Cultural and creative entrepreneurship: towards a paradigmatic proposal

Abstract

Cultural and creative entrepreneurship (CCE) research has significantly developed but is still in search of a homogenous theoretical framework. We question here the structuration of CCE research and the emergence of paradigmatic views. Drawing on the analysis of CCE literature development and on the concepts of paradigm and field of research applied to entrepreneurship (Dana et al., 2008; Verstraete and Fayolle, 2005), we argue that CCE is developing as a field of research per se. We observe a broadening of ontological postures, both anchored in entrepreneurship research (re-phenomenology, theoretical grounds, and topics) and contextualised. We also observe a double topical shift: centring on CCE per se (implications for the traditional economy becoming secondary), and on the sustainability tension. This calls in our view for a renewed research agenda that should address cultural value creation, sustainability, the creation/sustainability tension, and the fundamental individual-collective-societal triptych.