WEDDING WEAR CLUSTER IN IZMIR: HOW DOES THE CREATIVE KNOWLEDGE ECOSYSTEM SELF-OPERATE?

Abstract

The present research aims to analyze the ways of the creative knowledge ecosystem is being self-operated in a certain environment in order to comprehend how creativity and knowledge flow and exchange are generated within the creative industries framework. Creative knowledge ecosystem refers to all the physical and organizational mechanism of the creative environment which together form a self-sufficient entity. For this study, how firms feed and supply each other, how they survive and sustain their production and distribution processes within such entity thus becomes essential. Therefore, a wedding wear cluster in Izmir, Mimar Kemalettin Fashion District, has been chosen as a case study. The methodology consists of semi-structured interviews with the managers, designers and workers employed in the wedding wear and fashion-linked firms located in the district. The data is collected and processed by means of the DICE method. The findings reveal particular ecosystem characteristics within the wedding wear cluster, and present its current organizational conditions regarding the ecosystem major components; distribution, interaction, competition, and evolution.