GETTING THE MEASURE OF THE ELECTRONIC GAMES INDUSTRY: DEVELOPERS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION

The electronic games industry has grown within the space of a decade to a $40bn global industry. Yet, at least in the UK, the management of innovation in the software development sector reflects the industry's bedroom origins. Visits to major buyers in the US by UK games developers show that publishers increasingly require more sophisticated management procedures from developers, including that with respect to the management of innovation. This paper reports on the development of industry-specific indicators to be used in processes of innovation management, benchmarking innovation practices and performance within the framework of value chain analysis. This provides the sector with a framework for more routinised innovation practices, and is also of relevance to the management of innovation in other software-intensive sectors.