Digital Technology-Augmented Indigenous Knowledge Management: A Qualitative Exploration of Sustainable Competitiveness among Bamboo Craft MSMEs in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Digital technologies are increasingly reshaping creative industries by expanding access to design references, market intelligence, external knowledge, and digital communication opportunities. However, limited attention has been given to how digital technologies interact with indigenous knowledge systems in traditional craft communities, particularly how digitally mediated resources can be incorporated without displacing culturally embedded expertise and experiential craftsmanship. Addressing this gap, this study explores how digital technology-augmented indigenous knowledge management supports sustainable competitiveness among bamboo craft micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia. This study employed an interpretive qualitative approach using the Gioia methodology. Data were collected through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and semi-structured in-depth interviews with three master bamboo craftsmen representing established bamboo craft practices in Tasikmalaya. The inquiry examined indigenous knowledge, intergenerational learning, experiential craftsmanship, community interaction, product innovation, knowledge protection, market adaptation, and the role of digital technologies in accessing external knowledge and creative resources. The empirical material was analyzed iteratively, progressing from informant-centered first-order concepts to researcher-interpreted second-order themes and six aggregate dimensions. The findings indicate that sustainable competitiveness is not primarily a function of digital technology adoption alone but emerges through interconnected indigenous knowledge management processes encompassing Indigenous Knowledge Assets, Community Knowledge Ecosystem, Experiential Learning and Knowledge Creation, Adaptive Innovation Capability, Knowledge Protection, and Sustainable Competitiveness. Digital technology operates across these processes as an augmentation layer, expanding access to creative references, market intelligence, external knowledge, and communication opportunities. Rather than replacing indigenous craftsmanship, digitally mediated resources acquire value through artisans’ selective interpretation and transformation grounded in experiential craftsmanship, ecological knowledge, cultural identity, and human judgement. Based on these findings, the study develops the Digital Technology-Augmented Indigenous Knowledge Management Cycle (DT-IKMC) as a preliminary, empirically grounded conceptual framework for understanding how indigenous knowledge is inherited, collectively enriched, transformed through experience, mobilized for innovation, protected, and translated into sustainable competitiveness. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is positioned within this framework as one form of AI-enabled digital technology rather than as a separate theoretical construct or alternative framework. The study contributes to knowledge management scholarship by bringing together the Knowledge-Based View, Community of Practice, and Dynamic Capabilities perspectives to explain how culturally embedded knowledge can be continuously renewed while engaging with digitally mediated resources. Practically, the findings provide insights for policymakers, creative-industry practitioners, and bamboo craft MSMEs seeking to strengthen competitiveness while maintaining indigenous expertise, cultural identity, and human judgement as foundations of sustainable innovation.