital divide is supposed to place disadvantaged economies like Ghana in a position where using information and communication technology for development might not be an immediate reality. The purpose of this current study is to argue that the adoption of e‐business practices has benefit for small Ghanaian exporters' organizational improvement, and begin a first‐level investigation in that regard.

This study was exploratory and focused on a sample of active, non‐traditional exporters in Accra. This sample represented the best typology of small export firms in Ghana that had been regular exporters from 2000‐2004. In all, 60 firms responded to questionnaires on e‐business and exporting. Analysis of the data was mainly by means of descriptive statistics.

One‐way ANOVA analysis revealed that the export firm internationalization (measured by export intensity) has no bearing on the level of e‐business involvement or perceptions of the strategic value of e‐business. However, export firms who were more involved in e‐business had a higher perception of the usefulness of e‐business to their export operation. One‐way ANOVA analysis also revealed that for the export firms involved in some e‐business activity, the more internationalized they were, the more importance they attached to e‐business as providing some sort of organizational improvement leverage.

Given the exploratory nature of this study, more research is needed to study internal and external barriers to e‐business adoption by these firms, as well as the relationship between e‐business adoption and performance.

One of the first e‐business studies focusing on export firms on the disadvantaged end of the digital divide.

This paper aims to contribute to entrepreneurship theorising by highlighting the salience of feminine caring positions in creating novel entrepreneurial roles and investigating how these roles contribute to community resilience. Using a critical feminist economics lens, alternative conceptualisations of the economy are expanded upon to reveal how an economic externality influences entrepreneurial discourse, gender roles and community resilience.

In this interpretive approach, empirical evidence is drawn from six months of intensive ethnographic research with 20 tourism handicraft micro-entrepreneurs in Crete and Epirus, Greece, in 2012 and hence in the context of a macroeconomic crisis. Ethnographic interviewing and participant observation are used as the methods to achieve the research objectives.

Thematic analysis is used to investigate how gender roles and entrepreneurial roles interact and how this interaction influences community resilience to an economic crisis. Using the critical theory to critique neoclassical economics interpretations of entrepreneurship, it becomes evident that politico-economic structures perpetuating feminised responsibility for social reproduction configure feminine entrepreneurial roles, and these roles have a positive effect on increasing community resilience. By conceptualising entrepreneurial involvement as being primarily for community gain, participants highlight how feminine entrepreneurial discourse differs from the neoclassical economics entrepreneurial discourse of entrepreneurial involvement being primarily for individual gain.

This paper contributes to theoretical advancements on the role of gender in entrepreneurship and community resilience by investigating the entrepreneurs’ gendered responses to an exogenous shock. Providing insight into the role gender has in entrepreneurial adaptation and sustainable business practices means that new policies to combat social exclusion and promote rural development can be formulated.

The theoretical interplay between gender and entrepreneurship is investigated from a novel angle, that of critical feminist economics. The relationship between feminised interpretations of entrepreneurship and community resilience is brought to light, providing a unique insight into entrepreneurial resilience.

The learning outcomes are as follows: identify how tools and frameworks of strategic management can be applied to understand the evolution of the timeline of a firm; analyse the core competencies and weaknesses of a firm and understand their relevance in strengthening the competitive advantage of a firm; and design appropriate business models that are grounded in an integrated strategic analysis.

The case series traces the attempts of Nisrine Khalifeh to save her family’s ailing Lebanese artisan micro-enterprise that produces handmade glass blown jars, jugs and cups. Despite their unique traditional know-how in glassblowing, The Khalifeh struggle to survive since the early 2000s until today in a context of a growing concurrence by more competitive glass products. After each triggering event faced by the Khalifeh firm, Nisrine’s exploits opportunities offered to her in an archaic business model approach that provides short business solutions. Nisrine seems not to realize that her business approach is just keeping her family business from dying today instead of tomorrow while keeping it on the verge of going under. Facing an additional dilemma, she is challenged to realize how competitive and sustainable the Khalifeh business model is, and which actions she should take to withstand the competitive threats. More sustainable business options exist to this traditional micro-enterprise which carries a strong growth rate potential if sustainable business models are developed and deployed using key tools and frameworks of strategic management analysis.

Undergraduate Business Students,

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CSS 11: Strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and articulate the profile of handicraft entrepreneurs operating in the Maboneng precinct of Johannesburg, South Africa.

This study is qualitative in nature – implementing a phenomenology through which cases of four handicraft entrepreneurs are developed.

Handicraft entrepreneurs in Maboneng possess a spiritually motivated profile that does not allow them to be neatly characterised in the profiles of the literature.

This study contributes to addressing the dearth of knowledge in the literature on the profile of entrepreneurs in Africa. It provides insights on the spiritual motivation of artisanal entrepreneurs in particular who represent a part of the largest proportion of African small-scale entrepreneurial activity.