Design of an Integrated Model for Innovation in Creative and Cultural Industries: An Assessment of the Depth and the Dimensions of Innovation in Iranian Handicrafts

Although there has been a significant quantitative and qualitative improvement in the production, diffusion, and adoption of cultural products and services in the country in recent years, there is still a long way to achieve the desired progress in this sector. One of the development paths in creative and cultural industries is to pay attention to the depth and dimensions of innovation. These industries are a rich source of innovative ideas and are inextricably linked to innovation. However, due to the inherent uncertainty, dynamics, complexity, and ambiguity in the activities and dimensions of creative industries, no precise evaluation of innovation in these industries have been conducted. In this research, after designing an integrated model of cultural innovations and creative industries in the form of an innovation funnel model, the depth and dimensions of innovation in the country's handicrafts have been evaluated. In this regard, in addition to an in-depth review of the literature and research background, the researcher has collected the required data by organizing more than ten semi-structured interviews and receiving 105 questionnaires from the experts and major manufacturers of these industries —active in 80 different fields— in 26 provinces. In order to evaluate the depth of innovation in handicrafts, one-sample t-test was used. The results of this test, on average, show a moderate depth of innovation in these industries. However, in some aspects of the model, such as contextual and organizational factors and commercialization of products, the depth of innovation is weak, and in the product dimension, the depth of innovation has been evaluated as desired. Accordingly, suggestions to deepen handicraft innovations are proposed at the end of the article.