The impact of business ideology and sociocultural influences in the creation and commercialisation of cultural and creative products: the case of the Bangladeshi handloom industry

The creative and cultural industries, which are industries that specialise in the creation, manufacturing and distribution of goods that are cultural in nature or hold cultural significance, provide avenues through which entrepreneurs can capitalise on the commercialisation of unique commodities produced by their communities and create important income opportunities for said communities. The handloom industry of Bangladesh is one such industry. The garments made from handlooms are important to the local fashion industry; however the industry has largely failed to evolve with changing consumer demands and economic landscapes. Through an exploration of the sociocultural, economic, technological, and political influences that are present in the region, this research explores the causes of the stagnancy of this industry and the factors that could instead nurture its creative potential. Through the employment of a case study method, the researcher studied the key personnel and operations of a company that stands outs in its creative endeavours by breaking traditional moulds using handlooms to design apparel suitable for international markets and by planning to export them overseas. Using Charmaz's (2006) guidelines for the analysis of qualitative data and construction of theory, the researcher analysed the empirical data that was collected for this research, by taking into account established literature and theories, mainly, Csikszentmihalyi's Systems Theory of Creativity, Ralston's Crossvergence Theory, concepts taken from Hofstede's Dimensions of National Culture, and Rational Action Theory. The combined application of these theories allowed for an comprehensive exploration of both the sociocultural factors and business ideologies which shape the understandings, perspectives, and behaviours of the case study participants. The multi-step analysis of the data revealed the key influence of multicultural experiences and exposures in shaping and encouraging creative behaviour. It was discovered that each participant had been exposed to different cultures in a variety of manners, and these differing exposures have led to unique creatively entrepreneurial behaviours that were not generally observed in their wider community.