Where the Art is:Defining and Managing Creativity in New Media SMEs
Mark Banks,David Calvey,Julia Owen and
David Russell
This paper examines the definition and management of creativity in the‘creative industries’.Initially the paper sets out the economic and cultural context for the emergence of the creativeindustries,before 留學生dissertation網 going on to argue that there are gaps in our understanding of the role ofcreativity and particularly the management of creativity within these industries.Based onresearch un

dertaken with new media SMEs in the North West of England,the paper thenexplores the ways in which creativity is defined and managed within this sub-sector.It isshown that the meanings attached to creativity are variable and contested and that the precisedefinition and management of creativity is strongly determined by the internal workplaceculture,and the external social and economic conditions within which firms operate.It isfurther suggested that while creativity is often seen as a‘must have’attribute for new mediafirms it may also,conversely,be considered a barrier to commercial success.The paperconcludes that if we are to understand work and production in the creative industries,andoffer institutional support for firms to develop and sustain creativity for competitiveadvantage,it may be necessary to develop a more detailed understanding of the role ofcreativity and creative management as both a general and specific,socially embeddedprocess.
Introduction
Given the growing interest in the‘creativeindustries’there is a surprising lack ofknowledge and understanding of the specificrole of‘creativity’within this sector(Lead-beater&Oakley,1999;Davis&Scase,2000).
The aim of this paper is to examine more fullythe role of creativity,and ways of definingand managing creativity,within small andmedium sized enterprises(SMEs)working inthe creative industries.The diverse and fast-growing sub-sector of‘new media’is chosenas a case through which to analyse the issueof creativity.While new media productionis only one of many activities routinely cat-
egorised as a‘creative industry’,given therapid growth of this sub-sector and its in-creasing convergence and integration withother sub-sectors(Preston&Kerr,2001;Pratt,
2000;Scott,2000),we suggest an analysis ofcreativity in new media firms may offer somepertinent insights that could be tested more
broadly across the creative industries.The paper begins by setting the economicand cultural context for the emergence of thecreative industries,before going on to argue
that there are gaps in our understanding ofcreativity,and the management of creativitywithin this growing sector.We argue thatmuch of the contemporary literature oncreativity has failed to show how the mean-ings attached to creativity are variable andcontested,and how,within firms,the defini-
tion and management of creativity may behighly context specific,being strongly deter-mined by the internal workplace culture,andthe external social and economic conditions#p#分頁標題#e#
within which firms operate.The core of the paper is selections of findingsfrom our researchthat show how new mediaSMEs
define and manage creativity in thecontext of production.The findings are drawnfrom in-depth interviews with managers and#Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2002.108 Cowley Road,Oxford OX4 1JFand 350 Main St,Malden,MA 02148,USA.Volume 11 Number 4 December 2002owners from over 20 new media firms in theNorth West of England and an ethnographic-ally based case study programme with five ofthese firms.The data reveal that the ways inwhich creativity is defined and managed areboth varied and context specific–with notionsand practices of creativity being utilised for avariety of personal and organisational ends.We conclude that this may have importantimplications for how policy makers,educatorsand skills development agencies can interveneto enhance creativity to improve organisationalcompetitive advantage(Groth&Peters,1999).The coming of‘creative’industriesWithin Western economies,the creative orcultural industries have been identified as anew and fast growing industrial sector(Bankset al.,2000;DCMS,1998,2001;Hall,2000;Lash&Urry,1994;Pratt,1997).The reasons fortheir emergence are manifold and complex.
We can,however,point to a number of keyfactors that derive from new convergencesbetween the traditionally distinct spheres of‘economy’and‘culture’.The term‘creativeindustries’itself hints at this resolution ofopposites–the blending of the historicallyseparate worlds of culture and economy,orart and commerce,to form a new and hybridsector.
