From Heritage to Creative Economy: Conceptualising the Sustainability of Batik Merbok through Education, Industry, and Community

Batik Merbok an underdocumented textile heritage of Kedah faces mounting pressures from market modernisation, low-cost imports, and a shortage of skilled youth, despite national narratives that position cultural heritage as a pillar of the creative economy. This study addresses the problem of fragmented efforts across education, industry, and community that have yet to coalesce into a coherent strategy for sustaining Batik Merbok’s identity, economic viability, market relevance, and intergenerational transmission. The aim is to propose and preliminarily assess a conceptual framework that integrates these three drivers while accounting for contextual moderators (policy and institutional support, financial resources, digital literacy, and community cultural norms). Methodologically, the study adopts a conceptual research design supported by a quantitative survey plan: constructs and measures are derived from literature and theory, with the model intended for empirical testing using PLS-SEM (measurement and structural analyses) on purposively sampled stakeholders—lecturers/students, entrepreneurs/artisans, and community members—in northern Peninsular Malaysia. Conceptual synthesis and secondary evidence suggest that heritage-based education can strengthen knowledge transfer and youth engagement; industry can enhance competitiveness through design, branding, and market strategies; and community anchors authenticity and social acceptance—effects that are amplified or dampened by the identified moderators. The findings indicate that aligning curricula, industrial incentives, and community programmes around dynamic capabilities and cultural sustainability can create a resilient heritage–innovation nexus for Batik Merbok. Practically, the framework guides universities to embed heritage–innovation modules, industry to invest in design and green production, and communities to co-lead legitimising activities; theoretically, it integrates diffusion of innovation, triple bottom line, dynamic capabilities, and cultural sustainability into a testable model. The study concludes with a call for empirical validation and policy alignment to secure Batik Merbok’s long-term sustainability within Malaysia’s creative economy.