This special issue, is concerned with the organisation and management of the creative process in knowledge-based societies. This concern spans a range of interdisciplinary and interprofessional research interests; from the analysis of the working practices of the creative (or cultural) industries, to the web of textual relationships between Culture and Industry, the Arts and Management The rationale for this special issue is that these complex interfaces raise questions that have considerable significance for the contemporary develo3ment of Organisation Studies. The Creative Industries, formed from convergence between the medial information industries and the cultural/arts sector, have become a significant (and contested) arena of development in knowledge-based societies. The recent merger between TimelWarner and America on Line, to produce the world's 4th largest company, exemplifies the growing significance of this convergence. The UK Creative Industries 'Task Force has defined the Creative Industries as follows, "those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through tke generation and exploitation of intellectual property. These have been taken to include the following key sectors: advertising, architecture, the art and antiques market, crafts, design, designer fashion, film, interactive leisure software, music, the performing arts, publishing, software and television and radio in close inter-relationship with tourism, hospitality, museums and galleries and the heritage sector." (CITF, 1998). Creative Indus~Jies are thus working at significant contemporary sites of cultural production and consumption. However, in spite of sustained interest