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Entrepreneurial Perception about the Factors Affecting Innovation

in the Bangladeshi Small and Medium Enterprises: A Study on the
Jute Diversified Products Industry.

Article · December 2022

DOI: 10.57240/DUJM140102

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 © DHAKA UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT

Volume 14, No. 1, December 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.57240/DUJM140102

Page No: 23-34, ISSN: 2221-2523

Entrepreneurial Perception about the Factors Affecting Innovation in the

Bangladeshi Small and Medium Enterprises: A Study on the Jute Diversified
Products Industry

Saira Banu1
Md. Mesbah Uddin, PhD2
Abstract: In today’s world, innovation is inevitable for the growth and survival of businesses,
especially for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This study steered to identify the
factors which affect innovation of the SMEs. Here, Jute Diversified Products (JDP) industry is
selected as a study area as this has emerged from the most traditional SME sector of
Bangladesh. Five cases are introduced here to analyze the perceptions of the entrepreneurs
regarding the motivating/ de-motivating factors in relation to innovation. The findings of the
study suggest that knowledge factors, institutional factors, cost factors, market factors, legal
factors, political factors and social factors have negative impacts on innovation while some
forms of administrative factors act differently in the context of Bangladeshi SMEs.
Keywords: Innovation, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Jute Diversified Products (JDP)
Industry, Entrepreneurs’ Perceptions
1.0 Introduction
Innovation is closely associated with entrepreneurship. It is obvious that an entrepreneur needs
to work with innovation as it plays an important role for the survival and success of the firms.
Schumpeter used the term creative destruction (OECD, 2005) though innovation is considered
as an integral part of entrepreneurship. Innovation is closely related with economic growth and
considered as a determining factor of any firm’s growth (Audretsch et al., 2014). All types of
businesses require innovation, however, the resource-constrained SMEs need innovation more
to survive in this competitive world. Small businesses incorporate more innovations quickly in
comparison to the large businesses (Zhao, 2005). Whether any SME is going to adopt any sort of
innovation, it is very important to see how the entrepreneurs reflect on the issue. Sahut & Peris-
Ortiz (2014) identified a relationship among small business, entrepreneurship and innovation
while Zhou (2005) discovered that entrepreneurship and innovation have positive relationships
and they complement each other.
Business world is full of risks and uncertainties. Innovation might help a firm to face competition
or to utilize opportunities for entering different markets (OECD, 2005). Besides, innovation
might play a role in solving business problems and ultimately create unique ways of doing things.
Further, innovation might play a role to solve problems and to improve performance.
Additionally, innovation is important for creating competitive advantage for the firms, especially
for the SMEs.
1
Associate Professor, Department of Management, University of Dhaka.
2
Associate Professor, Department of Management, University of Dhaka.
 Dhaka University Journal of Management
24

2.0 Research Question

Innovation is ubiquitous (Kahn, 2018). Innovation can be found at the history of human
civilization, however, it started to get noticed in the 1950s (Mckeown, 2014). This study tries to
focus on the issue which has not received enough scholarly attention so far.

Primary Research Question:

What are the entrepreneurs’ perceptions about the motivating and de-motivating factors to
innovation of the Bangladeshi SMEs?

Supplementary Research Questions:

• Which factors have positive impacts on the innovation of the Bangladeshi SMEs?
• Which factors have negative impacts on the innovation of the Bangladeshi SMEs?
• Which resources influence innovation of the Bangladeshi SMEs?
• How do the entrepreneurs minimize the negative impact of the de-motivating factors on
the innovation of the Bangladeshi SMEs?

3.0 Literature Review

Literature review systematically analyses the relevant extant literature on the topic and tries to
identify the research gap. Literature review of this study is divided into three parts: innovation,
factors related to innovation and Jute Diversified Products (JDP) industry.
Innovation can be defined as new or creative ideas. Knowledge is important for the successful
implementation of innovation (Drucker, 1985). Audretsch et al. (2014) emphasized on
knowledge spillover theory where knowledge is considered as a basis of opportunities for the
entrepreneurs. Innovation is not only related to the inception of any product or service but also
to its development. Innovation is coined as practical creativity (Mckeown, 2014). Tidd et al.
(2005) defined innovation as the commercial application of any new ideas. OECD (2005)
emphasized that innovation is the implementation of new or improved product / process/
marketing/ organizational methods which could occur in business practice, organization or with
external relations. Innovation might take different forms: product, process, service, business
model, marketing, organizational, radical, incremental, disruptive, architectural, technology,
open, close etc. (Harel et al., 2020; OECD, 2005; Tidd et al., 2005). Innovation with equity
should be ensured for a better world (UNCTAD, 2021). People from all race, gender and
economic conditions should receive equal opportunity to get access to technology. Whether a
firm will be innovative or not, it largely depends on the national and organizational culture
(Zhao, 2005).
Both large enterprises and SMEs require innovation in this competitive world. Innovation plays a
strong role in the growth and survival of the SMEs. Innovation is connected with some motivating
and de-motivating factors. There are many factors which might cause obstruction for innovation
or can slow down its progress. It is important to consider the relationship between a firm and its
external environment for the initiation and implementation of innovation (Dobson et al., 2013).
SMEs from the developing countries mainly face financial resource constraints. Innovation is
Entrepreneurial Perception about the Factors Affecting Innovation 25

