Trajectories of Consecration: Signature Style and the Pace of Category Spanning
Organizing Creativity in the Innovation Journey
ISBN: 978-1-83982-875-1, eISBN: 978-1-83982-874-4
Publication date: 17 September 2021
Abstract
Consecration represents the most definitive form of legitimation in every cultural field. Complementing previous research focused on individual, contextual, and structural conditions underpinning consecration, this paper takes a sequence analytical perspective and explores whether diverse creative trajectories are more frequently associated with consecration. We introduce the notion of signature style and the pace of category spanning as key features for consecration. We argue that a consecrated signature style is just as likely to result from a producer’s adherence to a specific style over time or from a consistent (and fast-paced) category-spanning creative trajectory. The resulting identity will be specialist in the first case, eclectic in the second. We analyze the stylistic trajectories of 863 electronic music artists and find robust support to our hypothesis. The analysis is corroborated by further exploratory findings that identify intriguing questions for future research. By examining the organization of creative journeys in the career of cultural producers, this paper emphasizes the importance of considering the unfolding and rhythm of creativity over time. This temporal perspective sheds new light on the dynamics of distinctiveness and consecration in cultural fields.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Silviya Svejenova and an anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions. These findings are part of the program of research undertaken by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC). The PEC is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), under grant number AH/S001298/1, as part of the UK government’s Industrial Strategy. While the views expressed in this paper are those of the authors, this support is gratefully acknowledged.
Citation
Formilan, G., Cattani, G. and Ferriani, S. (2021), "Trajectories of Consecration: Signature Style and the Pace of Category Spanning", Schuessler, E., Cohendet, P. and Svejenova, S. (Ed.) Organizing Creativity in the Innovation Journey (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 75), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 39-63. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20210000075005
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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