This research analyses innovation in four sectors: video games development, product design, advertising, and independent broadcast production.

Key findings

• Technological innovation is rife in all four case study sectors
• A good deal of innovation in the creative industries is ‘hidden’ (i.e. not recorded using traditional innovation indicators)
• Many creative businesses struggle to formalise their innovation processes
• The report makes a number of recommendations for innovation measurement, creative business management and policymaking, including making targeted innovation programmes available to the creative industries

How innovative are the creative industries? What new creative products are they producing? How are their methods of production and product delivery different? Are they more innovative in their back-office processes and their relationships with their clients and consumers? 

This study uses innovation research to examine the creative industries. Innovation research has for many years been dominated by studies of traditional manufacturing and high-tech innovation. Recent innovation studies have begun to grapple with service sector and organisational innovation; but there have been few studies of creative industries that use such tools and perspectives. 

Our report reviews and extends existing studies, combining a literature review with some secondary survey analysis, and presents new case studies of four creative industries. 

Authors

Ian Miles, Lawrence Green