Title: Evolving an ICT platform for a traditional industry: transforming artisans into entrepreneurs

Authors: B. Bowonder, S. Sadhulla, Akshay Jain

Addresses: Tata Management Training Centre, No. 1, Mangaldas Road, Pune 411 001, India. ' Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India. ' Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology, 26, Gulmohar Extension, Indore 452 001, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract: The leather industry is a traditional industry. The Kolhapuri is a traditional ||chappal|| manufactured through a manual process. This is a case study of the manner in which the design process, manufacturing process and marketing was reengineered using information and communications technology (ICT) interventions. Use of ICT helped this industry to reposition itself. The main reason for the early adoption and rapid diffusion of the new technology has been the systematic training carried out by Central Leather Research Institute for imparting skills in the local craftsman using two people from the same community. The income of craftsman increased considerably after the adoption of ICT for designing and market access. The change process was navigated and implemented in an evolutionary manner. This helped the change process to occur rapidly.

Keywords: ICT adoption; leather chappals; computer aided design; CAD; internet; market access; traditional industry; technology adoption; information technology; communications; India; developing countries; entrepreneurship; chappal design; training; technological change; change management; production improvement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2005.007416

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2005 Vol.6 No.3/4/5, pp.379 - 401

Published online: 18 Jul 2005 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article