Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Global Cultural and Creative Industries (ICGCCI 2025)
Conference: Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Global Cultural and Creative Industries (ICGCCI 2025)
Date: 28-30 March 2025
Location: Shanghai, China (offline)
Website: https://conference.icci.sjtu.edu.cn/en/ From March 28 to 30, 2025, the 7th International Conference on Global Cultural and Creative Industries was successfully held in Shanghai, organized by the USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry (ICCI). Centered on the theme “New Quality Productive Forces, New Drivers of the Economy, New Ecology of the Cultural and Creative Industries,” the conference brought together over 200 scholars, experts, and students from leading global institutions, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nanyang Technological University, the University of Sydney, Imperial College London, Loughborough University, and many others. Digital-Intelligence integration: A New Driver for Interdisciplinary Cultural Innovation On March 28, the opening ceremony and keynote forum of the conference were successfully held. Experts and leaders from government, academia, research, and industry convened to explore how digital and intelligent technologies are reshaping the cultural and creative industries through interdisciplinary collaboration. Ke XUE, Vice Dean of ICCI and Chair of the Conference, hosted the forum and extended a warm welcome to all participants. She emphasized the importance of grounding innovation in Chinese cultural heritage while embracing the diversity of global civilizations. She expressed hope that the conference would serve as a platform for cross-disciplinary dialogue and global collaboration in shaping the future of the cultural and creative sectors. Feng GU, Deputy Director of the Council Committee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, affirmed the Institute’s educational philosophy of “internationalization, interdisciplinary integration, and industry orientation.” He praised the conference as a vivid example of integrating education, research, and industry, noting that the fusion of culture and technology would be a key driver of global development. He reaffirmed the university’s support for the Institute’s initiatives and emphasized the need to reform educational models to cultivate students’ innovative and cross-functional competencies. Weimin Zhang, Dean of ICCI, warmly welcomed guests from around the world. He emphasized that cultural and creative industries were emerging as a new engine of global economic growth—from traditional craftsmanship to innovations in the metaverse, technology was driving the sector forward. He highlighted the Institute’s commitment to interdisciplinary education, talent development, and research, supported by a network of collaborative labs and partnerships across faculties. Weimin Zhang noted that over the past six years, the conference has become a recognized academic platform in the field, promoting international cooperation through mutual empowerment. He expressed hope that this year’s theme would inspire meaningful dialogue on the future of the industry and its interdisciplinary innovation pathways. The conference hosted nine parallel forums, each exploring forward-looking topics at the intersection of culture, technology, and innovation. Themes included: Digital innovation of Intangible Cultural Heritage and New Quality Productive Forces • Traditional Chinese Art and its Cross-cultural Communication
• The Cultural and Creative Industry: Integrating Humanities and Economy
• Intelligent Communication in the Cultural and Creative Industry
• Curatorial Equality and Digital Media
• Human-Machine Interaction and Creative Experience
• New Cultural Spaces and Contemporary Rural Living
• Digital Aesthetics and Cultural Creative Design More than 70 thought leaders from academia, government, and industry shared insights on the evolving landscape of digital cultural creativity. From the digitization of intangible heritage to immersive metaverse experiences and education reform, the forums offered rich, cross-sector perspectives on how culture, ethics, and innovation can thrive together in the age of digital intelligence. New Quality Productive Forces, New Drivers of the Economy, and New Ecology of the Cultural and Creative Industries. There is now a deep integration of human-focused directives and economic development in the case of China’s cultural and creative industries. The 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development (2022) states that “it is necessary to further develop and expand the cultural industry, and give full play to the role of culture in activating development momentum, and promoting the optimization and upgrading of economic structure” and, particularly, to promote the “integration of culture, science, and technology.” The Development Plan of Beijing Cultural Industries (2022) also promotes “culture and commerce integration” and “the in-depth integration of multiple business formats such as culture, leisure, fashion and entertainment.” The integration of humanities and economy has provided a sustainable development route for the cultural and creative industries. This results in a distinctive nature of the current