Empowering Women Entrepreneurs through Affirmative Action: Implications for Innovation and Sustainable Performance in Indonesia’s Creative Industries

Siti Handayani Maulidina

doi:10.31004/riggs.v4i3.3263

Authors

Siti Handayani Maulidina Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31004/riggs.v4i3.3263

Keywords:

Affirmative Action, Creative Industry, Women Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Performance

Abstract

In highly competitive and rapidly evolving industries, achieving and sustaining organizational success requires continuous innovation, adaptability, and strategic inclusiveness. Within Indonesia’s digital creative sector, organizations are increasingly challenged to generate novel ideas, develop unique processes, and deliver innovative products that ensure differentiation and long-term competitiveness in both domestic and global markets. This study investigates the influence of affirmative action supporting women’s entrepreneurship on creativity, innovation, and overall performance within Indonesia’s creative industries. The research draws on a population of 2,876 individuals actively engaged in various segments of the creative economy, from which 350 respondents were purposively selected to obtain relevant and representative insights. Utilizing a quantitative research design, the study employs structural analysis to examine both the direct and indirect effects of women’s affirmative action initiatives on innovation capacity and organizational outcomes. The findings reveal that empowering women entrepreneurs exerts a significant and positive effect on innovation and firm performance. Moreover, innovation functions as a mediating variable that enhances the contribution of women’s entrepreneurial participation toward sustainable industry development. These results emphasize the strategic importance of gender-inclusive policies and entrepreneurial empowerment as key drivers of creativity, innovation, and competitiveness. Strengthening women’s roles in entrepreneurship not only elevates individual and organizational capabilities but also fosters social inclusion and accelerates economic transformation. Ultimately, the study underscores that empowering women in the creative sector contributes to building a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable creative economy in Indonesia.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Armstrong, M. (2006). A handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page.

Balafoutas, L., & Sutter, M. (2012). Affirmative action policies promote women and do not harm efficiency in the laboratory. Science, 335(6068), 579-582. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1211180

Bekraf. (2017). BEKRAF. http://www.bekraf.go.id/profil.

Branson, R. (1998). An audience with innovation: innovation in management. Department of Trade and Industry London

Byukusenge, E. (2012). Knowledge management and business performance: does innovation matter. Cogent Business & Management, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2017.1368434

Calabrese, A., Campisi, D., Capece, G., Costa, R., & Di Pillo, F. (2013). Competiveness and Innovation in High-tech Companies: An Application to the Italian Biotech and Aerospace Industries. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 5, 40. https://doi.org/10.5772/56755

Dewangan, V., & Godse, M. (2014). Towards a holistic enterprise innovation performance measurement system. Technovation, 34(9), 536-545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2014.04.002

Dismawan, R. (2013). Pengaruh kreativitas produk dan inovasi produk terhadap keunggulan bersaing produk kue soes ada toko kue soes merdeka di Jl. Merdeka No. 25 Bandung [The influence of creativity product and innovation product toward the competitiveness soes cake of the cake shop soes Merdeka in Jl. Merdeka No.25 Bandung] [Barchelor thesis, Universitas Komputer Indonesia]. https://elib.unikom.ac.id/files/disk1/650/jbptunikompp-gdl-ranggadism-32497-4-coverpdf.pdf

Gomez, J. M., Lafuente, E., & Vaillant, Y. (2018). gender diversity in the board, women’s leadership and business performance. Gender in Management, 33(2), 104-122.

Holzer, H., & Neumark, D. (1999). Are affirmative action hires less qualified? evidence from employer‐employee data on new hires. Journal of Labor Economics, 17(3), 534-569. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/209930

Hult, G. T. M., Hurley, R. F., & Knight, G. A. (2004). Innovativeness: Its antecedents and impact on business performance. Industrial Marketing Management, 33(5), 429–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2003.08.015

Indriastuti, H., Aryanto, V., & Aryanto, V. D. W. (2017). Small and medium enterprises' product benchmarking advantages on marketing performance. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 8(7), 70–84.

Kalay, F., & Lynn, G. S. (2015). The impact of strategic innovation management practices on firm innovation performance. Research Journal of Business and Management, 2(3), 412-429.

Kanagal, N. B. (2015). Innovation and product innovation in marketing strategy. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 18, 1-25

Kusumawati, R. (2010). Pengaruh karakteristik pimpinan dan inovasi produk baru terhadap kinerja perusahaan untuk mencapai keunggulan bersaing berkelanjutan [The influence of leadership characteristics and new product innovation on company performance to achieve sustainable competitive advantage]. AKSES: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis, 5(9), 53-64

Leonard, J. S. (1984). The impact of affirmative action on employment. Journal of Labor Economics, 2(4), 439-463.

