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

 
Figure 1 The Use of Design in 400 Production and 100 Services Companies in Flanders, 2007 
Although half of the companies indicate not to implement design as such, close to all of them apply 
activities that can be considered as design activities (branding, corporate styling, patent applications,…). 
Profitability is higher for frequent implementers of design than for those who implement design rarely 
(Design, 2007). Companies in the creative industries tend to have a significantly different business 
profile. They innovate more often, pay more attention to strategic and marketing issues, and seem to be 
more advanced in their use of human resources practices (de Jong, et al., 2007). 
In international literature the creative industries are ever more identified as a principal accelerator 
of the economy. On the one hand they contribute to overall knowledge generation, while on the other 
hand the creative industries as such contribute to employment and the total added value of their region.
Moreover, Dutch empirical research has shown that the presence of creative industries have strong 
positive indirect effects on regional employment, growth, firm entry and startups (de Jong, et al., 2007). 
The elevated awareness for design, creativity and outward appearance of products, processes and 
services, is the result of, among others, a highly funded creativity policy by the Flemish regional and 
urban governments (as illustrated by table 11). 
1
ESOMAR is a World Association of Opinion and Marketing Research Professionals (formerly known as the 
European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research. 
2
The Nace classification if the official nomenclature of economic activities used by Eurostat. The classification can 
be downloaded from the Eurostat Ramon server at 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/
. 

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