always expensive and the high price of innovation discourages initiation and implementation
of innovation. It is assumed that the performances of the firms are negatively affected due to
the barriers to innovation (Nassar & Faloye, 2015). Sometimes, it is really difficult to manage
innovation in the small businesses in comparison to the large businesses as only manager cannot
ensure successful implementation of innovation (Harel et al., 2020). The primary reason behind
this failure is that the manager may not be capable enough to lead innovation in the businesses.
Not only the internal environmental factors, but also the favorable factors from the external
environment are pre-requisites for the successful initiation and implementation of the innovation
(Trot, 2017).
There are few studies available on the barriers faced by the SMEs while implementing innovation.
Different authors use different classifications to categorize those barriers. In the Asian SMEs, the
type of barriers to innovation might act quite similarly. Human resource barrier (Ali & Shah,
2018), financial barrier (Ali & Shah, 2018; Weerasiri et al., 2012; Zhu et al., 2012), managerial
barrier (Weerasiri et al., 2012), technological barrier (Weerasiri et al., 2012), lack of government
support (Weerasiri et al., 2012), lack of institutional support (Weerasiri et al., 2012; Zhu et al.,
2012), unfair competition (Zhu et al., 2012) and regulations & tax burdens (Zhu et al., 2012) are
common barriers to innovation.
Very few studies are available on the factors affecting innovation in the Bangladeshi SMEs.
Unfortunately, extant studies on the innovation of Bangladesh are concentrated on agriculture,
health sector, renewable energy, telecommunication, aqua culture and public sector. Tahrima &
Jaegal (2012) identified nine factors which affect government innovation in Bangladesh. Banu
(2020) identified four types of barriers observed in the context of the Bangladeshi SMEs: financial
resource barrier, human resource barrier, organizational barrier and external barrier. Bangladesh
is the 116th innovative country as per Global Innovation Index 2019 (The Daily Star, 2019) and
it is believed that the innovation activities are not happening smoothly due to some reasons. This
study tries to tap this research gap. The purpose of the study is to find out those factors which are
interrupting the innovation activities in the Bangladeshi SMEs. In addition, this study also tries to
find the factors which positively affect the innovation activities and how resources are relevant in
this procedure. It is very important to identify the resources which positively affect innovation in
the SMEs. Identifying right kind of resources and their proper utilization might impact the SMEs
of Bangladesh. Lack of resource is the major problem in any kind of development and innovative
activities. Innovation is essential in every spheres of life, especially in each type of business. In
a developing country like Bangladesh, innovation is critical in all sectors, especially in the JDP
industry.
Jute, the golden fibre of Bangladesh, is the main cash crop of Bangladesh (Akter et al., 2020).
The climate and soil of Bangladesh are very conducive for the production of jute (Islam & Ali,
2017). Few decades back, jute was the main means of livelihood of millions of farmers and
industrial workers. Before 1971, Jute industry had enormous potential as prime foreign
exchange earner. However, this dream did not come into reality due to plastic industry. Now,
people can realize how they destroyed the environment by choosing plastic over the
biodegradable jute. The current government wants to restore the golden past of this cash crop.
At this moment, Bangladesh is considered as the second largest all over the world in producing
this eco-friendly crop (Export Promotion Bureau, 2020-21). Bangladesh also earns a lot of
foreign exchange by exporting raw jute, jute yarn & twine, jute socks and bags. Among our top
export items, jute and jute goods arethe third largest. In FY 2019-20, jute export income is USD
1161.48 million (Export PromotionBureau, 2020-21).
 Dhaka University Journal of Management
26
Table 3.1: Export income by Jute and Jute related products in FY 2020-21

