Participatory management in a family-run traditional music enterprise: the case of rumah sasando

Lentera Negeri September 28, 2026 Volume 7, Number 1 3 authors

Abstract

Traditional art and cultural groups across Indonesia face three simultaneous pressures—modernization, the younger generation’s reluctance to continue the work, and shifting market conditions—that together erode intergenerational transmission, while most such groups still lack formal organizational structures. This study examines Rumah Sasando Oebelo, a family-run traditional music group in Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, to answer two questions: (1) how participatory management, in which all members jointly participate in decision-making, is implemented in practice, and (2) how this collective, deliberative model relates to the group’s dual goals of cultural preservation and economic sustainability. The study uses a qualitative case study design (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Yin, 2018), drawing on in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document review with four purposively (criterion-based) selected informants directly involved in community management. Data were analyzed using Miles, Huberman, and Saldãna’s (2014) condensation-display-verification model together with thematic analysis, and trustworthiness was supported through source and method triangulation. Findings show that (1) participatory management is advanced almost entirely through internal family deliberation with no reliance on formal management systems; (2) the group operates a voluntary, non-fixed-fee donation model consistent with the gotong-royong principle; and (3) partnerships with government, academic, and civil-society actors have strengthened production and marketing capacity without displacing the family’s core decision-making authority. The study contributes an empirical account of participatory governance in an informal, kinship-based cultural enterprise, extends participatory-governance theory to this underexplored context, and offers a replicable model for other family-run traditional art groups seeking to balance cultural preservation with economic viability.

Authors

  1. Rolfi Junyanto Is Natonis

    Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Kupang

  2. Yefta Bako

    Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Kupang

  3. Vika Ukat

    Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Kupang

Keywords

Participatory managementTraditional performing artsCommunity-based cultural heritageCultural sustainabilityFamily-based governance

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