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The growth puzzle in the creative industries. Or why creatives and their industries are a special case

Author

Listed:
  • Ellen Loots
  • Arjen van Witteloostuijn

Abstract

The cultural and creative industries (CCI) are seen as an important growth-promoting vehicle in modern policymaking circles. However, creative firm growth is still largely an enigma, with only little across-firm variance being explained in the extant literature. This theoretical essay reviews what is known, and explains why the creatives and their industries are a very special case. Specifically, we argue that both the micro-level motivational drive of the typical creative and the meso-level opportunity structure of the CCI are very distinctive, with far-reaching consequences for a (firm) growth theory tailored at the CCI: creatives are motivated differently than are non-creatives, and the opportunities in the CCI are different from those in the non-CCI. Jointly, the micro-level characteristics of individual creatives and the meso-level features of the aggregate CCI generate a macro-level ecosystem with very distinctive selection processes. Taken all this together, this implies that we take the first step toward developing a CCI (firm) growth theory that is both nested in and distinctive from a general theory of firm growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Loots & Arjen van Witteloostuijn, 2018. "The growth puzzle in the creative industries. Or why creatives and their industries are a special case," Revue de l'Entrepreneuriat, De Boeck Université, vol. 17(1), pages 39-58.
  • Handle: RePEc:cai:rendbu:entre_171_0039
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Isabelle Horvath & Gaëlle Dechamp, 2020. "Collective Intelligence: a Determining Factor to Support the Dual Economic and Artistic Ambition of the Creative Entrepreneur? [La inteligencia colectiva: ¿un factor determinante para sostener la d," Post-Print hal-03097146, HAL.
    2. Alfonso Unceta & Xabier Barandiaran & Asier Lakidain, 2021. "Digitalisation of Creative Industries Fostered by Collaborative Governance: Public Innovation Labs in Gipuzkoa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, February.

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