Commodities Export Income (Million US $)

Raw Jute 138.15
Jute Yarn & Twine 799.04
Jute socks and bags 138.66

Source: Export Promotion Bureau 2020-21, p. 20

Before 1980s, jute industry was the greatest contributor to our foreign export earnings. Jute
sector has faced several challenges due to the absence of modern technology & machineries, low
quality seeds & fertilizer, low marketing, natural disasters etc. In these days, the government of
Bangladesh has focused on jute sector as the jute diversified products have gained popularity in
the international market. In the last few years, people became environment conscious and most
people prefer green instead of plastic. Bangladesh government established Jute Diversification
Promotion Center (JDPC) under the Ministry of Textiles and Jute in 2002. It works with its
seven wings named Jute Entrepreneur Service Centre (JESC) all over the country. JDPC and
Bangladesh jute Research Institute (BJRI) are now working on the jute diversified products.

Jute goods received more attention than raw goods in these days. In 2015-16, raw jute export
earning was 173.17 million US$ and it decreases to 138.15 million US$ in 2020-21. On the other
hand, jute goods export earning was 746.41 million US$ in 2015-16 and it turns into 1023.33
million US$ in 2020-21 (Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, 2020-21). From the Table 3.1,it
is clear that jute goods got preference in the international market before and this preference for
jute goods show significant growth in this decade.

Jute goods can be categorized into traditional jute goods and diversified jute goods (Islam &
Xiaoying, 2016). Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (2021) followed the
definition of JDP as per the Jute Act 2017. Here JDP should have at least 50 per cent jute as
raw material. JDP are known as innovative products and those products add value to the
original one (Islam & Xiaoying, 2016). JDP involve different types of crafts items made from
jute fabrics/ jute fibers/ jute yarns/ jute paper/ jute pulps/ blended jute fabrics & yarn/ laminated
or non- laminated jute fabrics/ jute cotton fabrics/ printed or non-printed jute fabrics/ jute
fabrics mixed with other materials/ fibres with or without jute vulcanized soles/ carded jute
fibres/ intimate mixing of jute with resin etc. JDP include shopping bags, ladies bags, school
bags, shoulder bags, party bags, lunch bags, laptop bags, purses, backpacks, baby bags, batua,
travel bags, mobile bags, money bags, passport carry bags, garden bags, grocery bags, laundry
bags, golf bags, lamp shed, table cloth, curtains, coasters, sofa cover, pillow cases, baskets,
tray, pouch, carpets, satarangies, prayer mat, tea cozies, glass holders, tool boxes, pet
accessories, shoes, toys, animal wears, wall & door hangings etc. (https://jdpc.portal.gov.bd/).
Entrepreneurial Perception about the Factors Affecting Innovation 27

The government of Bangladesh wants to attract the foreign market by JDP as the world is
getting more eco-friendly. Jute and JDP are gaining the attention of the world because of their
environment friendly characteristics in comparison to plastic. Akter et al. (2020) emphasized
on the importance of extensive research to diversify jute products as this industry shows slow
progress due to the absence of appropriate modern technology. Chakma (2022) identified four
barriers to the progress of this sector: absence of technology, lack of skilled manpower, absence
of fiscal support and lack of research in diversifying products. It seems that most of the studies
focuses on the challenges of the SMEs and it covers different types of barriers. Barriers to
innovation in the Bangladeshi SMEs, especially in the JDP industry are not explored earlier.

4.0 Methodology
This is a qualitative study based on multiple cases. A qualitative study gives a chance to focus
on the inner details of the study. Multiple case studies (Yin, 2003a) are used here to get different
perspectives from a single phenomenon. Five sample case studies are selected purposively from
the JDP industry of Bangladesh.

Table 4.1: Profile of the Sample Firms

Name of the Entrepreneurs Year of Existing Product Legal Office & Local /
Business Estab- Line Ownership of Factory Interna-
lishment the Business tional
Kazi Fashion Kazi Mazharul 2013 More than 15 types Sole- North Jatrabari Both
House Hoque of jute products proprietorship
TULIKA Esrat Jahan 2017 Bags Sole- Uttara Both
Chowdhury Proprietorship
Farjana’s Syeda Farjana 2008 Bags Sole- Mohammadpur Both
Jute & Crafts Yesmin Proprietorship
Amali Jute Ali Zakir 2013 Various items: lunch Partnership Mohakhali Both
& Crafts (Managing bags, file folders, DOHS,
Partner) and grocery bags, Keraniganj
five other shopping bags,
partners sports bags, travel
bags, office bags,
gents side shoulders
Karukaj Jute Abdul Khaled 1994 More than 45 types Sole- Shantinagar, Both
Products (CEO & of jute products proprietorship Narayanganj
Product
Designer)
Source: Interview
 Dhaka University Journal of Management
28

