From One Place to Another – Place Attendance as Resources for Innovators

Abstract

Despite a growing interest for places in management research, it remains unclear how the attendance of multiple places by innovators contributes to the innovation process. We propose a new perspective in which innovators attend distinct places that provide them plural resources, and that it is their combination that supports innovation. Based on this proposition, we study the case of projection mapping in Montreal (Canada) as an illustration for creative and cultural industries. We show that the number and types of places attended evolves in the different stages of the innovation process, and that actors are not homogeneous in their attendance. These evolutions are captured with the concept of preferential circulations we introduce to capture the patterns of attendance of places by innovators. Through this, we offer a new lens to the study and the management of innovation through places.