ACED Researchers
Arjen van Witteloostuijn
Ellen Loots
Ann Overbergh

Collaborator
Annick Schramme, University of Antwerp

Description
The cultural industries worldwide are going through a number of important changes. This research project proposes to:

1. map the most important changes in cultural industries in Flanders since 1990, specifically regarding:
   
   
   1. size and nature (aggregated sales and structure, defined as density and concentration) of the Flemish cultural industries and its different groups of actors;
   2. the value chain of the Flemish cultural industries, also from a vertical perspective in terms of the contribution and rents of different levels in the industry chain;
   3. with special attention for the characteristics and behaviour of the Flemish cultural consumer, and its impact on the horizontal (1) and vertical (2) evolution of the sector;
   4. technological innovations influencing 1, 2, 3 and 4, with an emphasis on new (Internet-based) channels of distribution and methods for promotion (broadly defined);
   
   
2. confront a number of existing theories about transforming industries with the most conspicuous changes found, focusing on insights from industrial organization (economics) and organizational ecology (sociology).