Changing Conditions for Innovation in Different Arts and Science

In this paper we explore how recent changes in the socio-economic environment of novelty production, dissemination and evaluation in the arts and sciences can be expected to influence the development and institutionalisation of different kinds of innovations in differently organised fields as a contribution to the broader understanding of innovation development processes in novelty-driven cultural production systems. While the production of novelties has become a central feature of the modern arts and sciences, it is important to note that only some novelties become innovations in the sense that they have a lasting effect on the work of other producers. The processes by which new ideas become innovations and affect established ways of doing things vary between different fields of cultural production according to a) the degree to which practitioners depend upon each other in producing and evaluating new outputs, b) the extent of their collective authority over technical and significance standards, resource allocation procedures and dissemination of outputs, and c) the importance, variety and organisation of non-practitioner audiences for new art works and research results. These differences depend in turn on the broader socio-economic conditions in which artistic and scientific activities are conducted. We argue that recent changes in socio-economic conditions make fields of cultural production prioritise short-term novelty over time-consuming and resource-intensive innovation and turn the opportunity to innovate into a privilege of a relatively small elite that is secure in its career and reputation, thereby diminishing the diversity of sources of innovation.