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 creative industries, before going on to argue that there are gaps in our understanding of the role of creativity and particularly the management of creativity within these industries. Based on research undertaken with new media SMEs in the North West of England, the paper then explores the ways in which creativity is defined and managed within this sub–sector. It is shown that the meanings attached to creativity are variable and contested and that the precise definition and management of creativity is strongly determined by the internal workplace culture, and the external social and economic conditions within which firms operate. It is further suggested that while creativity is often seen as a ‘must have’ attribute for new media firms it may also, conversely, be considered a barrier to commercial success. The paper concludes that if we are to understand work and production in the creative industries, and offer institutional support for firms to develop and sustain creativity for competitive advantage, it may be necessary to develop a more detailed understanding of the role of creativity and creative management as both a general and specific, socially embedded process.

This article discusses the covert research relationship. Specifically, it explores the ethical dimensions of fieldwork with reference to a six-month covert ethnography of `bouncers', in Manchester. Drawing from sociological literatures, the article wishes to raise for scrutiny the management of situated ethics in covert fieldwork which, despite having some increased recognition via debates about risk and danger in fieldwork, remains glossed over. The standard discourse on ethics is abstracted from the actual doing, which is a mediated and contingent set of practices. Traditionally, professional ethics has been centralized around the doctrine of informed consent with covert methodology being frowned upon and effectively marginalized as a type of `last resort methodology'.What I highlight here is the case for covert research in the face of much conventional opposition. I hope the article will open debate and dialogue about its potential role and possible creative future in the social science community.

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The focus of this article is on the everyday world of bouncers in the night-time economy of Manchester, England. The structure of the article is to contextualise my covert passing in this demonized subculture followed by explorations of the everyday world of bouncers through the related concepts of door order and the bouncer self. A part of the article is an examination of the management of situated ‘ethical moments’ during the fieldwork and, more generally, critical reflections on emotionality, embodiment and risk-taking in ethnography. I also reflect on the retrospective and longitudinal nature of my fieldwork immersion, and both the data management challenges and possibilities this brings. Covert ethnography can be a creative part of the ethnographer’s tool kit and can provide an alternative perspective on subcultures, settings and organisations. By overly frowning upon the apparent ethical transgressions of covert research, we can stifle and censor the sociological imagination rather than enhance it. My call is for a rehabilitation of covert research.

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