Symbolic knowledge innovation through bricolage in the periphery: the Bauhaus movement

Abstract

In this article, we examine how symbolic knowledge innovation—that is, the recombination of ideas on aesthetic value in new ways—emerges in the periphery. While symbolic knowledge innovation drives growth, its role in creating new paths in the periphery is largely under-investigated. New path creation has been largely envisaged through macro (e.g., policy) or meso (e.g., industrial R&D) aggregates, overlooking micro-level actors (e.g., individuals), and their agency in mobilizing heterogeneous resources vital for innovation. Viewed in this light, we investigate how the interaction of actors at different levels (macro, meso, and micro) shapes symbolic knowledge innovation in the periphery. We draw on the case of Bauhaus movement to investigate symbolic knowledge innovation in the peripheries of Weimar and Dessau. Our findings illustrate symbolic knowledge innovation at the Bauhaus in terms of three phases, namely, semiotic codes: Bauhaus idea generation and articulation; material basis: development of Bauhaus artefacts; and material basis: Bauhaus commercial success. We further unpack actors’ agency and show how each phase of symbolic knowledge innovation emerges through bricolage. We contribute to the economic geography literature by showing the role of bricolage and actors’ agency in symbolic knowledge innovation for new path creation in the periphery.