Assessing the Development Potential of Creative Business in Second-Tier Cities

Abstract

By declaring 2021 the year of creative industries, Russia highlighted the importance of this sector at the national level. However, various databases and existing tools are insufficient for a comprehensive assessment of the potential of creative industries. The study aims to establish a methodology for identifying the development potential of creative business and test it on the example of second-tier cities of Siberia and the Urals. The proposed methodology defined three elements of the development potential of creative business: creative potential, capitalisation potential and commercial potential. The study presented an algorithm and a set of assessment indicators, which were integrated with the database of second-tier cities to create a practice-oriented information and analytical tool to support management decision-making in the field of creative business development in cities. Testing of the algorithm in second-tier cities of the Urals and Siberia revealed cities with high potential (having all three elements), such as Berezovsky, Verkhny Ufaley, Verkhnyaya Pyshma (Sverdlovsk oblast), Belovo, Novokuznetsk, Yurga (Kemerovo oblast), and Kopeysk (Chelyabinsk oblast); cities with medium potential (having two elements), including Alapaevsk, Asbest, Zarechny, Sredneuralsk, Myski, Mariinsk, Katav-Ivanovsk, Trekhgorny, Zlatoust, Kyshtym, Biysk, Novoaltaysk, Seversk, Surgut, Uray, Yugorsk; cities with certain elements of the development potential of creative business. In general, a weak correlation between the elements of potential and a low diversity of the creative urban environment prevent cities from capitalizing and commercializing their creative potential. The study proposed to strengthen inter-municipal, intraregional and interregional interactions, as well as to create strategic development documents for creative business. The findings can be used by local authorities and the business community to identify cities with the greatest potential for the development of creative business.