Organisations, Innovation and Complexity: New Perspectives on the Knowledge Economy

University of Manchester
9-10th September 2004

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Impact of a New Innovation – the New Media Cluster in Vancouver

Jane McCarthy, Richard Smith & Michelle Petrusevich

CPROST, Simon Fraser University,
Vancouver, Canada

Abstract

New technologies and innovations stimulate and bring change in established industries. Sometimes however, they can be part of the impetus for the creation of a new industrial sector. A great deal of emphasis is placed on clusters as one mechanism that enables that transition. Clusters are generally accepted as referring to geographical concentrations of business organisations and supporting institutions, associated with the value chain activities of a particular business sector. The general thinking is that organisations involved in the new technology or innovation ‘cluster’ together in one locale. This then creates its own dynamic, reinforcing the environment of new innovation and its exploitation. Over time, the cluster helps the acceptance and absorption of the new technology or innovation and its establishment as part of the economic landscape.

This thinking has given rise to numerous claims of new clusters in everything, from bio-technology, to wine.

There is now a substantial body of work on the study of clusters. The attributes of clusters that contribute to their success are now well documented: in general, they contribute to increases in productivity, to the creation and sustainment of an innovative milieu, and the further growth of new firms. While we know this and more about successful clusters, this is always with the benefit of hindsight. Much is known about the path that takes a cluster to success. Much less is known about the paths (and there are many more of those) that lead to failure or some stalemate. This is surprising, given the proliferation of government initiatives and programmes, and the involvement of public money in the creation and nurturing of clusters.

What happens when new technological advances move beyond their exciting initial stages to become more established? What role do clusters play? Are there any relationships among the different elements and events?

This paper is inspired by a study of the new media sector in Greater Vancouver, Canada. Heralded as a new technological explosion, new media is a catch-all term to describe innovative applications of new computational technologies to a diverse range of media, including entertainment, learning and business. A concentration of companies engaged in these activities has been recognised in the area, leading to claims of a new media cluster in Greater Vancouver. Together, these companies fit part of the profile of known cluster studies, sharing common history, common values and representative and supporting institutions. As the technologies mature, many of these firms now claim not to be new media companies, but rather associate increasingly with the business sector they are applying their innovation to: the entertainment industry, business consultancy, education and so forth.

The paper explores the history of the sector and asks the question whether this is a cluster, or a stage in the process of a new innovation becoming part of the economic landscape. The question is explored with reference to the key themes of learning, labour, leadership, location and the combined institutional forces represented as legislation, laws and labs.

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