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Collaboration among businesses, particularly in the current global economic downturn, can be a key strategy contributing to their survival. This study examines the case of micro firms involved in Terracotta art in Impruneta, Italy, and the extent to which collaboration occurs among the local artisans. In doing so, the study aims to consider collaboration theory in the context of micro firms.

Semi-structured, face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted among the owners and managers of ten of Impruneta's 16 Terracotta firms.

Whilst much of the academic literature highlights the multiple benefits of collaborative relationships, most participants acknowledge very limited engagement in collaboration. From the comments gathered, two distinct groups emerged, one composed of members of the local Terracotta association, who to some extent collaborate with one another, and the second, the non-members, who pursue their interests individually, or marginally collaborate outside Impruneta. Further, a number of barriers preventing collaboration were identified.

The apparent weak collaborative relationships among respondents may have ramifications for the further development of their sector, for instance, restricting innovation and marketing know-how, both of which could help address such external pressures as competition. The involvement of third parties, such as the local town hall or chambers of commerce, was suggested by several participants to help increase collaboration.

The study focuses on micro firms, a group that, despite its relevance for many countries' economies, has received limited attention from academic research, including with regard to collaboration and collaboration theory.

Traditional artisans are the worst victims of globalisation and corporate entry into their local economy and hand-driven production processes. For their rehabilitation, protection, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, embedded, inter alia, in the built environment, a suitable framework need to be crafted within the broad domain of mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) envisaged under The Indian Companies Act, 2013. Conceived in the above backdrop, the study attempts to situate traditional artisans as stakeholders worthy of development interventions under CSR. For want of studies and notable interventions in the above context, few small CSR cases are reviewed and a number of worthwhile areas of interventions are proposed in terms of a wish list, drawn from the socio, economic, educational, employment and cultural milieu of traditional artisans. It is found that they come under the discretionary category of stakeholders, who possess the attribute of legitimacy, but they have no power to influence the firms and no urgent claims. The study points to the necessity for establishing a National Artisans’ Rehabilitation and Development Fund, besides artisan-friendly sharpening of the schedule of CSR activities in the Indian context.

The handicraft sector is unorganized, with tremendous opportunities for generating employment, particularly for the non-urban and bottom of the pyramid (BOP) population. The aim of this paper is to revisit the existing supply chain of the handicraft sector to identify the gaps that can help generate better marketing outcomes for the sector when addressed.

A mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research has been used. Empirical observations from artisans have been collected to identify different variables impacting the functioning of the handicraft value chain.

Different variables were identified and grouped into six important dimensions through the mixed-method research. The components were ranked based on importance, which can help in developing a robust supply chain at BOP for the handicraft sector.

Studies on the supply chain of the handicraft sector are rare, and none has tried to understand issues in an integrated way directly from the artisans. This study has captured the voices of the artisans, and through qualitative and quantitative data analyses, the main reasons for the artisans' pain points were identified. This can give directions to a viable business model for the handicraft sector.

The case concerns strategy.

This study is applicable to information system, development sector and application of technology in development sector.

Krutika Terracotta Unit is a small unit located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha (India), owned by Mr Tarun Tapan Sahoo. The organization product portfolio varies from decorative statues, pots and vessel to customized products demanded by customers. Organization is also involved in training and renting the products for traditional fairs, marriages and religious ceremony in Bhubaneswar along with order sales. The case attempts to get a close picture of the industry. The exercise of developing the vision, mission, and goals for the organization was carried out and an attempt was made to align the information system with the business objectives even though the organization does not have a very structured organogram. Using BIS will surely reduce manual work and will give qualitative output. There will be lesser hassles in management. The defined and integrated approach will also help in taking strategic decisions well. The objective is to develop and apply well-structured BIS which can be integrated with the existing system so as to develop the terracotta organization in terms of reachability and profit-making with better decision-making capacity.

To learn about the business model of a handicraft marketing organization; to learn about the processes involved in traditional art form of Terracotta; to go through the exercise of creating vision, mission, goals of the organization through mutual discussion and expectation of owner; to determine how BIS helps in achieving higher productivity in Krutika Terracotta Unit; and to get an idea about how NPV calculation and social ROI should be measured for finding feasibility of technology investment.

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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.

A leader who inspires, facilitates and leads people to outperform themselves and bring phenomenal changes on an individual and social canvas is recognized as a transformational leader (TL). TL focuses on innovative methods and processes to improve the efficiency of subordinates. Experts believe that transformational leadership management is more effective than pragmatic leadership. This study focuses on the traits of a TL. Mr. Dhirendra Kumar, Managing Director of Jharcraft, who set out on a mission to lead people to revive the lost art and craft in the state of Jharkhand, India. The case highlights how Kumar's leadership style aligns with the four components of transformational leadership suggested by Bass (1985), i.e. idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and individual considerations.

The study employs a qualitative approach to comprehend the theory of transformational leadership. First of all, an in-depth analysis of transformational leadership theory was conducted using secondary data. The findings of several researchers on the basis of their contribution to the development of transformational leadership theory were analyzed. Based on this, the Bass transformational theory framework was selected. Primary data were collected by conducting interviews with Mr. Dhirendra Kumar, Managing Director of Jharcraft.