generation of culture professionals and the current digital and commercial trends in the culture and creative industries today. In line with national pushes towards a more humanistic economy for the cultural and creative industries, the panel of this conference proceedings focused on how “human-first” culture and creative industries can be designed, implemented, and used to promote economic development. This panel shared findings on case studies from China and internationally on how the culture and creative sector can benefit from integrating humanities and economy and proposed ideas about the future sustainability of the industry. The panel examined how cultural values and economic growth intersect in the creative sector. Presentations covered topics including digital creative industries, immersive cultural tourism, heritage and sustainability, innovation performance, virtual idols, and cultural entrepreneurship. For instance, virtual idols have recently become popular in China and provide an effective way for the young generation to engage with the culture and creative industries, such as music, fashion, and art. As Zirui Chen shares, its adaptation to digital environments has opened discussions on the construction of online communities including digital fandom (e.g., Simons, 2019; Zhang et al. 2024). In this regard, many Chinese scholars have further implemented IRC on online celebrity fan communities, highlighting the shared emotional experiences from digital fan practices (e.g., Gu, 2022; Zhu and Hu, 2024). This study extends these discussions by critically examining digital fan practices within virtual idol Luo Tianyi’s fan community, highlighting the key hierarchies in relation to emotional rituals and gender based on eight months of online participant observation, alongside semi-structured interviews with ten fans. By extending the application of Collins’ (2004) IRC theory model to the digital environment, Chen’s study highlights the role of fans as both consumers and co-creators, revealing how emotional rituals drive the sustainable development of virtual singers. The case of Luo Tianyi also exemplifies the potential of online fan communities in producing cultural value and driving economic growth on digital platforms. Houda Kohli Kallel explores how fashion and cultural heritage play an essential role in preserving traditional skills and indigenous knowledge. As Kallel proposes, in a context of globalisation, these aspects become vectors of transcultural creativity, particularly in interdisciplinary design projects. This summary examines how industry and the purple colour of the Carthaginians influence contemporary designers in various creative fields, while exploring the impact of sustainability and art on these practices. The methodological approach of this study is based on a qualitative analysis of the creative and craft practices of the Carthaginians, in particular their purple colour industry. Jiaoya Huang and Jianghong Liu’s paper explores the process of identifying and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities in China’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs) from the perspective of institutional theory. Focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in three major cities—Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou—the study examines how regional institutional contexts shape entrepreneurial behavior and opportunity recognition. The research identifies key drivers and barriers entrepreneurs face, including government policies, market conditions, and cultural influences, and how these factors impact their ability to innovate and compete in the creative sector. Using a qualitative interpretivist approach, the study contrasts the institutional environments of these cities, highlighting Beijing’s strong government support for cultural preservation, Shanghai’s global connectivity fostering international collaboration, and Guangzhou’s industrial focus on manufacturing and trade. Hu Meng’s study focuses on how to achieve a high degree of consumer experience value fit and value co-creation, as well as how to promote high-quality marketing effectiveness. Specifically, using semi-structured interviews and desk review methods, a qualitative study was conducted towards six experiential marketing cases based on Grounded Theory. In the process of constructing theoretical models, this article discussed the motivation for the change of customer relationship quality in the effect of experiential marketing and the inducement of business model innovation. In addition, not only the different paths and influence mechanisms of different experiential value fit and different immersion degrees are discussed, but also the critical success factors of experiential marketing are summarized. The significance of this article lies in exploring business model innovation and customer relationship quality improvement in the experience economy era from multi-case perspectives, clarifying the influencing factors and mechanisms of relationship quality in experiential marketing in practical forms. Panelists came from institutions including Northeastern University (China), University of Kairouan (Tunisia), China Media University (China), Loughborough University (UK), and Peking University (China) contributed.
