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Small traditional industry has been recognized as an important local economy that support cultural industry and is significant in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. The significance of this type industry as a poverty barrier, enables jobs for local rural villagers, and their role in continuing local community based cultural activities have become obvious. However, as the current modern days global pressures affecting many traditional people in developing countries, pathways of small traditional industry toward local sustainable development remain unclear. Further continuous investigations are still required on how this industry provide the platform for greater local, regional and global sustainability. Literatures and debates on the sustainability of the rural developing country concerning small traditional industries may even begin from the establishment of Brundtland sustainability commission in 1987. The conflict between brown and green agenda in Brundtland commission may also point to small-scale traditional industry growth in the developing world. Cultural traditional industries in developing countries could better lead to local sustainability pathway. On the other hand, conflict of the use of natural resources and competition may create different stories. How traditional industry in developing country survive and further innovate for development is a significant knowledge to understand. This chapter uses Jepara traditional furniture industry in Central Java – Indonesia which has been the subject of prolonged study on how small-scale industry implicated to global competition and pressures of raw material resources decline. This chapter further reviews previous research and recent study on Jepara industry upgrade and innovation, and how likely innovation may prosper for the future sustainability of this type of industry.

A Casebook of Indigenous Business Practices in Africa is a collection of business case studies that expand understanding of how indigenous enterprises apply entrepreneurial practices embedded in culture to achieve success. Indigenous methods are part of Africa's social and economic fabric, and these cases identify concepts and models that can accelerate growth in Africa. The value of these practices across regions of Africa cannot be overemphasised despite the dominance of Western business methods, which, though beneficial, are yet to drive the continent's developmental agenda. By exploring indigenous business practices in Africa, students, educators, practitioners, entrepreneurs and government decision-makers will be introduced to unique and sustainable practices that can foster inclusive growth and social and economic empowerment when contextualised within the business landscape. Identification of relevant orientations in indigenous practices that will benefit contemporary business frameworks and actors is a significant contribution of the authors of this book. Incorporation of these indigenous methods into management teachings and business practices is essential to the continent's economic growth and socio-cultural progress.

As Africa strives to catch up with the rest of the world at the economic, political and sociocultural fronts, there is an increasing coalescence around the need for backward integration and the revival of traditional business management practices as enablers in the global war for economic dominance. Unfortunately, a significant consequence of colonial rule was the systematic denigration and portrayal of traditional African institutions and knowledge systems as inferior to those of the West. Although the negative depiction of the African worldview has been extensively challenged in the academy, changes in their perception and adoption have remained slow. The ‘Igbo Apprenticeship System’ (IAS), widely recognised as the largest business incubator platform in the world today, is a great testament to the sophistication and resilience of indigenous African business models and the need to scale up their impact as a strategic step towards the economic emancipation of the continent. However, one fundamental aspect of IAS's success story that is hardly ever mentioned in the extant literature is its approach to conflict management. Understandably, business by its nature is competitive and conflict-prone. Nonetheless, the Igbos appear to have successfully managed different types of conflicts associated with their traditional business model without recourse to western methods or processes. Using a conceptual approach, this chapter attempts to examine the efficacy of the conflict transformation mechanisms in the ‘Igbo Traditional Business School’ (I-TBS) against the background of emerging challenges in the twenty-first-century business environments in Africa and around the world. From the prism of the Conflict Transformation Theory, the chapter argues that I-TBS can serve as a vehicle for the economic growth of the continent, but it must be prepared to deal with ‘new’ conflicts and demands arising from within and outside of its ecosystem.

This study investigates an approach for business management based on social rationality, which is attained through a proper balance between profits from economic exchange and benefits from social exchange.

First, this study examines the economic rationalization process developed by the business corporation, which is a great innovation in the modern West, but criticized for dominating people through overwhelming capital and power. Second, social rationality is explained by focusing on the balance between economic exchange and social exchange. Third, the ethics and practices of traditional Japanese and Islamic business management are examined including their underlying social rationality in business and shared commonalities in business practices that circulate economic gains in their societies.

By encapsulating all the relevant elements drawn from traditional Japanese and Islamic business, four conditions were found which successfully establish socially rational management based on sharing and reciprocity: an appropriately life-sized economy; relation-oriented management; a market in which a profit-seeking exchange economy and a profit-cyclical gift economy coexist; autonomous associations that are independent from the control of both state and business corporations.

