Creativity Regimes: Innovation Norms and Struggles for Recognition in the Early U.S. Car and Film Industries

Abstract

This paper explores the dual element of innovation norms and struggles of recognition characterizing creativity regimes by comparing two historical cases, the rise of the U.S. car industry in Detroit and the rise of the U.S. film industry in Hollywood. Creativity is basically a social activity; it is defined and regulated within different institutionalized social orders that we can call creativity regimes. What is seen and accepted as creativity in one social order is not recognized as such outside that particular social order. Creativity regimes regulate what type of creativity is asked for through two main mechanisms, namely, innovation norms and struggles for legitimacy or recognition. Innovation norms define the criteria used to determine whether a given idea is rewarded or not within that particular creativity regime. Struggles for recognition determine the career of groundbreaking ideas that open up new domains, such as new paradigms, industries, or art styles. Implications for research and practice are offered.