Innovation in Creative sme’s in Flanders: a case Study Based Analysis ∗

Table 15 Apparent Labor Productivity of the Core Creative Sectors in Flanders, 
compared the total Belgian economy, 2003 (* € 1.000) 
SMEs
Large 
enterprises 
Total 
Micro Small 
Medium
Subtotal
Apparent labor productivity 
in the Belgian Economy 
(2003) 37,29
53,18
66,96
49,55
69,23 
56,11
Apparent labor productivity 
in the Flemish Core 
Creative sector (2003) 
49,76
Audiovisual 
industry 
72,86
Music 
industry 
41,38
Fashion 
industry 
69,42
Architecture and 
design 
31,28
Printed 
media 
71,95
Podium 
arts 
100,00
Source: Based on De Voldere e.a. (2007) and Eurostat (2008
) 
 
4 Data Analysis 
4.1 Sampling 
In October 2006, an invitation was distributed by the Flemish Centre for Entrepreneurship in the 
Creative Sectors (CONCreaS) to all creative entrepreneurs listed in their combined databases; to 
participate in the Innovation Diagnostic
1
. This invitation was sent by mail to 432 small firms active in 
the creative sector. A number of firms responded directly to the invitation, while others where contacted 
by telephone in the following weeks to encourage participation in the survey.
The final sample consists of 51 firms, for which the data were collected between October and 
December 2006.While the majority of the participants preferred to fill in the questionnaire together with 
a member of the Lessius team
2
during an interview (which usually took place at the firm), six firms 
preferred to fill in the diagnostic alone and to send it to us directly by e-mail. Although the sample is 
relatively small, it is more or less representative for the firms in the original database. 
It should be noted at the outset that our sample differs significantly from the data collected by other 
participants in this international study in a number of important ways (Mazzarol, 2007). Most of these 
differences are related to our sample selection, i.e. all firms in the sample are active in the creative 
industries (for a detailed description of the sample selection in the other countries discussed in this 
volume, we refer to chapter 3).
Moreover, firms active in the creative sector in Belgium are typically micro-firms, with few or 
even no employees. The majority of firms is led by the owner-manager (who also answered the 
questionnaire in most cases), typically without any support of other senior managerial staff or a board of 
directors. We will discuss these and other characteristics related to the data in what follows.