The driving force of the cultural or creativeeconomy is primarily to be found withincapitalism’s seemingly limitless quest for newcommodities to bring into the market system
(Harvey,1989).Further,the rise of discretion-ary leisure time and disposable income havefuelled the demand for unique and nichecreatively or culturally distinct goods andservices(Lash&Urry,1994).As Scott notes,for good or ill,‘the realm of human culture asa whole is increasingly subject to commodifica-tion’(2000,2)–with the result that commod-ities now being circulated and exchanged arejust as likely to be valued for their aesthetic,informational or symbolic attributes as theyare material qualities.Creative industries areboth cause and consequence of a new con-vergence,at the local,national and global
level,of culture and economy,art andtechnology and the shift towards an‘informa-tional’,‘symbolic’and‘knowledge-based’modes of production–largely,but not ex-clusively,realised through the boom in infor-mational,leisure and educational products(Castells,1996).We argue that this processshows little signs of abating and will ensurethat creativity and innovation continue to be-come more central to the generation and ex-ploitation of new products and productivity.Defining creative industriesIn the UK context,debate over creative indus-tries has been framed around the work of the#p#分頁標題#e#
Department of Culture,Media and Sport’sCreative Industries Task Force(CITF)andtheir 1998 Creative Industries Mapping Docu-ment.The aim of this report was to flag up thegrowing importance of creative industries,and to make some quantitative estimate ofthe economic value of the sector.In thisdocument 13 sub-sectors are identified asbeing part of the Creative Industries
.Anupdate of this report in 2001 claimed that over￡112 billion pounds of revenue are generatedby a sector that now employs over 1.3 millionpeople–the majority in freelance,micro-orsmall and medium sized enterprises.TheCITF defines creative industries thus:
..those industries which have their origin individual creativity,skill and talent and whichhave a potential for wealth and job creationthrough the generation and exploitation ofintellectual property(DCMS 2001,5).This attempt to define‘creative industry’isnot without problems.Firstly,it is problem-atic in that it places creativity firmly within
the hands of the individual–thus ruling outthe role of social context in the creativeprocess(Davis&Scase,2000;Leadbeater&Oakley,1999;Scott,2000).As we will show,what counts as creativity,and what is oftenseen as a discrete innovation of the‘creativemind’(Boden,1990)is,in actual fact,definedand socially structured through organisationsand forms of group interaction.Secondly,it
assumes that creativity can be defined bywhat firms produce or make rather than whatthey do;it is essentially output rather thanprocess driven.It does not shed light on thecreative process;rather it assumes that cre-ativity is represented by,or inherent to,theproduct itself.This may or may not be true;for instance mass reproduction of a copiedor long established design would challenge
any definition of creativity.More broadly,theterm‘creative industry’is further problematic
in that it undermines the role creativity has inother industries.Creativity can be applied toa range of other activities,which have nothingto do with art,culture,or designated‘creative’practice.For instance,a new engineeringsolution,transport plan or medical advancecan all,in some sense,be deemed‘creative’
(Evans,2001;O’Connor,2000)Yet,beyond the work of the CITF,in thewider and international context,it is clear thatcreative industries have been designated aspecial site for creativity,for it is in this sector
hat creativity is seen to be the most crucial56CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENTcreative expert is perhaps becoming morepronounced and vital than in other,more traditional,industry sectors–how to manage this will be a key issue.ii)What is creativity for and what is its’importance compared to other resources andcapabilities?
Regardless of background or sub-sector,the majority of new media managers considered creativity,however defined,to play some role
in securing competitive advantage.However, and contrary to popular understanding,for most,creativity was not perceived as theprimary determinant of organizational suc-cess and competitive advantage.Other capa-bilities and expertise were perceived ashaving greater bearing on securing competi-tiveness.#p#分頁標題#e#
Definitions,significance and the extent towhich other expertise and capabilities wereidentified as being more important thancreativity were to a large extent determinedby a combination of factors such as thehistories of the firm,the core business andmarket and not least the priorities and goalsof managers/owners.For example,thosefirms specialising in providing Information
Technology(IT)or e-commerce solutionstended to place less value on‘pure’creativitythan on technical production and implemen-
tation.As one manager explained:It is all about solving solutions and the prettypictures aspect is important but it is the con-vergence of that with Information Technologywhich is becoming more valuable.And reinforced by another manager from asimilar IT-led firm:Creativity in its narrower sense in terms of thecreative art or the creative profession,we wouldtend to outsource that specific type of creativity...it is more about the clever use of technol-ogies rather than whizzy graphics and awardwinning animations.
Alternatively for those firms from a moremarketing and advertising background,whoprioritised commercial capabilities and‘clientmanagement’,creativity was of secondaryimportance,as one manager argued:...The most important skills are commercialskills,it doesn’t matter how good yourdesigners are or how good your solutions ifyou can’t realise a dialogue with a customerinto business then it just doesn’t happen...sothe important skills are commercial skills,people skills,people management skills,tech-nology management skills and service delivery.
In general,managers of market-driven,cus-tomer focussed advertising and marketingcompanies,while often describing the companyas being part of the‘creative sector’were mostcategorical in their assertions that creativitywas not the major determinant of success.Asone manager in this sub-sector stated:In a management sense I would define myself ascreative,in a new media sense much less so.Having said that the ability to devise creativesolutions,and I don’t mean pretty pictures andthings is difficult,but creativity is subservientto our customers’business objectives and our
own business objectives.But for those managers with a strong designaesthetic,creativity was much more central–not only to the business but to their own
identity:I’m creatively driven I’m not driven by poundsshillings and pence as such.I’m a designer thathappens to be in business,I’m not a businessman who happens to be a designer.Of those managers who perceived themselvesprincipally as‘creatives’,several describedhow creativity was used not just in product
‘look and feel’but also as a driving force forenhancing organizational capacity.As onemanager,described creative thought was used
to challenge existing ways of doing things:I want people who welcome the strange...inthe small organization I need flexibility,intelligence and aptitude...I need people with#p#分頁標題#e#
ideas who would come in and say why areyou doing that...I need that challenge fortwo reasons so I’m not wasting their time butI could well be wasting mine.
iii)How is creativity managed?
Only one manager took the view that creativitycould not be managed and that creativesneeded to be‘left to get on with it,as prescrip-
tion kills creativity’.It was more common formanagers,particularly those in larger firms,more‘corporate’in ambition–to detail how
they focused upon providing‘creative direc-tion’,and directing a collaborative process to
facilitate creativity.
We offer,from an art point of view,a reasonablechallenge.They have a chance to express them-selves.I want them to put in ideas as well.I usually start if off by saying I think this is agood idea and we’ll all sit around the table andbreak it down and go away.Other,similar managers described how in
facilitating and supporting creativity it wasoften necessary to introduce challenge,un-
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