Women's Role in Sustaining Culture-Based Craft Enterprises: A Case Study of Batik Jetis, Sidoarjo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59431/ijer.v6i3.998Keywords:
Cultural Preservation, Cultural Heritage, Sustainable Business, Batik Jetis, Women Entrepreneurship, Women's LeadershipAbstract
Culture-based craft enterprises play a dual role as economic drivers and vehicles of cultural preservation, However, their sustainability is increasingly challenged by declining numbers of artisans and weak regeneration among yonger generations, creating a need to balance cultural preservation with business adaptation. This study examines the role of women in sustaining Batik Jetis, a traditional batik enterprose cluster in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, recognized as part of Indonesia’s UNESCO-listed intangible cultural hertitage. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with fifteen women batik entrepreneurs, supported by observation and documentation, and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis. Three themes emerged; cultural preservation, and dynamics of women’s leadership, and women as drivers of business sustainability. Findings show that women sustain Batik Jetis by maintaining batik-making skills and distinctive motifs, introducing the craft to yuonger generations and the wider public, exercising leadership in decision-making and resource management, and adapting through product innovation and digital promotion while retaining the cultural identity of Batik Jetis. The three themes are interrelated: cultural preservation forms the foundation of the enterprise, leadership sustains its management forms the foundation of the enterprise, leadership sustains its management, and adaptive strategies secure its competitiveness. This study contributes to the literature on women’s entrepreneurship and cultural sustainability by demonstarting how gender, culture, and business stategy intersect in a heritage-craft context, and offers pratical implications fpr artisans, local goverment, and future researchers.
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