Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / W. R. Goe / This qualitative research explores the relationship between urban amenities and the employment of creative Indian workers using personal interviews conducted with Indian professional workers and their families working and residing in the Kansas City (KC) Metropolitan Area. In addressing the debate of whether creative workers follow jobs or jobs follow creative workers, the findings indicate that the decision of Indian creative workers to locate in the Kansas City metropolitan area was primarily influenced by the availability of job opportunities and had little to do with available amenities. A key finding from this study is that the presence of local amenities central to the lifestyles of American professional workers was more important to Indian professional workers than the availability of ethnic Indian amenities such as Indian grocery stores, restaurants, temples, and the screening of Bollywood movies in local theaters. It was also found that “social” amenities (e.g. participation in ethnic Indian associations and formation of networks with other Indian workers residing in the city) are crucial to the retention of Indian professional workers rather than amenities offered through the market. Further, Indian workers preferred residing in suburbs over inner city neighborhoods because of their strong emphasis on the educational achievement of their children and the presence of better schooling opportunities in the suburbs. While ‘distance from work’ and ‘safety of the neighborhood’ were other amenity considerations shaping the settlement decisions of Indian professionals, the presence of co-ethnics in the neighborhood was not an influential factor. The study revealed that most Bengali professionals considered themselves to be assimilated in United States and they appreciated the fact that they are not forced to forsake any aspects of their ethnic culture in the United States. However, some considered that their hectic work schedule, family responsibilities, and involvement with ethnic Indian associations often inhibit adequate assimilation with Americans outside of work. Furthermore, the research found that most Bengali professionals preferred not to impose career or marital choices on their children. However, most second-generation Bengalis were skeptical of their parents’ overemphasis on academic achievement and interference in their personal lives.

Thesis advisor: Michael G. Pratt / The psychology of ownership literature suggests that creation is one of the most powerful processes through which people may come to feel a sense of possession over ideas. Yet, because the task of making a new product is often too large for one individual, ideas are often transferred between, as well as discussed and shaped by, many different people across a range of departments during creative work. Thus, in organizations, shifts in responsibility over ideas are inevitable and the ability for ideas to be shaped by multiple people and successfully move from person to person is critical for organizations. However, we know relatively little about how people, particularly creative workers, respond to changes in responsibility over their ideas. To understand this phenomenon, I conducted an inductive, qualitative study of two teams at a video game design studio, using interviews, weekly diaries, and observations as my data sources. Through grounded theory analysis, I developed theory around how creative workers experience psychological ownership and how this experience is impacted when ideas are handed off between creative workers. Specifically, I describe task characteristics and individuals differences that impact ownership scope (exclusive or shared ownership) and strength. I also delimit outcomes associated with adopting a particular ownership scope for individual creative workers and the collective product. Then, I describe the key psychological conditions that impact how handoffs occur by describing 4 handoff scenarios and the ownership outcomes for both creative workers involved in each scenario. Together these scenarios demonstrate how ownership can be formed, maintained, and changed through social interactions via handoffs. I build on these findings to develop a relational model of ownership which highlights how psychological ownership impacts and is impacted by social interactions and interpersonal relationships. Practically, this research provides insights on how creative workers can experience and manage ownership over ideas in ways that facilitates engagement in creative work, as well as an organization's ability to benefit from the results of creative workers' labor. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Management and Organization.

The aim of this thesis was to, through the thematic analysis, explore which factors influence management of creative workers and how they affect management and organization of the creative firm - CGI studio Wil Film. In conclusion, this thesis has found out that main factors are: rapid growth and transformation of the firm into more permanent form, power of informal organizations and creative work itself. In respons to the negative effects of these factors on creative workers, management established a new postion of HR manager who is carrying out several practices to reduce the negative effects. Training, personal and professional development and retention practices helped to balance Wil Film and positively contributed to firms prosperity. These practices are in contrast with literarture that assumes that HR practices make no sense in the creative industries.

Depuis une vingtaine d’années, les activités culturelles et créatives (art, architecture, etc.) sont plébiscitées par les pouvoirs publics et les scientifiques pour leur rôle culturel mais aussi économique, social et urbain. Leur agglomération spatiale dans d’anciens quartiers industriels et ouvriers fait peser de multiples enjeux sur ces territoires. Planifiée par les décideurs politiques ou construite par des dynamiques spontanées, cette agglomération transforme des espaces en friche en quartiers créatifs. Ces quartiers sont le lieu d’ancrage de clusters qui lient les travailleurs créatifs dans un réseau social d’échange et de coopération marqué par l’entre-soi. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’interroger le fonctionnement et les enjeux des quartiers créatifs en vérifiant l’hypothèse de la mise en place d’un club de travailleurs créatifs au sein de ces territoires. Défini comme un regroupement volontaire d’individus autour de la jouissance exclusive de biens et de services, le club est porteur à la fois de dynamiques collectives de partage et de logiques d’entre-soi et de ségrégation. Questionner son existence dans les quartiers créatifs introduit une réflexion autour de la cohésion et de la fragmentation sociales d’une part, et de la créativité et de l’innovation d’autre part.Fondée sur une analyse qualitative croisée de trois quartiers créatifs des villes de Nantes, Marseille et Grenoble, cette thèse montre comment des clubs de travailleurs créatifs se forment dans ces territoires, quel est leur fonctionnement et quels sont leurs impacts sociaux et économiques. / For twenty years, cultural and creative activities (art,architecture, etc.) have been promoted by public authorities and scientists for their cultural, economic,social and urban roles. Their spatial agglomeration informer industrial districts implies multiple issues on these territories. Planned by political decision-makers or resulting from spontaneous dynamics, this agglomeration transforms industrial wasteland into creative quarters.Clusters that link creative workers in collaborative social networks are embedded in these quarters. These social networks are characterized by cooperation and a senseof togetherness.This thesis aims to question the functioning and the stakes of creative quarters by confirming the hypothesis of the establishment of a creative workers’ club within these territories. The club is defined as a voluntary grouping of individuals around the exclusive enjoymen tof goods and services. It carries both collective dynamics of sharing and logics of exclusion and segregation.Questioning its existence in creative quarters induces a reflection on social cohesion and fragmentation on the one hand, and creativity and innovation on the other one. Based on a qualitative analysis of three creative quarters in the cities of Nantes, Marseille and Grenoble, this thesis illustrates how clubs of creative workers are formed in these territories, how they work and what their social and economic impacts are.