Ulrike Sailer und Dominik Papenheim (Trier)

Kreative Unternehmen, Clusterinitiativen und Wirtschaftsentwicklung. Theoretische Diskurse und empirische Befunde aus Offenbach am Main

Creative enterprises, cluster initiatives and economic development. Theoretical discourses and empirical findings from Offenbach/Main, Germany

Creativity and the creative industries are increasingly being discussed as important factors in the urban economic development discourse. However, this discourse frequently neglects issues regarding the localisation and logic of the actions of creative enterprises. The debate also fails to demonstrate satisfactorily whether and in what way policy measures can contribute to the development of creative industries. With the aim of addressing these deficits, we conducted an empirical study of creative enterprises in Offenbach/Main (Germany), analyzing structures, processes, linkages, and the logic of actions.

In accordance with the mainstream discourse on creative industries, our findings suggest that urban amenities and contact arenas are important factors in the explanation of the localisation and logic of the action of creative enterprises. However, they do not provide a complete explanation of these patterns. In Offenbach the cluster of creative enterprises has developed in spite of the fact that creative actors rate urban amenities and contact arenas in Offenbach as inadequate. We therefore conclude that the pull effects of hard locational factors as well as the incubator function of universities, which are widely neglected in the current discourse, are driving forces in the development of creative industries in Offenbach.

Furthermore, our research elaborates on preconditions and factors for a successful cluster initiative. We argue that policy measures should focus on the town’s deficits as seen by the creative actors themselves and work to meet their specific needs.

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