Transformational leadership is a leadership style that can inspire positive changes in those who follow. TLs are generally energetic, enthusiastic and passionate. As per Bass's transformational leadership components, Kumar challenged the status quo and imbibed creativity and skill into local artisans. Artisans were imparted training by experts from the National Institute of Fashion and Technology and provided intellectual stimulation. Kumar offered support and encouragement to individual followers. In order to foster supportive relationships, Kumar articulated a clear vision to the followers. Kumar served as a role model for followers. Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate this individual and internalize the individual's ideals.

This study only considered the traits portrayed by Dhirendra Kumar during Kumar's tenure as the Managing Director of Warcraft, and the data were collected at one single point in time. Future research may consider Kumar's entire service journey and study factors that influenced his role as a TL.

Students will be able to learn and understand how a TL can bring positive change at the grassroots level.

This case focuses on how a TL's efforts led to the societal upliftment of poor people and made them capable.

Given the importance of transformational leadership in today's organizational context, this study builds a knowledge base to understand factors for transformational leadership and traits exhibited by TLs.

The purpose of this paper is to create optimally located Facilitation Centers on this tourist circuit, evaluated through network analysis, thus creating an effective linkage between tourism and economic activities of the craftsmen who are the custodians of the cultural heritage of Puri.

The craft villages lying in and around this tourist circuit are surveyed to establish socio-economic condition of artisans, significance of the craft and spatial distribution of craft villages and the willingness of artisans to travel closer to the transport spine. Network analysis is used to assess the suitability of Facilitation Center location using travel time and distance as parameters. Finally, the sustainability of the Facilitation Centers is evaluated using a cost-benefit analysis (CBA).

The Facilitation Centers can be spatially developed at the strategic locations to expand tourist market. This will help in leveraging the economic benefits of tourism to a marginalized rural artisan community by creating a sustainable model.

The focus on festival can help to protect local cultural traditions, develop tourism and promote the economic, social and cultural developments of the destination. Dispersal strategies adopted aim to increase visitors' satisfaction with the product and thus entice them to stay longer in the destination.

This study aims to explore social entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) in the craft sector in the state of Gujarat, India. With liberalization, India witnessed the growth of social entrepreneurship and is considered one of the pioneering countries in social innovation. The objective of the research was to answer the research question: what role do various stakeholder groups play in creating and promoting craft sector social EEs.

The study is based on a qualitative case study approach of methodological triangulation combining analysing documents, a participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Two case studies – one of the Ajrakh craft cluster from Ajrakhpur and the other of Kala Cotton from Aadeshar, Bhuj are studied to explore the symbiotic linkages of social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Kutch district of Gujarat, India. A total of 24 in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders of the EE.

The study concludes that the role of like-minded individuals/social entrepreneurs, social enterprises, design networks and educational institutions is vital towards revival and sustainability of craft as economic commodities geared for scalability. Furthermore, the engagement of the systemic condition agents such as various local and national level institutions, the communities play an important role to revitalize, redeem and commercialize craft infrastructure based on active engagement, innovation and services.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how traditional craft-based enterprises can be enabled, revived, grown and sustained.

The handicraft sector is unorganized with huge potential for the economic upliftment of the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) craft producers. To ensure the sustainable livelihood of the artisans living in BOP, it is essential to identify the hurdles being faced by them so that they can be worked upon. This paper aims to look at the existing handicraft value chain in an integrated way to identify these hurdles and suggest probable solutions to mitigate them.

A two-stage study involving quantitative and qualitative approaches is used. Empirical observations from 218 artisans were analyzed using the relative to an identified distribution to rank the different variables affecting the functioning of the handicraft value chain. Next, 17 handicraft entrepreneurs were interviewed to identify solutions for the hurdles.

A two-stage study examining the perspectives of artisans and handicraft entrepreneurs identified five significant challenges affecting the handicraft sector and viable solutions to address them. While presenting an operational model, a comprehensive picture of the handicraft business ecosystem was studied, from the procurement of raw materials to the marketing and sale of finished products. This can assist handicraft producers in sustaining their livelihoods and expanding the industry.

Studies on the handicraft value chain at BOP are rare, and none have tried to look at the sector holistically to find solutions and propose an operational framework. The study has captured the voices of the artisans and handicraft entrepreneurs and, through a mixed-method approach, identified the main pain points of the BOP artisans to arrive at a workable solution for better business outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the meanings and business practices of four Southern Fair Trade enterprises (SFTEs).

The paper is based on research with four SFTEs in Bangladesh, taking an ethnographic approach with qualitative methodologies such as semi‐structured interviews, recorded meetings, informal discussions, analysis of grey literature, and observation with managers, staff, field workers and artisans of the organisations.

The meanings of Fair Trade are located in personal, family, business and national understandings of fairness and development. Such meanings inform the business practices of the SFTEs, used to achieve both commercial success and social goals, confirming the role of SFTEs in creating and maintaining ideals of fairer trade.

There is a need for more research on Fair Trade from the perspective of SFTEs.

The research draws attention to the key roles and business practices of the SFTE, increasing the understanding of what happens in the name of Fair Trade, and also provides lessons for other socially responsible enterprises.

The research highlights the importance of Southern meanings and practices, which should be included in the conceptualisation of Fair Trade, thus facilitating both informed debate and understanding the possibilities for the promotion and extension of fairer trade.

This research is unusual in concentrating on the central role played by the SFTE, particularly in the handicraft sector and with businesses rather than cooperatives. The business practices and decisions of SFTEs are often hidden in representations of Fair Trade.