Table 4.1 presents the basic details of the five SMEs from JDP industry. These SMEs are
working in the JDP industry at least for five years. In these SMEs, TULIKA has started
working for five years and other businesses are working with JDP for more than five years. In
fact, Karukaj Jute Products is in this arena for twenty eight years. Amali Jute & Crafts is the
partnership business while the rest of the businesses are sole-proprietorship businesses.
TULIKA and Farjana’s Jute & Crafts focus mainly on jute bags while other three businesses
have varieties of jute items in their product line. In fact, Kazi Fashion House also produces
items from bamboo, cane and coconut shell.
In this paper, the authors used the factors which are identified by Tahrima & Jaegal (2012).
Tahrima & Jaegal (2012) used knowledge factors (insufficient innovation potential, lack of
qualified personnel, lack of advanced technology, lack of proper management system and lack
of market information), institutional factors (weak infrastructure and weak intellectual property
rights protection), cost factors (complicated financial markets, excessive perceived risks and
lack of funds), market factors (domination of established businesses), legal factors (lack of
effective legislation and lack of proper taxation policies), political factors (political instability
and lack of accountability), administrative factors (bureaucracy, corruption, lack of strategic
vision, centralized policy making & resource allocation, politicization of services and outdated
administrative systems) and social factors (social instability, lack of education & lack of values
& beliefs) which affect government innovation in Bangladesh. Here, the authors try to replicate
the study partially considering innovation in the Bangladeshi SMEs instead of government
innovation. The authors used a mixed questionnaire to get entrepreneurs’ viewpoints and
perceptions about the factors affecting innovation in Bangladeshi SMEs. The questionnaire was
divided into four parts. The first two parts are about the basic information of the entrepreneur and
his/ her businesses. Then the next section is about innovation, barriers to innovation, resources
essential for innovation and cost of innovation. The last part of the questionnaire is about different
factors and their impacts on the innovation of the businesses. In this study, cross-case synthesis
(Yin, 2003a; Yin, 2003b) is used to show whether there is any pattern among the entrepreneurs’
perceptions regarding innovation.

5.0 Findings and Discussion

From the stories of the entrepreneurs, it is clear that the entrepreneurial journey was not easy
for any of the entrepreneurs. All the entrepreneurs face ups and downs in their entrepreneurial
experiences. Mr. Hoque left his job to start his entrepreneurial journey and unfortunately, he did
not have his family support initially. Now, he is producing his jute products in his factory at
Jatrabari. The entrepreneur is passionate about research. He was very much interested to work
with jute as it has historical value. He emphasizes that the transformation of Bangladesh as digital
Bangladesh and advancement in the digital technologies help current entrepreneurs to get all
necessary information very easily. It is obvious that access to available information positively
affect innovation in any type of businesses. However, it is more conducive to the SMEs, being
a resource-constrained organization, to get straightforward help through digitalization and e-
commerce. In fact, he mentions that more than 80 lakh people started online businesses during
the COVID-19 pandemic and it was possible due to the digital technology. He also addresses
Entrepreneurial Perception about the Factors Affecting Innovation 29

