Policies for creative clusters: a comparison between the video game industry in Melbourne and Montreal

This paper analyses whether the video game industries in the main video game hubs in Australia and Canada have the attributes of creative clusters. Three components are analysed: (1) The significance of cross-fertilization with other creative fields in the emergence and growth of the cluster; (2) The benefits of clustering; (3) The role of policies in the maturation of those clusters. The case studies included are the most notable video game clusters in Canada and Australia: Montreal and Melbourne. The research methods applied are semi-directed interviews with policy advisors and game developers in each context. As an outcome of this research, its findings reveal that the video game industry in Melbourne cannot yet be qualified as a creative cluster but is rather still very much embedded in a technology culture. In Montreal, the cluster is more mature and presents the attributes of a creative cluster, as there are interrelations between the various actors of the cluster, and with other creative activities. In both contexts the impact of policies on the maturation of the cluster is limited; rather, attaining a critical mass of video game companies is necessary for cross-fertilization to occur

Anglo-Saxon capitalism in crisis? models of liberal capitalism and the preconditions for financial stability

Book synopsis: 'The latest generation of research in comparative institutional analysis of business is impressively captured in this volume; readers find depth in theory development, breadth in application to practice and policy, and insight on the big research issues ahead. Both generalist and specialist readers will find much of value here.' – Bruce Evan Kaufman, Georgia State University, US This inspiring Handbook brings together alternative perspectives from a range of disciplines to shed light on the nature of institutions and their relationship to firm-level practices and outcomes across a wide range of national settings. Expertly written by leading scholars from a range of different starting points, this compendium presents a synthesis of recent work relating to institutionally-informed accounts from transitional and emerging markets, as well as from mature economies. It specifically focuses on the linkage between institutions and what goes on inside firms, and the relationship between setting, strategic choice and systemic outcomes. The Handbook is explicitly multi-disciplinary, encompassing perspectives from a range of the functional areas of management studies. It will prove invaluable for postgraduate students and faculty in international business, and the wider research community in the areas of international business, corporate governance, socio-economics, and comparative HRM