Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Crafts Sector

There is consensus that the Crafts sector represents a high potential for the creation of economic and social value, notably through the creation of jobs as well as for the promotion of youth employment. The Crafts Sector has embraced major challenges over the times, including, substantial losses in the overall competitive edge of artisans Against this background the sector currently faces important challenges concerning the development of artisans' competences related to entrepreneurship and innovation, in order to promote the competitiveness and sustainability of their activities. Remarkably, though, the sector has survived the industrialization process largely due to the fact that the craftsman producers who survived have done an excellent job by innovating and reinventing their products, services and value models. Some studies emphasize the importance and the opportunities that the current technology and consumption contexts offer for other sectors, namely the crafts sector. Digital facilitators have been acknowledged as sources of opportunities for innovation in the production and processes of production and delivery of in the crafts sector without altering the identity features of the products. However, this potential can remain untapped if artisans fail to make of use of the technological opportunities. This article addresses the existing calls for contextualizing the crafts sector and for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in this area, by investigating key obstacles and problems faced by craftsman, as well as by exploring existing experiences in overcoming them. The article builds on data collected in five European countries, under the scope of the Erasmus+ Project Craftsmanship+ "Fostering a New and Competitive Approach to Crafts and Semi Industrial high added-value sectors"1 , and involved desk research and interviews with CEO's, Founders and CoFounders from existing business in crafts and semi-industrial activities. This article contributes in a timely manner to the understanding of the crafts sector by paying attention to the difficulties that artisans face in order to ensure the sustainability of their business initiatives. The importance and the economic contribution of the crafts sector is sizeable and undeniable but still does not attract the attention of support agencies at the same level as other sectors.