<![CDATA[ Purpose – This study investigates how entrepreneurial leadership and the social environment shape innovation within songkok craft MSMEs in Lamongan Regency, East Java, Indonesia. It focuses on how leaders navigate the tension between preserving cultural-religious heritage and adapting to market change. Design/methodology/approach – Using an exploratory qualitative design, the study draws on 15 purposively selected key informants from four broad role groups: MSME owners, managers, and artisans; artisan-community representatives; local government representatives; and academics or MSME facilitators. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observations, and document analysis and examined through thematic analysis. Contrasting evidence was explicitly considered when interpreting limited process and organizational innovation. Finding/Results – The analysis indicates three connected themes: heritage-preserving entrepreneurial leadership, socio-community governance and network support, and value-congruent innovation alignment. Product and marketing innovation were more visible than process and organizational innovation. Community relationships supported information exchange and order sharing, but shared expectations also shaped which changes were regarded as culturally acceptable. Originality/Value – The study develops a Leadership-Socio-Community Interpretive Framework for heritage-based MSMEs. The framework explains innovation as a negotiated and culturally bounded process rather than as an automatic outcome of leadership or social capital.]]>
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