This research reevaluates the rationality of management complying with business ethics, which has been kept in traditional and non-Western business practices. These management styles are considered to be incongruous with modern management philosophies that solely rely on economic gain, resulting in the neglect of significant cultural principles in modern management.

This chapter suggests a way to circulate the profits among people through sharing and reciprocity for the public to diminish external diseconomies and solve social problems such as poverty, pollution, war, and alienation through business.

This study presents a method of shifting the paradigm from economically rational to socially rational management, which is urgently required in current business practices worldwide.

In the last ten years, businesses taking advantage of market deregulation, call‐centre, intranet and internet technology have broken traditional marketing norms and path‐dependent customer management practices. These businesses offer substantially lower prices and good customer service. In spite of anecdotal evidence of the high level of service complaints in the press, these businesses are expanding rapidly by growing the market and by taking share from traditional suppliers. Service failure recovery and complaint management are two areas which are extensively re‐designed by such businesses. This paper aims to identify and examine such new practices. The authors suggest that the traditional “customer‐centricity” model is being replaced by a “customer‐compliance business model” (CCBM) of service provision. This new model and its propositions defy conventional thinking in the areas of service recovery and complaint management.

Available data and research are reviewed, in an attempt to understand CCBM. Differences with the customer‐centricity model are discussed.

CCBM cannot be explained adequately by current assumptions in marketing. It breaks commonplace marketing expectations about service failure and recovery.

The emphasis is on explaining innovations in service recovery and complaint management.

Companies which operate the CCBM model are of growing importance to developed, service‐oriented economies. The paper builds on evidence to show how CCBM businesses have abandoned or minimised costly customer centricity and have broken past norms and conventional marketing thinking and practice.

The scarcity of research in this area is explained by the recent, rapid evolution of these new model businesses. The study reveals and makes sense of important trends in service provision, distinct from and incompatible with normative arguments in some academic writings that advocate service recovery excellence.

There is no doubt that there is a need for new traditions, that is, wisdoms for enhanced responsible business in Africa. As one of the oldest world economies, Africa has a rich history of responsible indigenous business traditions that have sustained and supported her people’s principled business entrepreneurship over the centuries. However, there is little knowledge about these African responsible indigenous business traditions in the international literature. Currently, internationally familiar Western responsible business traditions dominate global responsible management knowledge and practice. The chapter explores responsible indigenous business traditions amongst the Sesotho-speaking people of Southern Africa called Basotho, bringing to light an aspect of responsible indigenous business management knowledge and practice from Southern Africa. These Basotho’s responsible indigenous business traditions embedded in Mokorotlo business model are Seahlolo, that is, communal, or mutual aid sharing, Letsema, that is, communal work party, Tsimo-ea-lira, that is, the field of enemies, Moelela, that is, food paid for work at threshing time, and Mafisa, that is, communal livestock loaning. The chapter concludes by suggesting that these Mokorotlo business traditions are prima facie attractive to be taken seriously in the global responsible management knowledge and practice.

The Igbos of south-eastern region of Nigeria are known for their rich cultural heritage which permeates all their socioeconomic life. Sacrosanct among their social institution is their business practice which has outlived generations, but its impact is still felt not only in the south-eastern region but also in Nigeria as a whole. Igbo business practices have become integral to an average Igbo man's life, and it is the cornerstone on which their values are promoted. This is evidence in their desires to make wealth and be successful hence the adage ‘ego ji oru’ which means ‘money has the answer to projects’. Generally, Igbo culture and values are reflected in their business practices. The Igbos have a strategic model of attracting, retaining, transferring knowledge and developing talents. This unique model has contributed to the sustenance of Igbo businesses through manpower development and has also influenced their business performance over the years. The Igbos seek and develop talents in their area of business interest for continuity, performance and value creation. This chapter explores how talents are recruited to become apprentices and how knowledge is transferred to these apprentices by their Igbo master known as ‘oga’. Also, the effects of the recruitment process and the knowledge transfer mechanisms on business performance are evaluated. The chapter adopts a case study approach and sampled six small Igbo businesses in Ajah market, Lagos. The chapter revealed that the Igbos have indigenous strategies of recruiting and developing talents which influence the performance of their business. Informed recommendations were made for business in Africa at the end of the chapter.