Art of innovating in the arts: definitions, determinants, and mode of innovation in creative industries, a systematic review

The creative industries have attracted the attention of both decision-makers and researchers since the end of the 1990s due to their economic, cultural, and societal potential. The literature on these industries showed the prominent role of innovation within them. Given its importance, innovation in the creative industries (ICI) has been therefore the subject of numerous articles because of its specificities and the complexity of its implementation. Relying on a systematic review of empirical studies published between 1998 and 2021, this article firstly analyzes how innovation is defined in the creative industries. Secondly, it proposes a framework that brings together a large spectrum of factors driving or hampering innovation in these industries. The analysis of the 137 selected articles reveal that ICI is best defined by adopting a holistic view, considering its sources, the industries in which it takes place, and its outcomes. Furthermore, the results show that seven groups of factors were recurrently associated with ICI, namely: financial-related factors, market-related factors, organizational-related factors, individual-related factors, technological-related factors, institutional-related factors, and natural factors. Moreover, ICI is described as the result of a combination of factors, among which artistic creativity is the fundamental element, and its presence is a prerequisite. Therefore, we consider this innovation approach as a creativity innovation mode. These results would help managers and policymakers to better foster innovation in the creative industries. Finally, the theoretical implications and research avenues identified in this study will help researchers to better channel their efforts in studying this phenomenon.