QUAND INNOVATION RIME AVEC TRADITION : VERS L'EXPLORATION D'UN NOUVEAU REGARD PORTE SUR LES PRODUITS ARTISANAUX

Abstract

The purchasing behaviors of the Tunisian consumers have changed during these recent years. Now, he purchases and values more local goods, especially handicrafts ones. This new mindset come out because of the emergence of new Tunisian crafts companies that sell updated products that combine both traditional and modern styles. Our objective consists first, to outline the evolution of the Tunisian artisanal product. Therefore, this theoretical advancement will enable us to empirically study the new consumer perspective on this long-trivialized commodity in Tunisia. We were initially motivated to address our issue based on the work of Schumpeter (1930). The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the innovations that the artisanal product has to deal with, by discussing organizational innovation, product innovation, innovation by breaking into new markets, innovation through commercialization, and innovation by the use of new raw material sources. The second method involved a qualitative study in which we performed 21 non-directive one-to-one interviews with consumers. Our findings demonstrate that Tunisian consumer is actually attracted by the handcrafted brand that considered it fashionable. This discovery runs counter to prior research's findings regarding a product that has long been associated with a basic and archaic appearance. This research demonstrates also the relationship between current consumer trends and the revisited artisanal product, confirming that the new version of the artisanal product satisfies perfectly the needs of the postmodern consumer, namely the quest for erasure of boundaries, the quest for authenticity and nostalgia, the thirst for achievement, and the quest for reassurance. Our results will help experts in the sector, such as craftspeople, creators and designers to understand consumer perceptions regarding the product, to reconsider their strategies. However, this study has a few limitations. We specially point out the data collection technique, which was carried out for the sake of convenience and led to a significant representation of students at the expense of other socio-professional classes. Therefore, it will be interesting to perform a study with a more diverse sample, possibly including industry professionals in order to determine whether there is a perception gap between consumers and artisans.

Keywords

• handicrafts products
• perception
• tradition
• innovation
• trend