Bounded careers in creative industries: Surprising patterns in video games

We contribute empirical evidence to the literature on careers in creative industries. It has been argued that boundaryless career patterns are at the core of creative industries. We question this widely held argument and show that the most innovative Japanese video game developers make use of employment models that prioritise stable employment and bounded careers linked to it. The paper makes several contributions: First, it carefully describes career development patterns of Japanese video game developers, which have so far not been documented. We hereby contribute to the literature on creative industries by adding an important empirical case of bounded career patterns. Second, we try to explain why Japanese firms stick to traditional practices by addressing the link of bounded careers to integrative capabilities, and discuss what this means for creative industries in general and for video games in particular. We argue that integrative capabilities matter also in creative industries.