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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.

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 Iban are the largest ethnic group in Sarawak. This paper analyses their participation in one of the most common forms of rural non‐agricultural activities in Sarawak, namely commercial handicraft production (CHP). Traditionally, the Iban produce handicrafts for personal use. With the introduction of the Iban to the cash economy, the presence of demand for their handicrafts, and the growing insecurities in the rural economy one would expect Iban craftspersons to participate actively in RNAE and produce handicrafts for commercial purposes. Some Iban craftspersons have taken up CHP, while others have not. Some have achieved economic “success” while others have failed. This suggests that there are different responses to, and impact of non‐agricultural activities (particularly CHP) on the Iban in rural Sarawak. This paper addresses the following key questions: What are the factors preventing rural communities from taking up and/or succeeding in RNAE, particularly commercial handicraft production? Is it due to the lack of willingness among Iban craftspersons to participate in commercial activities? Is it due to limited access to market and institutional support? This paper is based on a survey conducted on 200 Iban craftspersons from eleven longhouses in Kapit Division, Sarawak between 1993 until 1996

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect handicraft export from Vietnam to trading partners in the period 2007–2017, and how those factors influence the export of handicraft products of Vietnam.

The research uses the approach of gravity model based on panel data to evaluate the export of Vietnamese handicraft to 50 main trading partners, covering the period from 2007 to 2017.

The estimated results reveal that Vietnam’s GDP, importer’s GDP, trading partner’s population, Vietnam’s inflation, the economic distance between Vietnam and importer, the openness of Vietnam, importing country’s common language and the issue that both Vietnam and importer are member of APEC are the main factors affecting Vietnamese handicraft export.

This study also has some limitations. It is limited in the data, as some other areas in the world have not been observed and included in the research. In the future, a study with large-scale data of space and time should be conducted, which will certainly give a universal result and fewer errors. However, this paper, in our opinion, provides a significant result and may help the government and policy makers to undertake appropriate measures to improve and promote the export of Vietnamese handicrafts to the world markets.

The research describes the current situation, and it studies factors influencing Vietnam’s handicraft export using the qualitative analysis. The result should be useful for the policy maker and enterprises to promote export activities of Vietnamese handicrafts to international markets.

Handicraft export of Vietnam plays an important part in retaining the culture value and social development as well as encouraging sustainable development for the rural poor within the country.

The past research related to Vietnamese handicraft export almost analyzed the situation to promote export handicrafts. This research is based on the study of factors affecting trade and the gravity model to elaborate and supplement the factors that affect the export of handicraft in accordance with the actual conditions of Vietnam.

International marketing/export marketing.

This case is appropriate for discussion in courses such as international marketing and export marketing of post graduate studies in management. The case can also be used for management development programmes concerning practising managers.

The case is based on export marketing strategy with special focus on developing strong buyer (customer) relationships and the associated challenges of a trading company, The Handicrafts and Handlooms Exports Corporation of India Ltd (HHEC). The corporation primarily engages in export of handlooms and handicraft products from India. Since 2005-06 the corporation has been incurring losses and it was only in 2010-11 that the corporation has registered a positive net profit.

To understand the appropriate strategies for buyer retention; to understand appropriate promotion strategies of non-essential items like handicraft, handloom and carpets; and to help students in making decisions for export marketing like understanding product characteristic, development of samples, procurement of products, vendor management, and pricing decisions.

Teaching notes.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the growth motivations of women owning and managing home-based businesses (HBBs) in Iran.

The qualitative approach was used by 20 in-depth interviews with Iranian female HBBs owners/mangers.

The business growth motivations of women owning and managing HBBs were categorized in intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Results show that women owning and managing HBBs are motivated to growth their businesses by intrinsic motivations including need for achievement, need for independence, proving competency and socio-cultural concerns. Also, they are motivated by some extrinsic motivations including financial issues, fame, positive feedback from others and the problems of working at home.

Given the importance of entrepreneurial growth, the findings provide additional insight into growth motivations of women entrepreneurs.

The results of this study can help policymakers to develop purposeful growth policies for women’s HBBs that are commensurate with the motivations.

Also, women owning and managing HBBs themselves could better concentrate on enhancing business growth by deepening their understanding of their business growth motivations.

The paper contributes to the scarce knowledge about women-owned HBBs in Iran, a rapidly growing, developing country, which can provide better insights from a less explored context. Moreover, as there is only a limited understanding of HBB growth, especially in relation to women business owners, the study results can prove helpful for researchers in the domain of female entrepreneurs. Also, this paper contributes to theory on the motivation for entrepreneurship and to research on growth motivation.

This study examines how tourists’ buying behavior toward souvenirs plays a pivotal role and explores the moderating role of prominent souvenirs in the marketing context. This study aims to examine the importance and the current status of the souvenir purchase behavior in Raghurajpur and Pipili village of Puri district in Odisha.

Purchasing behaviors of tourists such as different variables and tourist demographics were examined. The current study used the structural equation model (SEM) and regression in analyzing unique data from 400 tourists visiting the villages.

The research findings indicate that all the variables taken into consideration for research are accurate and are positively associated with tourist engagement in souvenir buying. All the factors are taken into consideration also proved significant toward the dependent variable, i.e. buying behavior. It is argued that adequate attention to the purchase behavior of tourists was not given by academic scholars, professionals and officials in Odisha.

