Creative struggle in Malaysia: a case study of the advertising, film, and animation industry sectors

Abstract

With the arrival of disruptive technologies, creative industries have had to confront harsh challenges especially in developing countries. In this paper, we examine the endurance of three major creative industries amidst a changing landscape in Malaysia in terms of pressure from disruptive technologies as well as global competition. Our findings are based on in-depth interviews with employees in three major creative industry sectors in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Our findings suggest that the investigated creative industries are at the juncture of significant changes with available limited resources. Even prominent sectors with creative industries are challenged by a lack of a talent pool to embrace new trends and developments due to technological advancements. Moreover, the lack of policy support from the government and talent shortages have further affected the challenges among the main sectors in creative industries.