Collective craft entrepreneurship and resource orchestration: the case of Manos del Uruguay

This study investigates how dispersed craft-based resources are coordinated and mobilized within cooperatives to produce collective craft capabilities. Drawing on resource orchestration theory (ROT) as a sensitizing theoretical lens, we analyse the case of Manos del Uruguay, a rural women’s cooperative that has operated for nearly six decades. Manos comprises a Central Department based in the capital city of Montevideo and 12 rural workshops located across Uruguay, creating a multi-level governance structure that connects central coordination with local craft production. Based on a qualitative case study including 12 semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, we examine how this cooperative organizes its resources across central and rural levels. The findings demonstrate that collective craft capabilities emerge from the interdependence of dispersed craft knowledge, local production capabilities, and organization-level resources. Intergenerational learning, flexible working arrangements, and social protection help sustain these capabilities over time. The study further shows that this collective capability formation is supported by a complementary configuration in which centralized and decentralized orchestration are connected through reciprocal adjustment between central specialists and local artisans. Finally, it highlights that while artisan-members retain formal control through cooperative governance, the organizational centre holds greater operational authority because it synchronizes interdependent activities.