Abstract
An indigenous craft, Batik permeates the lives of Indonesians and represents national pride. Often established as a female-headed family enterprise, small Batik businesses in Indonesia’s Madura region are handed down from one generation to another and operate on a traditional brick-and-mortar retail channel, relying heavily on tourism to attract customers. COVID-19 lockdown has crippled that trading chain. E-commerce trading through digital platforms, such as e-marketplaces and social media, seems to be the only viable solution. A study of 12 small Batik businesses in Madura prior to, and after, the COVID-19 lockdown suggests significant barriers exist to digitally transform these businesses. Besides the usual environment, and socio-economic barriers to digital innovation such as illiteracy and lack of digital skills, reliance on younger family members and community support, indigeneity aspects such as ecological condition, socio-culture value and local wisdom, have been found to deter the transformation. We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest avenues for further exploration.
Recommended Citation
Agustiono, Wahyudi; Chan, Caroline; Kam, Booi; Yusron, Rifky M.; and Yasid, Achmad, "Barriers of digital transformation: The case of small indigenous businesses in Indonesia during COVID-19" (2020). ACIS 2020 Proceedings. 64.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2020/64