Creative Horizontal Deployment in the Japanese Entertainment Business: Architectural Redesign and Collaborative Creativity Through the Life Story of a Content Producer

Abstract

This paper examines how 'Horizontal Deployment' in the digital entertainment industry can function as a form of creative innovation, going beyond the simple reuse of assets. Horizontal deployment can be understood as a process of spatial re-architecting and re-signification across contexts. In practice, transforming existing media structures and business power dynamics requires 'culturalisation' (contextual adaptation). Through a qualitative life-story analysis of a content producer, the study shows that the key to successful horizontal deployment lies in redesigning architecture—specifically, 'unbundling' corporate knowledge and 'rebundling' it in new spatial contexts. We also argue that this transformation is not the product of individual genius, but rather a form of 'strategic creativity' grounded in 'Collaborative Creativity' through relationships with a range of actors.

Keywords: Horizontal Deployment, Architectural Innovation, Collaborative Creativity, Entertainment Business, Culturalisation

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007725