Various approaches like the creative economy, creative industries, the creative class, creative entrepreneurship (Howkins, 2002; Florida, 2002; Healy, 2002; Pratt, 2005; Henry, 2007) have emphasized the arts and cultural sector as a rapidly developing area and as a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation and social cohesion in most advanced economies (Healy, 2002). With this call we invite researchers and scholars of cultural and creative industries (CCI), cultural heritage management as well as entrepreneurship in the cultural sector (Innerhofer et al., 2018; Piber, 2020; Demartini et al., 2021) to question established models in the literature and to discuss the challenges, opportunities and risks that the sector faces due to transformation processes, both in terms of supply and fruition (Khlystova et al., 2022).

Cultural entrepreneurship has emerged as a distinct scholarly field, characterized by interest in new CCI and Cultural Heritage-related phenomena and by relating to and connecting different disciplines. Various contributions highlight the specific nature and features of entrepreneurial processes, such as the mixed motivations of the entrepreneur, the limited availability of economic resources, and the propensity to involve partners and collaborators from different settings (Bergamini et al., 2018; Dobreva & Ivanov, 2020).

Recent studies tend to adopt a “contextualized” perspective and emphasize the degree of local embeddedness of cultural entrepreneurial initiatives and the emergence of supportive community-based networks (Vestrum, 2014; Summatave & Raudsaar 2015; Borin & Delgado, 2018; Ben‑Hafaïedh et al., 2023). The social fabric of cities, the cultural offerings and the interaction of various professionals involved in the production of new ideas represent potential incubators for new societal frames, business models, organisational frames, and start-ups (Dameri & Demartini, 2020). A linear view of innovation in cultural context is obsolete, and a more comprehensive, multidirectional approach is required to grasp the complexity of the relevant stakeholders and the - often hidden - resources in place (Pagano et al., 2021).

Regeneration and culture-driven sustainable development projects can thus flourish within a lively cultural ecosystem (Borin & Donato, 2015; Holden, 2015; Barker, 2020; Piber, 2020; Demartini et al., 2021; Borin & Jolivet, 2021; Aureli et al., 2023), which include not only private for profit and not-for-profit, public, and hybrid organisations but also grassroot movements, communities of artists, experts and passionate citizens/stakeholders that are motivated by rewards that go beyond mere financial and economic aspects. This means including social, ethical and aesthetic benefits (Pagano et al., 2018).

These transformations are also connected to the adoption and use of digital technologies, whose diffusion has promoted innovation and upgrading processes (Li, 2020), especially after the pandemic restrictions have triggered a general rethinking of the role of these tools in everyday life. As a matter of fact, actors of cultural and creative ecosystems are increasingly interacting in hybrid environments, digital and physical, thus overcoming geographical locations and allowing cultural and creative entrepreneurs to call for the knowledge, social or financial resources of a broader range of stakeholders (De Bernard et al., 2022).

This new scenario calls for a deeper reflection on the characteristics of sustainable entrepreneurial projects, and on the way cultural and creative entrepreneurs can cooperate with their territory to positively impact on the creation of a sustainable model of development (Ost and Saleh, 2023).

In a similar vein, there has been a growing interest in artisan entrepreneurship due to the expansion of the creative industries and increased focus on homemade goods and services that have a cultural component (Ratten et al., 2019). This has led to the talent-based creative class creating a cultural economy that reinvigorates cities and encourages the development of businesses that value the traditions in a community and move beyond the economic rationale to enhance our tangible and intangible cultural heritage – in other words; creating value for society (Cucari et al., 2020).

A reflection on the most suitable governance and management models for the cultural and creative entrepreneurial ventures for managing these changes needs to be carried out. It could start on the need to shift governance approaches from a “micro” perspective to a “meso” perspective (Bonet and Donato, 2011; Demartini et al., 2021), involving multiple partners and stakeholders and unveiling the new opportunities offered by regional projects of culture-led regeneration and development (Sacco and Tavano Blessi, 2009; Pencarelli et al., 2017; Petrova, 2018). It also means reflecting on the funding schemes for cultural and creative entrepreneurship in these new virtual and physical ecosystems, and how they could be further developed to meet the challenges ahead through cooperation and complementarity with local funding possibilities.

This call opens to a multidisciplinary and even interdisciplinary approach to this theme, including contributions from organization theory, sociology, psychology, management (theory), entrepreneurship, cultural tourism, destination management, governance and development, innovation, and the creative industries.
Expected contributions will focus on an analysis of individuals/entrepreneurs/organisations as well as networks and cooperations in the cultural and creative sector.

The following suggestions are meant to trigger new thoughts on specific topics without setting any limitations for other themes and perspectives:
- Artist-entrepreneurs and their passion-driven tensions between artistic, social and entrepreneurial demands; how they are evolving in a challenging context and how they can translate passion into behavioral effectiveness in the emerging scenario;
- New business models for Cultural Heritage Entrepreneurship and new Governance models for Cultural initiatives;
- Cultural initiatives - also in the form of inter-organizational projects - and their interplay in the context of regional and urban regeneration;
- Innovative organizational frames for art and culture;
- Partnerships and networks of and for art and culture in the context with other relevant stakeholders;
- The role of new “brokers” in promoting and supporting the emergence of cultural initiatives and projects;
- Cultural Heritage Entrepreneurship challenges related to recovery funds barriers related to lack of financial sources; new funding schemes and opportunities; access to market and innovation; intellectual property rights; education and training;
- Cultural Entrepreneurship accountability and transparency; accounting and reporting in cultural and creative enterprises.

We definitely encourage to address the social, economic, and entrepreneurial processes, developments and potentials behind the actors involved. These topics can be approached throughout the investigation of cultural organizations, artistic initiatives, businesses, regions and destinations as drivers and hubs for sustainable development.

Article Submission Deadline: November 30, 2024

This Special Issue is a parallel editorial initiative with Piccola Impresa/Small Business Journal (more information here) and prospective authors must decide to which journal they wish to submit their manuscript to. If you have any questions, please contact the Editorial Office of EJCMP at ejcmp@frontierspartnerships.org.

References:

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Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Biography
• Commentary
• Impact
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Policy Brief
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Biography
• Commentary
• Impact
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Policy Brief
• Review

Keywords: cultural entrepreneurship, culture-driven sustainable development, cultural entrepreneurship accountability and reporting, cultural cooperation and networks, cultural business models and governance of cultural initiatives