The current study was limited to the two prominent villages of Odisha famous for handicrafts. Future research might address behavioral studies in other states of India or the place of Odisha. In the present study, data were collected from the tourist sample while exiting the village after shopping. Methods could be developed to elicit responses from tourists after they reached their homes to determine if their responses toward souvenir buying differ. Souvenirs and souvenir buying behavior is an untapped field of research in India.

This study has enormous potential to contribute to the existing literature on souvenir purchase behavior of tourists in Indian context. The current study will use the identified variables to predict the behavior of tourists towards souvenirs so that craftsmen and policy makers can make an effective marketing mix to brand the souvenirs.

This study is intended to anchor on souvenir purchase patterns of tourists in Pipili and Raghurajpur. An investigation of tourist shopping orientations for souvenir product holds potential for retailers to better direct marketing efforts to a non-local clientele. Understanding and analyzing variables would give government, craftsmen and other stakeholders to properly make marketing strategies for the handicraft sector. Handicrafts of Odisha are rapidly becoming commercialized items, and the authenticity is dying. This study can make the stakeholders aware of the tourist’s needs and preferences.

The authors provide a holistic and grounded understanding of the souvenir buying behavior of tourists in two prominent villages of Odisha through SEM and other indicators of souvenir buying from tourist’s perspective.

This study aims to contribute to the existing understanding of export practices in sub-Saharan African firms with a contextual focus on Ghanaian exporters operating in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Underpinned by resource-based theory and its association with the relational view, it examines how the interplay between various decision makers’ international experience, export commitment and distribution adaptation decisions influence firms’ performance.

The study uses a mixed methods approach, using survey data from 116 internationalising Ghanaian businesses across three sectors, supplemented with qualitative insights from 18 follow-up interviews.

The study establishes a full mediation effect of export commitment on the association between international experience and export performance; also, the moderating effect of distribution adaptation on export commitment – performance relationships. Unique insights are provided into the perceived role of trustworthy, intermediaries as “stakeholders” that add to a respective firm’s resource base; that is, in building capabilities in overseas markets and informing evolving business model decisions to overcome potential export barriers.

The insights from sub-Saharan African firms provide contextual value given the relatively under-represented existing research from the region. Original insights highlight ways in which decision makers build capabilities and that they do not always follow a forward moving internationalisation process, so use different measures of performance regarding B2B product-market ventures over time.

This study aims to examine the impact of implementing target costing and continuous improvement techniques in industrial companies operating in southern Palestine on achieving sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The study mainly assesses the level of application of these techniques by Palestinian industrial companies (PICs). Furthermore, it evaluates the extent to which the integration of these two methods can impact SCA, by producing cost-effective and innovative products that meet customer demands and needs, while simultaneously achieving continuous development of the company and an SCA.

A descriptive analytical approach was used to study the target costing and continuous improvement techniques employed by industrial companies in southern Palestine. A questionnaire was administered to 415 companies in the southern West Bank to collect data on the application of target cost and continuous improvement and their impact on SCA, measured through market share, differentiation and cost reduction. Control variables, such as company age, size (measured by the number of employees) and industrial sector classification were also included in the study model.

The findings of the study revealed that the PICs apply target costing and continuous improvement at a high level. Furthermore, all dimensions of achieving SCA were found to be achieved at a high level, with market share being the most prominent. The study also found that the integration of the target costing and continuous improvement had a positive impact on achieving SCA in the PICs. However, the study found no impact on company size, age or industrial sector on achieving a competitive advantage in terms of market share or other results.

The current study was limited to the application of strategic management methods to companies within the industrial sector only. This may constitute a limitation because it neglected other sectors. Likely, another limitation was the difficulty of obtaining the quantitative numbers needed for some quantitative variables that pertain to that type of industrial companies, which are mostly family companies that could not be regulated by the local companies' law to disclose their financial statement.

If industrial companies have ambitions to reduce production costs from the planning and design stage to set the target selling price. It is based on the understanding and awareness of customers' desires while maintaining the quality of products according to the best methods of improvement and innovation; therefore, this can be achieved by using the target costing and the continuous improvement techniques through reviewing the current study and its results.

The current study sought to link two methods, simultaneously and complementary, with each other of the strategic methods of managerial accounting, which helps the companies to offer their best to attract customers, develop the product or service and maintain their continuity in a changing labor market that enables it to achieve sustainable and competitive advantage.

This study is unique in that it explores the impact of the integration of target costing or continuous improvement techniques (Kaizen) on achieving SCA in Palestine industrial companies. While previous studies have examined either target costing or continuous improvement techniques separately, this study enhances the integration of these two methods to achieve SCA.

This study aims to explore how an entrepreneur's implicit need for achievement and risk reception contribute to internationalization performance.

This study involves 176 Indonesian entrepreneurs. The authors use the Operant Motive Test to assess the entrepreneur's implicit needs and apply hierarchical Tobit regression to assess the interplay between implicit need for achievement, risk perception and internationalization.

The authors show that an entrepreneur's basic needs and risk perception play an essential role in SME internationalization. More specifically, the authors reveal a positive association between the entrepreneur's need for achievement and small and medium enterprises (SME) internationalization. They also show a U-shaped relationship for the moderation effect of risk perception on this relationship. That is, for a high need for achievement-motivated entrepreneur, the level of internationalization is at the highest when risk perception is either very low or very high.

In this study, the authors argue that analyses at the entrepreneur's individual level are indispensable to better understand firm internationalization. The authors argue that the role of psycho-cognitive characteristics of individuals (such as motivational dispositions) received too little attention, compared to factors at the firm or environmental level. This study examines such personality aspects and finds that implicit need for achievement and risk perception impact SME internationalization.