Artisan entrepreneurship: influence and network in the development of sustainable strategies in cross-border low-density territories through a Quintuple Helix paradigm

Purpose The purpose of this study is, from the perspective of artisan entrepreneurship (AE), to understand how professional and higher education institutions, local authorities, local and cross-border cultural entities and tourism stakeholders perceive AE by collaborating in a network to develop innovative and sustainable strategies, using the Quintuple Helix innovation model. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, 34 semi-structured interviews were carried out with organisations by emailing them a Google Form. The organisations interviewed were from the north-east of Portugal (Bragança, Miranda do Douro, Mogadouro, Vimioso and Vinhais) and the north of Spain (Zamora Province). The data collected was subjected to content and lexical analysis using the computerised lexical analysis software IRaMuTeQ. Findings AE is seen as the representation of a culture where traditional crafts are the identity of a region. The practical and political implications for decision makers in the Quintuple Helix can be seen in the definition of strategies and proposals that should leverage and define regional and cross-border policies, leveraging the need for networking to define concrete measures and programmes for support and training in entrepreneurship and AE, as well as the creation and/or standardisation of existing support networks. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first study to address and deal with the issue of AE by understanding how professional and higher education institutions, local authorities, local and cross-border cultural entities perceive AE and collaborate in a network to develop innovative and sustainable strategies, through the paradigm of the Quintuple Helix model. It also combines a content analysis and a lexical analysis using computerised lexical analysis software – IRaMuTeQ.