Study on the Innovative Characteristics of Systematic Evolution of Creative
Industrial District
Yan-fei Xiao, Jia-hua Zhao, Shuang-hong Liao
Commercial college, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
(xiaoyf2002@yahoo.com.cn)
Abstract - In the 21st century, the development of
creative industrial district（CID）is paid unprecedented
attention by countries and regions in the world. CID is
more competitive than general new economic industrial
district owing to laying particular stress on the input of
culture and creativity. As a special industrial cluster, the
innovative characteristics of systematic evolution has not
been studied specially, therefore such problems as the
dynamic mechanism, the path, the form and the lifecycle
of the systematic evolution can not been grasped. This
paper constructs the model of dynamic mechanism of the
systematic path evolution of CID. Therefore it promotes
form evolution of CID having the characteristics of great
self-organization, which leads the initial innovative CID
evolving constantly into advanced creative cities.
Meanwhile, it promotes systematic cycle evolution of CID
having the characteristics of endless innovative lifecycle,
which leads low-end art CID evolving into high-end
fashion CID. And these characteristics induce more kinds
of innovative models and diverse economies, displaying the
vitality of a new economic form.
Key Words - creative industrial district, systematic
evolution, innovation characteristics, economic form
Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION
As a new organization form at the beginning of 21st
century, the Creative industrial district (CID) has
become the dominant force in regional innovation
owing to the characteristics of depending fully on
creativity and choosing districts with the declining
space of cultural connotation which brings the
transformation of economic growth mode and the
updating of function and reshaping of image for city.
From the related research, it can be seen the study on
CID has become a new focus in industry cluster and
regional economies, displaying the research of cluster’s
dynamic shift in “culture” and “city” [1~4]. CID can be
seen as a new economic form is a special kind of
industrial cluster, showing in the following aspects: 1)
special development space. It mainly chooses declining
area of city center [4~6], while normal industrial cluster
chooses the area far away from the city center; 2)
special development conditions. The soul of CID is the
input of culture and creativity, so some scholars make a
paradoxical conclusion that not every area can be
___________________
Foundation item：Supported by Ministry of Education Human Social
Science Foundation of China（12YJC790111）
、 Hunan Provincial
Natural Science Foundation of China(10JJ3032)、Hunan Provincial
Social Science Foundation of China(2010YBA095，2011YBB171)
developed as CID because creative class chooses the
location of city[7~8], but all places can make use of local
culture to develop CID, and change the dependence of
development paths and realize “new” leap [9~10]. Culture
is creativity, therefore developing areas can depend on
their own traditional culture to develop CID. However,
because of imperfection and immatureness in social
economic conditions like creative environment, creative
talents, local manufacturing network and so on, the
development of some CIDs are destined to be imperfect.
Therefore this paper holds that the development of CID
forms a global hierarchical system, or it can be said that
CID has stages of development such as commencement,
growth, maturity and recession; 3) special output. The
output of development is mainly cultural consumption
of products and services, requiring a certain height level
of economic development and the ability in
consumption of high value-chained culture. Though
many scholars have studied the evolution characteristics
of industrial cluster [11~12], there is still no research on
the characteristics of systematic evolution of CID. For
the development of industry, systematic evolution
research can explore totally such complex system
problems as its power of evolution, path of evolution,
the form characteristics of evolution stages, tendency of
evolution and so on, which are very useful to
summarize the developmental law of industry and direct
its tendency.
Ⅱ.
Dynamic Mechanisms and Paths of Systematic
Evolution of CID
Generally, CID has gone through evolution path such as
spontaneous agglomeration and external economy,
flexible
specialization
and
industrial
chain,
competition-cooperation effect and differentiation
competition, innovation effect and the learning district,
reputation effect and regional brand, so it can be
explained that agglomeration economy generates
flexible specialization production, and all kinds of
specialization division impel the formation of
Cooperation-Competition mechanism among various
kinds of enterprises. Once the cooperation-competition
mechanism is formed, the evolution of CID will enter
into a benign path of development that is the innovation
continually grows, and the results of innovation
improves the quality of regional products, thereby
forming regional brand and enhancing the reputations
continually. In return, it further promotes the
agglomeration of CID. As in Fig.1, show the path and
dynamic mechanism of systematic form evolution of
CID. Just because of constantly positive feedback effect,
which makes its further agglomeration, then promotes
its generation, development, and maturity.
Spatial agglomeration
Enterprise
Immigrate
Agglomeration
Innovation network
Self-reinforcement
Flexible specialization
Scale expansion
economy
Competition-cooperation
Innovation effect
Further agglomeration
Reputation formation
Fig. 1. Dynamic mechanism of the systematic path evolution of
CID[13]
Ⅲ.
Innovative Characteristic of Systematic Form
Evolution of CID: Self-reinforcement
From the analysis of elements of cluster structure, Qin
puts forward clearly about four stages of the evolution
of industry cluster that is agglomeration of basic
elements, value chain, social network and innovative
system. These four stages correspond to the potential,
revealed, primary, advanced stage of the development
process of cluster [14]. This shows that the systematic
form evolution of industry cluster is from the initial
concentration to form a network relationship by
evolving gradually, and only after this can it innovate.
Meanwhile, the evolution of industry cluster’s form
evolution constitutes its hierarchical system that is the
stage of agglomeration can be seen as primary (infantile)
stage, then to the intermediate (developmental) stage
and at last to the advanced (mature) stage of the
formation of innovative system. The budding stage of
CID is a simply agglomeration effect, while this time
location choices tend to be cheap rents, capacious
creative space and inspirational atmosphere. Because of
the creative class “liberals”, being a “maverick”, and
the “dazzle gens”. In the revealed stage of CID, creative
classes don’t have too much contacted, as a result, the
agglomeration is also sheer physical agglomeration.
