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How Paris Gave Rise to Cubism (and Picasso): Ambiguity and Fragmentation in Radical Innovation

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  • Stoyan V. Sgourev

    (Department of Management, ESSEC Business School, Cergy 92000, France)

Abstract

In structural analyses of innovation, one substantive question looms large: What makes radical innovation possible if peripheral actors are more likely to originate radical ideas but are poorly positioned to promote them? An inductive study of the rise of Cubism, a revolutionary paradigm that overthrew classic principles of representation in art, results in a model where not only the periphery moves toward the core through collective action, as typically asserted, but the core also moves toward the periphery, becoming more receptive to radical ideas. The fragmentation of the art market in early 20th-century Paris served as the trigger. The proliferation of market niches and growing ambiguity over evaluation standards dramatically reduced the costs of experimentation in the periphery and the ability of the core to suppress radical ideas. A multilevel analysis linking individual creativity, peer networks, and the art field reveals how market developments fostered Spanish Cubist Pablo Picasso’s experiments and facilitated their diffusion in the absence of public support, a coherent movement, and even his active involvement. If past research attests to the importance of framing innovations and mobilizing resources in their support, this study brings attention to shifts in the structure of opportunities to do so.

Suggested Citation

  • Stoyan V. Sgourev, 2013. "How Paris Gave Rise to Cubism (and Picasso): Ambiguity and Fragmentation in Radical Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(6), pages 1601-1617, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:24:y:2013:i:6:p:1601-1617
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1120.0819
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    3. Antoni Olive-Tomas & Susan S. Harmeling, 2020. "The rise of art movements: an effectual process model of Picasso’s and Braque’s give-and-take during the creation of Cubism (1908–1914)," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 819-842, March.
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    9. Trapido, Denis, 2015. "How novelty in knowledge earns recognition: The role of consistent identities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 1488-1500.
    10. Etienne Capron & Dominique Sagot-Duvauroux & Raphaël Suire, 2020. "Anatomy of a techno-creative community : the role of places and events in the emergence of videomapping in Nantes," Working Papers hal-02617101, HAL.
    11. Grégoire Croidieu & Charles-Clemens Ruling & Bilal-Ahmed Jathol, 2017. "Complex field-positions and non-imitation: Pioneers, strangers, and insulars in Australian fine-wine," Post-Print hal-01609429, HAL.
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    15. Thomas Paris & Gerald Lang & David Massé, 2019. "Polarized Worlds and Contextual Creativity in Creative Industries: The Case of Creation Processes in the Perfume Industry [Mundos polarizados y creatividad contextual en las industrias creativas: e," Post-Print hal-03066164, HAL.
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    17. Liesbeth Strooper & Erwin Dekker, 2024. "Why the Impressionists did not create Impressionism," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 48(2), pages 171-198, June.
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