Grouping or Grounding? Cultural District and Creative Cluster Management in Nantes, France

This study examines the genesis of a cultural and creative cluster (CCC) as a collection of small or very small companies. The authors use the results of a longitudinal case study of the trajectory of a CCC to reflect on the management mechanisms in CCCs based on an analysis of management tools and how they operate to encourage Grounding and/or Grouping dynamics. This six-year study of Quartier de la Creation in Nantes, France, confirms the prevailing view of a CCC as a dynamic organization. The CCC shows distinct stages, each with its own governance and managerial difficulties. It reveals challenges in shaping the role of the support organization and in identifying the competencies to be developed. The governance mechanisms and the cluster practices of some localized groupings of very small creative enterprises require a balancing of Grouping and Grounding approaches, as hybridizing is central to cluster dynamics