The process of entrepreneurship in the creative industries: the case of Glasgow’s music industry

This paper examines the entrepreneurial process in the context of the UK creative economy. It takes the music industry in Glasgow as its exemplar, drawing upon primary evidence to provide an empirical account of how the creative industry context influences the three stages of the entrepreneurial process in terms of how entrepreneurs identify opportunities, acquire resources and manage their ventures).
The study takes an interpretivist approach to data collection and analysis. Empirical data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 music-entrepreneurs working within Glasgow’s independent rock music sector, 11 representatives from public and private support agencies, and 7 industry experts. The study is therefore embedded within a unique creative and entrepreneurial context, with multiple perspectives provided by the 33 respondents. The findings suggest that entrepreneurship in the music industry is expressed through a series of acts (projects), and that the entrepreneurial process is continuous, and influenced at each stage by agency, context, or both.
The results suggest that causal logic inspires the initial search, recognition (following a systematic search or a chance encounter) inspires the fit between the individual and the idea, and then finally, effectuation logic underpins the exploitation stage, enabling entrepreneurs to work within their given means.
The study’s conclusions are placed within the context of the wider debate about creative entrepreneurship. They illustrate how both agency and context influence the entrepreneurial process, and contribute to the overall understanding of the creative-entrepreneur’s move from art to commerce.