that the challenge of this industry is consumers’ perceptions about jute. Handmade jute items are
expensive as these are not produced by machine, however, people don’t want to pay high price
for handmade items. Common people still treat jute as ‘bosta’ and don’t want to pay appropriate
price for these diversified products.
Esrat Jahan Chowdhury is the CEO of TULIKA. She is also the director of the Bangladesh Jute
Goods Exporters’ Association (BJGEA). TULIKA always works for quality instead of quantity.
Now, it is exporting jute products to the European countries. She left her job and started TULIKA
as she cannot adjust herself with the corporate world. Her family was not supportive with her
decision. She received training from B’YEAH (Bangladesh Youth Enterprise Advice and Help
centre). She believes that it is possible to produce modern items with jute. TULIKA produces
twenty kinds of products with more than fifty permanent and temporary workers and artisans at
Uttara. TULIKA manually checks the quality of raw materials from the beginning of preparing
its products. It has strong technical support and this innovative feature makes TULIKA different
from others. During pandemic, Ms. Chowdhury received training on e-commerce and digital
marketing and it ultimately helps her to get international orders. She complains that the procedure
to get bank loan is complex. In fact, the SMEs also face the same procedure applicable for large
businesses to get loan. Another thing, she mentions that it becomes difficult to survive if the
SMEs do not receive regular orders throughout the year.
Syeda Farjana Yesmin is the entrepreneur of Farjana’s Jute & Crafts. She always wants to work
with products which are close to her culture and country. The products of Farjana’s Jute & Crafts
are mainly made by FJF fabrics and produced at Mohammadpur. Ms. Yesmin focuses her product
design considering both modern and tribal designs. Incorporating tribal design in the jute bag
is the innovative feature that made her products different from others. She mainly works with
corporate orders. Ms. Yesmin is also not happy how Bangladeshi people still treat jute. Most of
the customers treat jute item as ‘chala’ or ‘bosta’ and think that the entrepreneurs are charging
unreasonable price. She complains about the banking system as well. She finds the procedures
in the bank are not convenient and not helpful to the women entrepreneurs. In fact, women
entrepreneurs sometimes need male members with them as guarantors.
Mr. Ali Zakir left his job and became an entrepreneur of Amali Jute & Crafts to work independently.
Initially he starts with 4 workers. Amali Jute & Crafts is now producing its products in Keraniganj
(office is at Mohakhali DOHS) with 10 permanent and some part-time workers. It seems Mr.
Zakir is very innovative about labeling his products. Amali Jute & Crafts uses heading “Life style
products” for its products and the entrepreneur is passionate about innovative and creative work.
Another interesting thing is found that Amali Jute & Crafts attends fairs regularly and it provides
the Google map links in its face book page for the convenience of the potential customers. Amali
Jute & Crafts is the only case (in this study) which uses discount voucher offer for promotion in
different festivals through Facebook. Mr. Zakir highlights that innovation can be implemented
in the design of the JDP. He mentions that the design of the JDP can be made better and there is
more scope to improve.
 Dhaka University Journal of Management
30

Mr. Khaled is the CEO and Product Designer of Karukaj Jute Products. He is also the chairman
of the National Jute MSME’s Umbrella. Initially, several partners were involved here, however,
currently Mr. Khaled is the only owner of the business. Karukaj Jute products has its factory at
Narayanganj with an office at Shantinagar. Mr. Kahed not only produces jute products but also
trains entrepreneurs for making sustainable jute products. He trains entrepreneurs at Narayanganj.
Mr. Khaled also uses an innovative term for his business: “Sustainable Jute Entrepreneurship”.
The findings of this study shows that all the entrepreneurs believe that insufficient innovation
potential, lack of proper management system, lack of qualified personnel, lack of advanced
technology and lack of market information have negative impact on innovation. Weak
infrastructure and weak intellectual property rights protection also have negative impact on
innovation as per the entrepreneurs’ perspectives. In addition, the entrepreneurs also perceive that
complicated financial market, excessive perceived risks and lack of funds have negative impact
on the innovation of the SMEs in Bangladesh.
Among five entrepreneurs, four entrepreneurs think that established businesses and strong
competition have negative impact on innovation. It is found that legal factors have either negative
impact or ‘no impact’ on innovation. Regarding political factors, all the entrepreneurs perceive
similarly as this factor is detrimental for innovation in any business. The entrepreneurs from Amali
Jute & Crafts and Karukaj Jute Products believe that centralized policy making and resource
allocation are motivating factors for innovation in the SMEs. The entrepreneurs indicate that
social factor is not positively connected with innovation in Bangladesh. All the entrepreneurs feel
that social instability, lack of education and lack of values have negative impacts on innovation.
However, the entrepreneur of Amali Jute & Crafts perceives that this factor has no impact on
innovation. The entrepreneur of Karukaj Jute Products identifies that only lack of education
negatively affects innovation but other social factors do not affect it. From the above findings, it is
clear that this study shows quite similar result to the study of Tahrima & Jaegal (2012). However,
this study finds marginally different perceptions of the entrepreneurs regarding administrative
and social factors.
It is needless to say that all the entrepreneurs agree to that fact that whether some factors motivate
or de-motivate innovation, however, innovation is a must. Mr. Hoque always does extensive
research and tries to create innovative things by himself; however, he always focuses on
customers’ demands and preferences. Both Ms. Chowdhury and Ms. Yesmin find that innovation
is costly here. They both do their research by themselves. Ms. Chowdhury commented that