Leonard, J. S. (1989). Women and affirmative action. Journal of Economic perspectives, 3(1), 61-75.

Lin, C. H., Peng, C. H., & Kao, D. T. (2008). The innovativeness effect of market orientation and learning orientation on business performance. International Journal of Manpower, 29(8), 752–772.

Ministry of Industry. (2022). Ekspor tembus USD 725 juta, produk ikm kerajinan punya nilai jual tinggi [Exports reach USD 725 million, handicraft products have a high selling value]. https://kemenperin.go.id/artikel/23690/Ekspor-Tembus-USD-725-Juta,-Produk-IKM-Kerajinan-Punya-Nilai-Jual-Tinggi

Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia. (2008). Pengembangan ekonomi kreatif Indonesia 2025: rencana pengembangan ekonomi kreatif Indonesia 2009 – 2015 [Indonesia's creative economy development 2025: Indonesia's creative economy development plan 2009 – 2015]. Departemen Perdagangan Republik Indonesia.

Mintah-Agyemang, P., &Schadewitz, H. (2019). Gender diversity and firm value: evidence from UK financial instutions. International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, 27(1), 2-26.

Muhammad, Q., Abro, M., Memon, N. A., & Arshdi, P. I. S. (2011). Dynamic capabilities and firm performance: a case of two SMEs in Pakistan. Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering & Technology, 30(3), 521-530.

Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2013). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Management Science, 59(1), 1-16.

PT. Bermitra Inovatif Sistem Andalan. (2016). Kajian kebijakan kepemimpinan perempuan dalam menggerakan industri rumahan di provinsi D.I. Yogyakarta [Study of women's leadership policies in driving home industries in the province of D.I. Yogyakarta]. Kementerian Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Perlindungan Anak.

Puspitasari, R. H. U. (2015). Orientasi pasar dan inovasi produk sebagai strategi untuk meningkatkan kinerja pemasaran perusahaan mebel Jepara [Market orientation and product innovation as a strategy to improve the marketing performance of Jepara furniture companies] [Paper presentation]. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Kebangkitan Teknologi, Kudus.

Rajapathirana, R. J., & Hui, Y. (2018). Relationship between innovation capability, innovation type, and firm performance. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(1), 44-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2017.06.002

Robbins, S. (2005). Principles of organizational behavior. Prentice-Hall.

Strønen, F., Hoholm, T., Kværner, K., & Støme, L. N. (2017). Dynamic capabilities and innovation capabilities: the case of the ‘innovation clinic. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 13(1), 89–116.

Suliyanto & Rahab. (2012). The role of market orientation and learning orientation in improving innovativeness and performance of small and medium enterprises. Asian Social Science, 8(1), 134–145. https://doi.org/10.7341/20171314

Sullivan, D. M., & Meek, W. R. (2012). Gender and entrepreneurship: a review and process model. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 27(5), 428-458. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683941211235373

Suparman, & Ruswanti, E. (2017). Market orientation, product innovation on marketing performance rattan industry in Cirebon Indonesia. IOSR Journal of Economics and Finance (IOSR-JEF), 8(1), 19-25

Sutapa, Mulyana., & Wasitowati. (2017). The role of market orientation creativity and innovation in creating competitive advantages and creative industry performance. Jurnal Dinamika Manajemen, 8(2), 152–166.

Taherparvar, N., Esmaeilpour, R., & Dostar, M. (2014). Customer knowledge management, innovation capability and business performance: a case study of the banking industry. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(3), 591-610. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2013-0446

Tewal, B. (2010). Pengaruh strategi bersaing dan inovasi terhadap kinerja perusahaan perhotelan di Sulawesi Utara [The influence of competitive strategy and innovation on the performance of hotel companies in North Sulawesi]. Jurnal Aplikasi Manajemen, 8(2), 464-470.

Ting, H.-F., Wang, H.-B., & Wang, D.-S. (2012). The Moderating Role of Environmental Dynamism on the Influence of Innovation Strategy and Firm Performance. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 3(5), 517-512.

Tjiptono, F. (2008). Strategi Pemasaran [Marketing Strategy] (3 ed.). Andi.

Valdez-Juárez, L. E., De Lema, D. G. P., & Maldonado-Guzmán, G. (2016). Management of knowledge, innovation and performance in SMEs. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 11, 141–176.