Building Innovation Capability for the Sustainability of Rancabuaya Village Craft Weavers

Abstract

The research studies how innovation capability can be nurtured within community of artisans through design tool development. Innovation capability has generated widespread interest both academically and practically. However previous works have mostly been performed at profit organizations with few discussed at community level, especially in artisans’ community who are struggling to create innovative product and have lost their competitiveness in the market. The research focusing on a unique case, Rancabuaya Village, Tangerang, Indonesia. The research used qualitative exploratory study design with single case study. Data collection methods used in the study were in-depth interviews, literature study and documentation. Innovation capability is key for long term sustainability and need to be nurtured in community sectors. To accelerate the innovation capability building process in informal setting, the study proposes a design tool to facilitate idea generation for new product development in community of artisans. The design tool is developed with design thinking process: empathize, define, ideation, prototyping and testing. The design tools as the study result are the bamboo and rattan idea book, a book consisting of a mood board and a compilation of different weaving patterns from each component of a weaving object. The book aims to foster the idea management and creativity within a community of artisans, two determinants that are found to be essential for building innovation capability. This research contributes on two main ways: first, it provides an understanding that nurturing innovation capability in community artisans setting necessitates strategic management initiatives such as: a product development strategy, an idea sharing system, and a collaborative culture, this has not been profoundly explored by the present literature; and second, it employs design thinking as an analytical framework that provides a human-centered approach to the process of building innovation capability and ensures that the tool developed is rooted in the needs of the artisan community.