| Abstract |
Purpose - The research presented in this report measures and analyzes the key dimensions of creative economy and society in Balkan countries by using data regarding the "3Ts" framework proposed by professor Richard Florida in the book the Rise of the Creative Class. Creativity is recognized as an economic driver for generating wealth and employment, sustainable development of world cities, technological changes, scientific and business innovation, personal and social development and enhancement of competitiveness of firms, enterprises, individual cities and countries which would shed light on how we live in the 21st century (Landry, 2000; DCMS, 2004, 2002, 2001, Howkins, 2001). The creative economy is considered as a leading component of economic growth, especially for developing countries, able to create and circulate intellectual capital, to generate income, employment, innovation and trade earnings while at the same time promoting cultural diversity, social inclusion and human development. It consists on those activities based on creativity, individual talent and skill and that have the potential to create jobs and wealth through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property (DCMS, 2003). In realizing a creative economy three key pillars are needed to be developed and sustained: talent, technology and innovation, and the social context. 1. Talent captures the dimension of Human capital as the key driver of economic development. Talent and creativity are the forces behind technological progress, new inventions, and new frontiers in science, technology and the arts. Research has shown that the ability of people to contribute to the full development of a real creative economy is closely linked to their knowledge, education, and their daily activity and occupation. Therefore, the talent, the ability to use, exploit and generate knowledge and insights through the creativity process is becoming the most important and distinctive economic resource for industries and places as well (Florida 2002). 2. Technology empowers enormously creativity as it provides the means through which new ideas can become new products, new businesses, generating wealth and prosperity. Especially, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have an immense impact on the productivity and innovativeness of human talent and creativity. The rapid progress of these technologies opens completely new opportunities to attain higher levels of development of new business models, market structures and governance as well as to leverage the development of new links in the value chain in virtually all creative industries. The capacity of these technologies to reduce many traditional obstacles, especially those of time and distance, for the first time in history makes it possible to use the potential of these technologies for the benefit of millions of people in all corners of the world". 3. The social context or else Tolerance is another important factor, which according to Florida comes into play. Because creativity is a social process it takes place indeed only in socially and culturally open favorable contexts that favors the emergence of new ideas, encourages people of all background, beliefs, and interests to blend together and learn from each other, paving the way for the creation of something new able to nurture, attract and mobilize these creative assets. Creativity is highly dependent on the ability to exploit external knowledge through the collaboration with diverse stakeholders, groups, and partners and even competitors. The locus of creativity is found in a network of inter-organizational relationships that allows the access to the resources of others, increase the possibility to acquire new knowledge and as result develop new products, services, new distribution and production methods etc. Design/methodology/approach - the methodology used in this study consists on using the dataset of World Economic Forum, British council and other national datasets to extract those data that provide the measures for the creative economy. We aim to provide a snapshot of the state of the art of creative economy of Balkan countries and their dynamics in time, by focalizing on three main elements: talent, technology and social context. Originality/value - This methodology puts in evidence the dynamics and the potentialities of Balkan countries to progress toward a creative, by exploiting their knowledge based assets of countries as key sources of competencies and capabilities that are deemed essential for economic growth and competitive advantage. Practical implications - The outcomes of the application is to provide a snapshot of the progress of Balkan countries toward the Creative economy and based on that define some policy implications and recommendations for further development. |