“I want to keep my tradition alive, so innovation is a must. Innovation is the only

way toget success. However, at the same time, it is very costly.”
Ms. Yesmin also echoes Ms. Chowdhury’s words. She clarifies that it is almost impossible to
acquire market without innovation. She mentions that she usually takes help from Google search
engine to find new creative ideas. Mr. Hoque also emphasizes on the importance of research and
training to have access to the world market. He stated:
Entrepreneurial Perception about the Factors Affecting Innovation 31

“It is really difficult to survive in the world market. Everything is changing here
rapidly. To be competitive, every entrepreneur should think which product may
attract the customer. Whatever product is doing well today may not capture the
customers’ interests tomorrow. If any product does not get acceptance in the market,
the entrepreneurs should do extensive research to innovate more suitable products
for the customers.”
Mr. Zakir identifies that management skills (Human resources) & machineries (Organizational
resources), while Ms. Chowdhury and Ms Yesmin identify skilled employees (Human resources)
as important resources for innovation. Mr. Hoque pinpoints training of the entrepreneurs as crucial
for the entrepreneurial success. In JDP industry, it seems that human resources and relationship
play most crucial role for innovation. Mr. Hoque mentions that Kazi Fashion House made its
first shipment to Dubai with the help of his college friends. Mr. Hoque acknowledges the
contributions of his friends from two specific groups named NDC 99 and 97/99. Ms.
Chowdhury emphasizes on network for innovation in sales & marketing. Ms. Chowdhury
commented:
“I sell only on the basis of my network”
Amali Jute & Crafts also uses innovative approach in its marketing by making exclusive network
with Daraz. It gives limited offer to customer for free shipping if the customers buy their products
through Daraz. It supports the concept of innovation network mentioned by Dobson et al. (2013).
Here, the entrepreneur is able to increase his/her sale by using different innovation networks
within and across different organizations. From the above discussion, it is evident that all the
entrepreneurs are conscious about innovation and its significance in the JDP industry. It is also
apparent that the entrepreneurs are also facing challenges which are directly or indirectly
affecting innovation.

6.0 Conclusion and Recommendations

An entrepreneur needs to be a smart innovator. Innovation is required for the survival and growth
of the small businesses. It is also found that availability of resources plays an important role
in introducing and implementing innovation in the business. Moreover, the characteristics and
background of the entrepreneurs are also imperative. It is significant to see how passionate
the entrepreneurs are to survive and grow. They need to balance between the newness of their
ideas and at the same time, whether this idea will be able to solve their problem or create new
opportunities for the businesses. It is needless to say that the SMEs should adopt innovation in their
businesses more to survive in the uncertain and risky situations. The entrepreneurs should work
on having networks/ contacts/ relationship to reduce the negative impacts of the de-motivating
factors to innovation. The entrepreneurs should think about open innovation as it might help
them to innovate easily in the resource-constrained environment. Moreover, research should be
encouraged to innovate new things. At the same time, training and development activities are also
essential to support and promote the new entrepreneurs in the JDP industry.
The government of Bangladesh should provide mortgage free loan to the SMEs of the JDP Industry.
The entrepreneurs want ban on local raw jute export as it creates shortage of supply. Moreover,
the government should work on the institutional, political, legal, administrative and social factors
 Dhaka University Journal of Management
32

to minimize the negative impact of the de-motivating factors. The government should make more
educative public contents about the JDP industry and it might change the people’s perceptions
on ‘bosta’. More public awareness and positive approaches should be created about this eco-
friendly industry. At present, Oikko store, Priyoshop, Ekshop, Daraz and other e-commerce
sites are promoting and selling the products of SMEs online. More efforts should be invested to
promote this JDP industry. At the same time, appropriate policy and guidelines should be
introduced to operate the e-commerce shops properly in Bangladesh. Now BSCIC, SME
Foundation, Department of Youth Development and other government organizations are
regularly arranging training programs and they should assess & address the needs on training
regarding innovation in the JDP industry.
This study is limited to a single industry with only five case studies. The outcome of the study
cannot be generalized to other industries. A bigger sample size might provide a different under-
standing of the motivating and de-motivating factors to innovation in the context of Bangladeshi
SMEs. Besides, inclusion of other industries might provide a diverse and thought-provoking
view about this under-researched topic.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank late Shayla Binta Sayeed for her contributions regarding data
collection. Her constructive suggestions helped us leading to this current version. Unfortunately,
she started her eternal journey on19 April, 2021 and we mourn for her untimely demise.

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