Go for games: Managerial career networks in creative industries

ABSTRACT

The digital games industry has developed from a secondary sector of the media entertainment industry to one of its major driving forces. Despite its economic relevance, it is still a transitional industry with quickly evolving structures. As such, it is also an interesting object for the analysis of the development of media industries. The current study uses a combination of social network analysis and expert interviews to map the emerging network structures within the German games industry. It reconstructs the career pathways of key managers in the industry, including their former and current business relationships. The study's findings indicate that the current breed of managers primarily enter the games business from other economic sectors. For this reason, the industry network is still characterized by weak organizational interconnections. However, the strong connectedness of a younger generation of managers hints at a future strengthening of the underlying business and communication network.

KEYWORDS:

• digital games industry
• network analysis
• expert interview
• professional pathway
• organizational structures
• career pathway
• manager types