Review of Professional Management

Sustaining Family Business: Unveiling the Resilience of Majuli Potters in Assam, India

Dashimti Marwein¹ and Sita Vanka¹

First Published 9 Jul 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/09728686241262101

Article Information

Volume 22, Issue 1 June 2024

Corresponding Author:

Dashimti Marwein, School of Management Studies, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Telangana 500046, India.
Email: dashimhcu@gmail.com

¹ School of Management Studies, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Telangana, India

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-Commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed.

Abstract

The Kumars of Salmora village in the south-eastern part of Majuli, Assam, India, are an example of a family managed business of handcrafting river clay pots. Salmora became the Kumhar village as a result of clay, which became the primary reason for the settlement of potters in the area. The hand-beaten pottery is a cottage industry of Majuli and has been passed down through generations. Currently, the policy restrictions and the dying art form have made people think about how to sustain the handicraft, their livelihoods woven around this art form, and continue their passion/skill in the given challenging situation. This makes it interesting to adopt the case research method to examine the struggle of small businesses to sustain their livelihoods, on the one hand, and the limited alternative sources of livelihood, on the other hand, thus making the survival and sustenance of the family business a challenge, where pottery was their family business for generations. The case discussion revolves around the problems, concerns and causes for the deterioration of the art forms and highlights the issues and challenges. It contributes to the resources in the emerging family business management literature and also the family businesses to strategise in similar contexts.

Keywords

Family business, pottery, Northeast India, sustainable, livelihoods, traditional art forms

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