ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BETAWI BATIK WOMEN ACTIVISTS

Batik industry, including Betawi Batik, ever experienced a gloomy period due to the rise of modern textile industry. Fortunately, this industry has raised again after UNESCO states that Batik is one of the Indonesian cultural heritages. The government of DKI Jakarta with Betawi Cultural Institution initiate to popularize Batik Betawi by establishing Batik Betawi Family (or KKB). Since 2012, KBB has succeeded in producing studios in Jabodetabek area, which are mostly driven by women. Entrepreneurial characteristic can become a factor affecting the growth and development of Batik studios as an effort to grow and preserve Batik Betawi. This study aims to identify the characteristics of woman entrepreneurship as Betawi Batik activist. This research uses phenomenology approach to explain how a person gives meaning and interprets actions that are done related to her business activity. Respondents are determined using purposive sampling technique, and data are collected through conducting interviews on three women as activists of Batik Tarogong, Batik Gandaria and Batik Rusunawa Marunda. The triangulation results identify five characteristics of Batik woman entrepreneur: (1) can relate well with others, (2) honest and respect others’ rights, 3) capable to run a business, (4) open to criticism and suggestions, and (5) have a willing to learn from mistakes. These five characteristics include three dimensions of entrepreneurial characteristics namely personality dimension, managerial dimension and agent of change dimension.

I ndonesia is a country rich with Batik motifs that are not owned by other countries.The richness of Batik motifs comes from all areas in Indonesia since each area has a different Batik style that characterizes the region specifically.Batik industry ever experienced a gloomy period due to the rise of modern textile industry.Fortunately, this industry has raised again after UNESCO states that Batik is one of the Indonesian cultural heritages.Until today, after declared as a national costume of Indonesia, Batik has become a fashion item.The history of Batik cannot be separated from the role of women as business actors.Some efforts done by women to preserve Batik are by selling it door to door and then penetrating traditional markets which later is reaching local centers.Formerly only some women wore Batik, but today, all Indonesian people wear it with pride, resulting Batik centers to grow in order to meet the need for Batik.
The government has noted that there are 20 thousand Batik SMEs which employ around 50 thousand people (Suprapto, H. & Rini, ES 2009.http://bisnis.news.viva.co.id/news/read/ 28758-usaha- Batik-immune-crisis, December 9th, 2012).The art of Batik in Indonesia has evolved since the period of Majapahit and continues to grow until after.This art then extends, exists, and is truly inseparable from the life of the Indonesian people, especially the Javanese people.From the beginning to early 20 th century, all the Batik produced was handmade Batik or Batik Tulis, while Batik Cap (Batik where its motifs are made with stamp), or famously known by Betawinese as Batik Ceplok, has been popular after the first world war, around 1920.Betawi Batik has developed in Batavia (or Jakarta) since the 19th century.Its motifs adopt Batik coastal style (Gresik, Surabaya, Madura, Banyumas, Pekalongan, Tegal, and Cirebon).
Betawi Batik women activists are those with entrepreneurial spirit.Women as entrepreneurs need entrepreneurial characters to support their activities.Entrepreneurial characters determine entrepreneur's success.Results of related researches conducted in Bojonegoro (Iedarwati, et al., 2012), Yogyakarta (Iedarwati, 2014), Semarang (Iedarwati, 2015), and South Bekasi (Iedarwati, 2016) reveal tendency of a number of woman entrepreneurship characteristics and explanation on woman entrepreneurship dimensions.A replication research of Betawi Batik women activists is regarded as a continuous effort in exploring and identifying the characteristics of woman entrepreneurship.Research on this, which has been being carried out in various women entrepreneurial communities aims to map the characteristics of woman entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is a set of values needed to start and develop a business.Entrepreneurship is also a process in working on something new that is different that can provide benefits and added value.Kuratko and Hodgetts (2007: 32) explain entrepreneur as an innovator or developer who recognizes and seizes opportunities, transforms these opportunities into ideas that are workable and acceptable to the market, adds value over time, effort, money, or skills, assumes risks of a competitive market to implement those ideas and be aware of the rewards for those efforts.Wickham (2004: 7) explains that an entrepreneur can be considered a manager who takes an activity (in the context of certain tasks and the way they perform the task), an economic change agent (in the context  (2008: 19), to become an entrepreneur someone must have three elements that are very important for the success of running entrepreneurship.These three elements are creating opportunity, product innovation and calculated risk-taking.Indeed, these three things must be possessed by prospective entrepreneurs, since to open a business, whether small, medium or large, needs reliable eyes to see opportunities for the existing market (creating opportunity), create something different from the existing market (innovating) and be ready to face any predictable or unpredictable risks (calculated risk-taking) since these three are a core of creating and building entrepreneurial success.Wickham says that entrepreneurial spirit has an economic and social dimension.An entrepreneur is an individual who lives and functions within a social sphere.Wickham's entrepreneurial dimensions (2004:7) include personality dimension, managerial dimension and agent of change dimension.Each dimension contains a number of clustered characteristics which describe entrepreneurial spirit.This thinking concept refers to Hornaday's 42 entrepreneurial characteristics (Kuratko & Hodgetts 2007: 118) elaborated into three Wickham's entrepreneurial dimensions (2004:7).Hornaday's entrepreneurial characteristics and Wickham's entrepreneurial dimensions are used to of the influence they have on the economic system and change caused by them) and an individual (in the context of their psychological condition, personalities and personal characteristics).
An entrepreneur certainly has entrepreneurial spirit that is defined as a person who has inner strength to gain a goal and likes to experiment to show his or her freedom beyond the power of others.As viewed by Bygrave and cited in Suryana (2011: 17), entrepreneur is the one who gets opportunity and creates organization to pursue the opportunity.By grave explains that entrepreneurship arises when a person dares to develop his and her new efforts and ideas.Entrepreneurship process includes all functions, activities and actions related to the acquisition of opportunities and the creation of business organizations (Suryana 2011: 17).Dun Steinhoff and John F. Brunei (in Suryana 2011: 27) argue that successful entrepreneurs generally have the following personality traits: • Have self confidence to work hard independently and dare to face the risk to obtain results.
• Have organizational skill, can set goals, is result-oriented and be responsible to work hard.
• Creative and capable to see opportunities that exist in entrepreneurship.
• Enjoy challenges and seek personal satisfaction in getting ideas Entrepreneurial spirit that someone has is related to entrepreneur characteristics.Retno Dewanti (2008:6) compiles the views of Geoffrey G. Meredith and Zimmerer on the characteristics of entrepreneurship as follows: • Has a potential for achievement • Dislikes to rely on others map the entrepreneurial characteristics and categories of entrepreneurial dimensions.

