No abstract

This article charts the development of the 'creative cities' discourse as one increasingly organised around 'aa transnational hegemonicic block'. It traces the tendency towards homogenisation during the adoption, translation and improvisation of creative cities' policies around the world, to that of an aspiration to be 'Modern'. Rejecting claims of a 'creative class', the article focuses on cultural intermediaries and how they function as a global epistemic community under the notion of modernisation. In addition, such a 'creative imaginary shaped by a US centric neo-liberal financialization model has replicated existing global hierarchies, undermining public services and exacerbating the commodification of the creative commons. The article argues that it may be possible for cities to transform the Creative City discourse in their own image only after a radical rethinking of a modernising imaginary, and basing themselves on a new conception of the possibilities of the local.

of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Purpose This paper aims to increase our understanding of the nature and role of communities within organizations with regard to innovation management, the drivers of community innovation and macro-processes of community innovation management. Design/methodology/approach The authors first use an inductive qualitative technique to analyze data gathered from a UK university to build up the concept of communities of innovation and then refine the concept of communities of innovation by contrasting it to the more established literature on communities of practice. Finally, with the aid of existing literature on collaborative innovation and the innovation processes, the authors induce from the data the drivers of community innovation and the three macro-processes of community innovation management. Findings The research findings suggest communities of innovation play a central and pivotal role in contributing to the generation of innovations within organizations. Drivers of innovation included corporate culture, money and time, intellectual property management, motivation, knowledge facilitators, activists and maintenance and opportunities to interact. The three macro-processes of community innovation management are identified as divergence management, gateway management and convergence management. Research limitations/implications As this is an exploratory research into communities of innovation, all the 11 communities of innovation analyzed belong to ABC University. It is necessary to expand on this research within the education industry, as well as into other industries to further test the reliability of the findings in this paper. Practical implications Business executives who have a better understanding of communities of innovation, the drivers of community innovation and the macro-processes of community innovation management will be better able to promote innovation within their organizations. Social implications Governments that have a better understanding of communities of innovation, the drivers of innovation and the macro-processes of community innovation management will be better able to promote innovation within their countries. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first research studies attempting to understand communities of innovation and the macro-processes of community innovation management.

No abstract