Can the Arts and Crafts Sector in India be Sustainable: A Grounded Theory Approach to Mapping Challenges and Proposing Solutions

The demand and market for indigenous art, craft and handloom products in India have witnessed a massive decline in recent years. The growing popularity of machine-made products through online retail and a lack of monitoring for product quality led to genericide in the arts and crafts sector, which is detrimental to the indigenous and traditional handicraft businesses. India’s sub-optimal performance in competitiveness factors such as basic infrastructure, intellectual property rights, education and broadband adoption not only bring down revenues for indigenous artists and crafts people but also lower consumer demand due to a lack of trust in the product as well. Drawing on constructivist grounded theory, this paper identifies challenges facing indigenous art and craft sellers and proposes measures to ensure the sustainability of this sector. The paper also finds that Genericide is not only having an adverse economic impact on the sector but also affecting the brand image of Indian Indigenous Arts and Crafts. Geographical Indication is proposed as a possible way to create a differentiation between indigenous products and generic products to counter Genericide and check the growing hyper-competition. A system for quality management is suggested to ensure Geographical Indication products stand out and win consumer trust. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42943-022-00065-9.