However, with the demand of creative products or
services rising and the unsocial creative classes, there
are various intermediary and supporting organizations
appearing in the agglomeration areas, and these
organizations become the link between creative classes
and markets, so the flexible division of labor occurs.
Through the intermediate organizations, creative classes
start to communicate with each other and stimulate
creative inspiration, thereby forming the good
competition-cooperation
network.
Once
the
competition-cooperation network formed, CID will
enter the benign period of development, attract more
creative industry settling, and more people in the
business of CID will look for opportunities to develop,
so as to promote the innovation continually produce,
then forming the innovative network model, which
makes creative industry area enter into the mature
period and establish reputation. With the growing
reputation, innovation will be cycled and self-reinforced
constantly, so the CID will enter into a period of great
prosperity, and at the atmosphere of originality in the
whole society, innovation will produce constantly, then
it immediately forms the creative city. For a certain
particular creative industry, this kind of systematic form
evolution is a developmental stage of evolution that
includes
agglomeration,
elastic
production,
competition-cooperation , networking, innovation and
reputation formation; for all of CID, they can be
classified into the initial innovative (beginning and
formation), the initial networking (development and
maturity), innovative CID (culmination and creative
cities), which constitute the hierarchical system of CID
with primary, intermediate, and advanced stages. That is
to say, the systematic form of the CID develops from
primary stage to advanced stage with the stage of
evolution penetrating deeply constantly. In addition, this
kind of development is not a simple linear rise, but a
spiral rise having the nature of systematic evolution, as
shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.Characteristic of systematic form evolution of CID
Ⅳ.
Innovative Characteristic of Systematic Cycle
Evolution of CID: Endless Innovation
In the aspect of research on industry district, many
scholars apply the theory of lifecycle of the industry to
analyze the evolution law of lifecycle of industry cluster.
For instance, Rong divide into beginning stage,
formative stage, mature stage, recessionary stage from
the angle of cluster network formation and according to
the theory of lifecycle of products [15], and they also
have made sample analysis for silicon-valley.
Being initiative culture district, the artists and
intellectuals play an important role in CID development.
In view of types of CID are various which includes the
creative art center and software center, and also
includes consumption oriented fashion-exhibition and
entertainment centre. Therefore, as a kind of high-end
industry form which is based on research and
development, design and spiritual innovation, its
lifecycle is different from general industry. Nowadays
most CID is still in the beginning and developmental
stage, but it has been developing for ten years in some
developed western countries and forms a particular
characteristic in the evolution law of lifecycle by
self-evolution. As the New York art center of Caves’
space logic research shows that, the spatial distribution
of modern art market must have a self-destructive
characteristic, and this process in New York has been
repeated many times. Since 1982, the east of New York
has experienced this cycle for less than ten years [16], but
we should see after the art center experiencing stages of
recession, property, lack of creativity, high-grade
consumption areas, CID with creation is made to evolve
to a high-end fashion consumption of creative industry
exhibition area. And in the spontaneously CID of
market economy, there commonly exists this kind of the
evolution law of lifecycle which is “starting with art and
ending with commerce”. What’s more, as the law of
lifecycle, CID can experience beginning, formative,
developmental, mature, stagnated and recessionary
stages, but the difference from general industry is that
CID seems to have no recessionary stage in the real
sense, and its law and process of evolution of lifecycle
can be seen in Fig.3.
phrase of transformation, thus breaking the evolution
law of lifecycle. And from another perspective, it can be
regarded as senior type of CID and the transformation
and upgrade of the original state, namely CID of
creation transforming into consumption. It should be
explained, the “innovative center of consumption” that
has experienced transformation is also CID with the
creative products and services exhibition, sales, leisure
tourism, and other key economic development modes,
and has represented a different characteristic comparing
to general production industry cluster.
Ⅴ. CONCLUSION
It is shown in this paper that CID has characteristics of
typically complicated system, self-organization and
prospectively chaotic evolution. The internal-evolution
dynamic mechanisms including agglomeration effect,
external economy, flexible specialization and industry
chain, competition-cooperation effect, differentiation
competition, innovation effect and regional study,
reputation effect and regional brand, make the CID
appear a upward spiral tendency of self-evolution and
self-reinforcement, forming the following aspects: 1)the
characteristic of self-reinforced systematic form and the
dynamic constantly self-evolved mechanism which
have developed from startup type to creative stage,
constituted the primary, intermediate, and advanced
hierarchical system of CID; 2) CID featured by
unlimitedly innovative evolution of the lifecycle and
with the corresponding trend, together with the process
of lifecycle of art center evolving into high fashion
consumption area, brings the rebirth of the function of
economy and space and the developmental effect of
“leapfrog type”, therefore it has the leapfrog unlimited
innovation tendency. The analysis of the innovative
characteristic of systematic evolution of creative
industrial district shows that its development mode is
better than general industry cluster, and when tracing
the real reason, it can be found that constantly
innovative elements created by the input of culture and
human brains’ creativity, break the normal law of
evolution and make the economy develop continually as
a result.
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Fig. 3. Law of lifecycle evolution of CID
When CID from creative center evolves into a
high-grade and fashionable business center, its cultural
taste and reputation effect before enables the lifecycle
of business exhibition center to develop into a new
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