METHOD
This research uses interpretive approach.Interpretive approach explains that the basis of a social life is social interaction and social construction.Social reality depends on how one interprets and understands it (Neumen, 2003: 77).This study is a phenomenology research to explain how a person gives meaning and understands what action is being taken and why it is done.Phenomenology is part of interpretive approach.According to Burger as cited in Wirawan (2012), empirical phenomenology is associated with human experience in everyday life, which seeks to describe human experience as a social reality based on the actors involved.Phenomenology is empirical because it is based on experience in the social process where individual interaction with the world takes place.The task of phenomenology is to analyze social realities.Analysis of social reality will include the concept of interpretation in the practice of everyday life.Phenomenology seeks to describe phenomena as something that is empirical and sees awareness at the level of meaning (Wirawan, 2012: 150-151).
Social action is an action performed by a person in accordance with his or her understanding.Social action is an act done as triggered by a desire or a goal (Neumen, 2003: 76).Therefore, this research wants to explain how a person interprets and understands his or her thoughts and actions performed, and explain entrepreneurship values considered as important by the respondents and actions taken in relation to his or her running business.This research was conducted in Jakarta and aimed to women who are the members of Batik Betawi Family community.Resource studies using purposive sampling.Criteria to determine the respondents are women activists as members of Batik Betawi Family.Sampling was taken from 3 of 12 groups who joined Betawi Batik Family, which are Batik Tarogong, Batik Gandaria and Batik Marunda.Data were collected by observation and interview.Triangulation technique was used to validate data for mapping entrepreneurial characteristics and dimensions.

RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS
The research findings showed that since April 1, 2012, Betawi Cultural Institutions has supported the development of Betawi Batik activities by establishing Batik Betawi Family (KKB).KKB is a assembly of Batik makers who are determined to revive batik Betawi in the community.Betawi Batik studios that join KKB and become this research focus are Batik Gandaria, Batik Tarogong and Batik Rusunawa Marunda.The activist of Batik Tarogong is Mrs. ST, a 52-year-old mother with postgraduate background who is also a vocational teacher in Jagakarsa area.Mrs. ST becomes the activist of Batik Tarogong since she realizes that Batik Betawi has started to extinct.Tarogong area is an area where Betawi Batik makers live and do their Batik process.She becomes an activist of Batik Betawi Tarogong because it is her family tradition to be involved in Betawi entrepreneurship, as stated below: dimension.Table 1 displays information about entrepreneurial characteristics in three aforementioned dimensions.
Table 1 shows that both Mrs. ST and Mrs. HT show a strong tendency towards entrepreneurial characteristics of dimension personality.Of the 15 characteristics in the personality dimension, Mrs. ST and Mrs. HT both have 10 characteristics that appear as meaningful characteristics even though there are differences over each characteristic they have.Mrs. ST said that "Batik Tarogong is promoted using word of mouth technique, so I must be able to maintain good relationship with others.I have my Batik displayed in some galleries thanks to good relationships that I maintain".Furthermore, she explained that "we have nyanting order nyanting every week since I maintain good relationships by working my best".Those statements are Mrs.ST and Mrs. HT's explanation on the entrepreneurial characteristics they have that reflect their own personality.Table 1 also shows two entrepreneurial characteristics of personality dimensions possessed by the respondents all at once, which are 1) good relationship skills and 2) honest (respect others' right).All these three respondents have those characteristics.Table 3 shows that Mrs. NR and Mrs. ST have strong tendency towards entrepreneurial characteristics of agent of change dimension.Mrs. NR has 11 of 13 characteristics and Mrs. ST has 10 of 13 characteristics.The following is Mrs. ST's explanation when being inter-viewed."Initially there were only 10 Betawi Batik motifs, such as ondel-ondel, phoenix and hibiscus.Now, Batik Tarogong has 30 motifs of flower and animal like sparrow and noni flower.I often hear the prospective buyers ask for other new motifs."Furthermore, she explained, "I am currently waiting for my patent from the Ministry of Industry.The patent is for Batik Gandaria motif, and yes, it takes almost two years for this patent since the process is quite exhausting because I have to revise some mistakes here and there, but now I am through the process and just waiting for the result."Mrs. NR and ST's statements show that these two respondents are open to criticism and suggestions to encourage the development (innovation) of Batik motifs they produce.Table 3 also shows two entrepreneurial characteristics that are simultaneously owned by all respondents, which are 1) accept critics and suggestions and 2) learn from mistakes.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings show the existence of two characteristics in personality dimensions understood and possessed by the respondents, one characteristic in managerial skill dimension, and two characteristics in agent of change dimension.Those entrepreneurial characteristics possessed by these three Betawi Batik women activists can be seen in Table 4.

Table 4. Entrepreneurial Characteristics of Betawi Batik Women Activists
Table 5 shows findings taken from other related research done in Semarang, Central Java, with women customers of Resik Becik Semarang Garbage Bank (Iedarwati, 2015) that shows five entrepreneurial characteristics.Both research results bring up three entrepreneurial characteristics possessed by the women activists of Betawi Batik and women customers of Resik Becik Garbage Bank as follows: 1) good relationship skill or can relate well with others, 2) honest and respect others' rights, and 3) learn from mistakes.These three entrepreneurial characteristics consists of two characteristics in personality dimension (maintaining good relationship with others and be honest and learn from mistakes) and one entrepreneurial characteristic in agent of change dimension which is willing to learn from mistakes.

Table 1 . Entrepreneurial Characteristics in Personality Dimension
Mrs. ST and Mrs. NR are the activists of Batik Tarogong and Batik Gandaria, while Mrs. HT is a senior Batik maker in Batik Rusunawa Marunda studio.Mrs. HT is the first Batik figure to be trained since the establishment of Batik Rusunawa Marunda studio.This studio was established in 2014 and accommodated around 50 Batik makers in the beginning, and Mrs. HT has become one of the early members.She bluntly said the following: "prior to Batik training, I wanted to start selling clothes again and worked hard as usual.However, after joining the training, I decided to change my orientation to Batik business since I am now skilled in Batik making."Mrs. HT becomes a loyal member of Batik Rusunawa Marunda to this day although many members resigned from the studio.She is one of the relocation residents who are trained to have skills that can help them through her new life in Rusunawa Marunda.In her old place, she had a fashion business done for four years before she was relocated in Rusunawa.Becoming a Batik maker is her way to earn her living.Mrs. HT can produce 4 pieces of Batik cloth semi-handmade per month, yet her Batik production still depends on the order or made by order.

Table 2 . Entrepreneurial Characteristics in Managerial Skill Dimension
Table2above explains that from all three respondents, Mrs. ST, Mrs. NR and Mrs. HT., they have tendency of very strong entrepreneurial characteristics of managerial skill dimension.Mrs.ST has 12 out of the 14 characteristics.Mrs.ST's statement gives meaning that she really was born with these characteristics since she shows her ability to manage and run her business.Table2also shows one characteristic that is possessed by all respondents, which is capable of running the business.