Article: Innovation practices in cultural organisations: implications for innovation policy Journal: International Journal of Tourism Policy (IJTP) 2016 Vol.6 No.3/4 pp.212 - 234 Abstract: This paper explores the innovation practices in a distinctive and vital part of the growing tourism industry, that of cultural organisations. These organisations have received limited attention from previous in-depth qualitative research on innovation practices. The investigation in this paper is based on in-depth interviews with key-employees in 27 cultural organisations. The findings suggest that the innovation practices when cultural organisations carry out incremental and liminal innovation activities differ from the practices used during more radical innovation activities. Sources of incremental and liminal innovations are often found to be stakeholders external to the organisation, such as the audience, whereas sources of more radical innovations are often found to be internal employees, and in particular the artists themselves or the artistic management team. These employees typically develop radically new cultural offerings with high levels of autonomy from the general management and the market. The paper discusses the implications that these findings have on innovation policy. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Innovation practices in cultural organisations: implications for innovation policy

Authors: Tor Helge Aas; Kirsti Mathiesen Hjemdahl; Sarah Holst Kjær

Addresses: School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Gimlemoen 25, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway; Agderforskning Gimlemoen 19, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway ' Agderforskning, Gimlemoen 19, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway ' Agderforskning, Gimlemoen 19, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway

Abstract: This paper explores the innovation practices in a distinctive and vital part of the growing tourism industry, that of cultural organisations. These organisations have received limited attention from previous in-depth qualitative research on innovation practices. The investigation in this paper is based on in-depth interviews with key-employees in 27 cultural organisations. The findings suggest that the innovation practices when cultural organisations carry out incremental and liminal innovation activities differ from the practices used during more radical innovation activities. Sources of incremental and liminal innovations are often found to be stakeholders external to the organisation, such as the audience, whereas sources of more radical innovations are often found to be internal employees, and in particular the artists themselves or the artistic management team. These employees typically develop radically new cultural offerings with high levels of autonomy from the general management and the market. The paper discusses the implications that these findings have on innovation policy.

Keywords: innovation policy; innovation practices; tourism industry; cultural organisations; creative industries; culture; creativity; incremental innovation; liminal innovation; radical innovation; artists; artistic management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2016.081524

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2016 Vol.6 No.3/4, pp.212 - 234

Received: 02 Nov 2015
Accepted: 19 Feb 2016
Published online: 11 Jan 2017 *

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Title: Innovation practices in cultural organisations: implications for innovation policy

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