Digitalization in the Craft-Based Design Enterprises in Istanbul: The Emerging Business Models and their Competency Needs in the Creative Industries

Digitalization is transforming communication and business processes, having significant impacts on the creative industries. The concepts of craft and design have undergone a paradigm shift as digital technologies converge the physical and digital worlds, and the interaction between crafters and designers embraces new venues for value creation in the post-industrial world. The design network that continues to exist in Istanbul is a unique case for a modern city, where designers collaborate with craftsmen to produce designed products without opening their ateliers. This paper aims to investigate the design and craft interaction in the digital era by exploring emergent business models in craft-based design enterprises and their competency needs. This qualitative study is based on ten in-depth interviews conducted with "designer-makers" and ecosystem stakeholders in the ceramic and glass sector in Istanbul. Each business model was analyzed utilizing the "Holistic Business Model" by Li (2020), explicitly developed for examining the digital transformation of business models in creative industries. The competency needs were determined following the ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications, and Occupations) classification. The study indicates that certain enterprises successfully penetrate external markets through collaboration between designers and artisans, requiring them to speak a common language and acquire entrepreneurial competencies.