Digital Convergence and Collaboration Culture

Digital convergence and collaboration culture:Publishing in the context of the wider creative industries.

Frania HallUniversity of the Arts, London,

London College of Communication

• ‘Alarming macro-trends’ • Bhaskar, (2013) The Content Machine

• ‘The Media and Content Industries…. are among the industries that have been first and heavily hit by the digital shift’

• Simon and Bogdanowicz, (2012) JRC Policy Brief

Changing Industry

• Technology changes – production and product• New intermediaries• Prosumers – direct to market• Blurring boundaries, format shifts• Consumer behaviour – purchasing patterns

and expectation of free• Proliferation of business models & pioneers

• Media Convergence is more than simply a technological shift. Convergence alters the relationship between existing technologies industries, markets, genres and audiences. Convergence alters the logic by which media companies operate and by which media consumers process news and entertainment.

• Jenkins (2008) Convergence Culture.

This presentation

• Context for my research – the wider creative industries

• Agenda for my research – the nature and style of collaboration within publishing.

• Collaboration – here focusing on digital product development.

Publishing through the lens of creative industry thinking

1. 4 models of creative industries2. Characteristics of creative industries3. Similar challenges4. Wider creative industry theory, economics

and networks5. Studying collaborations – similarities and

differences6. What the research will do

• ‘The publishing value chain has remained relatively consistent since the invention of the printing press…’

• ‘The traditional value chain…is being disrupted and disintermediated at every stage’

Ray Murray and Squires (2013)

• ‘Technological advance in publishing has centred around solving supply’ Nash (2010)

• ‘In a publishing version of ‘if we build it they will come’ publishers understand that it is no longer possible, or sensible to continue with business as usual’ Tian and Martin (2011)

• ‘Lacking definition leave publishers horribly exposed to the whims of history and technology’ Bhaskar, (2013) The Content Machine

• ‘A business about reading and writing’ Stephen Page, CEO, Faber (2011)

• ‘It’s still a book business and it needs to become a reader business’ Michael Calder (quoted by Sara Lloyd 2009)

• ‘Reader-centred business’ Healy (2011)

• ‘We recognize that digital books and journals at best substitute revenues previously derived from print’

• ‘In order to drive growth we need to go beyond the two dimensional experience of a digital or standard ebook’

• Stephen Smith, CEO Wiley, (2013)

• ‘The blurring of roles in the book industry looks set to continue’ Healy 2011

Why look at the wider context?

• Creative industries face similar challenges in digital age

• Developing and sharing knowledge from these other industries

• Collaboration appears to be becoming wider• Understand position and find allies to

transform effectively

Model 1

• DCMS

• Individual creativity• Wealth creation opportunities• Publishing is a creative content producer

• ‘Ad hoc’ Flew, (2013)

Model 2

• Concentric Circles, Throsby, (2008)

• Creativity of created product at the centre• Production and distribution further out• Publishing in an outer layer

• ‘Centrality of cultural value’ Flew (2013)

Model 3

• WIPO

• The IP based model• Publishing central

• ‘Intellectual property as the embodiment of creativity’ UNCTAD, (2010)

Model 4

• Symbolic texts Hesmondhalgh, (2013)

• Cultural texts at the centre• Including those that are engaged in

production and circulation of those texts• Publishing central• ‘Directly involved in production of social

meaning’ Flew (2013)

Issues with models

• Separation of activities• Going wider - creativity in other industries• The art-commerce relationship

• The problems of drawing lines.

• ‘The creative industries sit on the cusp of significant transformation.’

• Banks and O’Connor , (2009)

Characteristics of creative industries

• Issues around value, cultural production and symbolic texts

• The art/commerce debate/paradox

• Distinctive market behaviours

• Work/experience of labour/working conditions

• Management and organisational practices

Challenges faced by all

• Copyright• Consumer behaviour• Discoverability• Prosumer• New competitor landscape• The democracy of the internet

• The successful organisation flexible enough to change their means as rapidly as goals change, under the impact of fast cultural, technological and institutional change; and to innovate as innovation becomes the key competitive weapon’ Cassells, (2010) The Rise of the Network Society

• ‘In most industries, including the creative sector, innovation is key to gaining competitive advantage and enhancing growth prospects.’ Bakhshi and Throsby, (2009)

• ‘Where innovation is critical, the organisational ability to increase its sources from all forms of knowledge becomes the foundation of the innovative firm’ Cassells (2010) The Rise of the Network Enterprise

The phenomenon of new styles of collaboration

• New because: • Broader in scope (cross creative industries)• Entrepreneurial and experimental in vision• Structurally different: partnership, shared

outcomes, measurement

Study these collaborations to ascertain:

• If they are different• And if they are, do they reflect a more

fundamental change in structure of the industry

• Along the way consider:• Network theory• Innovation theory

Collaborations around renewal

• Explorative: ‘renew their own knowledge levels’

• Entrepreneurial: ‘promote invention and development’

• Partnerships that are: ‘Future oriented and flourish in environments with an abundance of entrepreneurial behaviour, creativity and innovative strength’ Kaats and Opheij (2014)

Research approach• Multiple cases approach (6)• Cases when exploring context and phenomenon• Variety of companies in size and publishing sector• Each case stands alone then look for replication in other

cases• Mixed methods approach for each case• Design tests for validity• Feedback loop as develop next case to refine theory• Underlying processes emerge• Multiple relativist opinions – cross-case conclusions

Theoretical frameworks

• Specific characteristics of collaboration within creative industries

• Lens of collaboration• Innovation theory• Network theory• Identity and distributed creativity theory

To explore• Shared ambition• How everyone’s interests can be appropriately served• How working relations are developed, • Organisational behaviour as they plan it out• Behaviour and sensemaking while in action.• What makes a successful collaboration? • How far are they repeatable? • How far are they flexible? • Do they genuinely reflect an industry attempting to be

more nimble around experimentation?

From that will assess:

• Are the collaborations definitely different/new?

• If so how?• What is the fit with the other creative

industries?• Is this significant enough to reflect structural

change?

The results…

• If the results show that there isn’t significant difference in the collaborations, given the context, should there not be more movement towards cross-sector collaboration?

If the results show there is change..

• This may indicate not just that it is a reflection of structural change but a driver?

• What wider economic/organisational effects might it have?

• And what about the changing consumer….?– Do they notice (or need to)? – Can we get ahead of the curve?

• About similarities between industries

• But also about differences - for learning and experimentation

• A need to form ‘more partnerships with sister creative industries’ Stephen Page, CEO, Faber (2011)

• ‘The model for tomorrow is try everything, make mistakes, fail, fail better’ Neil Gaiman, Author (2013).

• Questions?