Entrepreneurship from Below: Cultural Contexts and Business Success Among Appliqué Artisans of Pipili

Fostering economic development through local and national employment generation has been gaining currency in much of the recent scholarship in entrepreneurship studies. However, prevailing academic discourses tend to often focus on corporate entrepreneurship in the framework of rational choice, innovation and risk-taking, overlooking the nuanced dynamics of small-scale enterprises and their locally embedded character. The present article explores entrepreneurship among appliqué artisans of Pipili in Odisha. It primarily focuses on how these socially embedded craft makers define and enact business success within their distinct cultural milieu. Drawing on in-depth interviews with local artisans, the study reveals unique entrepreneurial practices that are deeply intertwined with local cultural resources and are context specific. These include hereditary skills, social networks, language proficiency and community identities—rather than formal corporate models of growth. Success is thus measured not merely by economic metrics but through culturally mediated notions of a ‘good life’ and sustainable livelihood practices that are related to a deeper sense of identity. The findings highlight how artisans navigate the complexities of globalization by appropriating language skills, educational capital and technology to access national and international markets, while their motivations and goals remain grounded in caste, religion and local social norms. This research contributes to a richer understanding of entrepreneurship as a socially and culturally embedded practice, expanding beyond the dominant frameworks centred on corporate innovation.