Rwanda's artisans show how traditional crafts and modern business create value together
A new study of Rwandan pottery, basketry, and woodcraft reveals that indigenous knowledge and business expertise don't simply exchange hands—they transform each other into something new. The finding matters because it shows how developing economies can build competitive advantage by blending local skills with commercial know-how, rather than abandoning tradition for efficiency.
Originaltitel: Mutual knowledge: indigenous knowledge meets business knowledge. Evidence from the Rwandan handicraft industry
Rwandisk hantverksindustri visar hur traditionell kunskap och affärslogik inte bara utbyts utan omgestaltas tillsammans. En ny studie på Kigali universitet kartlägger denna växelverkan genom tre triadiska nätverk inom keramik, vävning och träslöjd. Forskarna identifierade fyra mekanismer som driver transformationen: medling, styrning, hybridisering och handlande. Intermediärer spelar en avgörande roll för att säkerställa att artisaner kan bevara kulturell legitimitet samtidigt som de möter marknadskrav. Resultaten riktar sig direkt till policyaktörer som söker modeller för hållbar utveckling där inhemsk kunskap värderas som konkret tillgång, inte som ett antropologiskt minnesmärke. För mediestrategi och verksamhetsutveckling i kulturella näringar visar studien att framgång kräver strukturerad samverkan mellan aktörer snarare än envägs överföring av kunskap. Jönköping universitet medverkar i forskningen.
Purpose This paper aims to investigate how mutual knowledge emerges in heterogeneous triadic interactions in the Rwandan handicraft sector, where indigenous and business knowledge intersect. The concept of mutual knowledge is introduced to capture transformation rather than transfer in interorganizational settings. Design/methodology/approach An abductive, qualitative case-study approach is applied to three handicraft triads, pottery, basketry and woodcraft. Data was collected through interviews, observations and documents. Analysis was guided by a framework identifying four mechanisms, mediation, governance, hybridity and enactment, operating across artisanship, business practices and sociocultural contexts. Findings The study shows that mutual knowledge develops through mechanisms that mediate, govern, hybridize and enact knowledge in triadic constellations. These processes illustrate how tacit and explicit, indigenous and business knowledge forms are not merely exchanged but transformed. The findings underscore the crucial role of intermediaries in facilitating mutual knowledge. Research limitations/implications The analysis is limited to three Rwandan cases, constraining generalizability. Future research could apply comparative or longitudinal designs. Conceptually, the study enriches industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP) theory by integrating knowledge, interaction and triadic perspectives, while also engaging with practice-based, institutional and postcolonial literatures. Practical implications For artisans, the study identifies strategies to balance cultural legitimacy with market requirements. For NGOs and intermediaries, it highlights the importance of governance and mediation. For policymakers, it demonstrates the value of treating indigenous knowledge as a resource for sustainable development. Originality/value This paper advances IMP research by conceptualizing mutual knowledge as transformation enacted in triadic settings. It extends international debates by connecting knowledge and practice literature with postcolonial and development perspectives.