Date: 28-30 March 2025
Location: Shanghai, China (offline)
Website: https://conference.icci.sjtu.edu.cn/en/ From March 28 to 30, 2025, the 7th International Conference on Global Cultural and Creative Industries was successfully held in Shanghai, organized by the USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry (ICCI). Centered on the theme “New Quality Productive Forces, New Drivers of the Economy, New Ecology of the Cultural and Creative Industries,” the conference brought together over 200 scholars, experts, and students from leading global institutions, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nanyang Technological University, the University of Sydney, Imperial College London, Loughborough University, and many others. Digital-Intelligence integration: A New Driver for Interdisciplinary Cultural Innovation On March 28, the opening ceremony and keynote forum of the conference were successfully held. Experts and leaders from government, academia, research, and industry convened to explore how digital and intelligent technologies are reshaping the cultural and creative industries through interdisciplinary collaboration. Ke XUE, Vice Dean of ICCI and Chair of the Conference, hosted the forum and extended a warm welcome to all participants. She emphasized the importance of grounding innovation in Chinese cultural heritage while embracing the diversity of global civilizations. She expressed hope that the conference would serve as a platform for cross-disciplinary dialogue and global collaboration in shaping the future of the cultural and creative sectors. Feng GU, Deputy Director of the Council Committee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, affirmed the Institute’s educational philosophy of “internationalization, interdisciplinary integration, and industry orientation.” He praised the conference as a vivid example of integrating education, research, and industry, noting that the fusion of culture and technology would be a key driver of global development. He reaffirmed the university’s support for the Institute’s initiatives and emphasized the need to reform educational models to cultivate students’ innovative and cross-functional competencies. Weimin Zhang, Dean of ICCI, warmly welcomed guests from around the world. He emphasized that cultural and creative industries were emerging as a new engine of global economic growth—from traditional craftsmanship to innovations in the metaverse, technology was driving the sector forward. He highlighted the Institute’s commitment to interdisciplinary education, talent development, and research, supported by a network of collaborative labs and partnerships across faculties. Weimin Zhang noted that over the past six years, the conference has become a recognized academic platform in the field, promoting international cooperation through mutual empowerment. He expressed hope that this year’s theme would inspire meaningful dialogue on the future of the industry and its interdisciplinary innovation pathways. The conference hosted nine parallel forums, each exploring forward-looking topics at the intersection of culture, technology, and innovation. Themes included: Digital innovation of Intangible Cultural Heritage and New Quality Productive Forces • Traditional Chinese Art and its Cross-cultural Communication
• The Cultural and Creative Industry: Integrating Humanities and Economy
• Intelligent Communication in the Cultural and Creative Industry
• Curatorial Equality and Digital Media
• Human-Machine Interaction and Creative Experience
• New Cultural Spaces and Contemporary Rural Living
• Digital Aesthetics and Cultural Creative Design More than 70 thought leaders from academia, government, and industry shared insights on the evolving landscape of digital cultural creativity. From the digitization of intangible heritage to immersive metaverse experiences and education reform, the forums offered rich, cross-sector perspectives on how culture, ethics, and innovation can thrive together in the age of digital intelligence. New Quality Productive Forces, New Drivers of the Economy, and New Ecology of the Cultural and Creative Industries. There is now a deep integration of human-focused directives and economic development in the case of China’s cultural and creative industries. The 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development (2022) states that “it is necessary to further develop and expand the cultural industry, and give full play to the role of culture in activating development momentum, and promoting the optimization and upgrading of economic structure” and, particularly, to promote the “integration of culture, science, and technology.” The Development Plan of Beijing Cultural Industries (2022) also promotes “culture and commerce integration” and “the in-depth integration of multiple business formats such as culture, leisure, fashion and entertainment.” The integration of humanities and economy has provided a sustainable development route for the cultural and creative industries. This results in a distinctive nature of the current generation of culture professionals and the current digital and commercial trends in the culture and creative industries today. In line with national pushes towards a more humanistic economy for the cultural and creative industries, the panel of this conference proceedings focused on how “human-first” culture and creative industries can be designed, implemented, and used to promote economic development. This panel shared findings on case studies from China and internationally on how the culture and creative sector can benefit from integrating humanities and economy and proposed ideas about the future sustainability of the industry. The panel examined how cultural values and economic growth intersect in the creative sector. Presentations covered topics including digital creative industries, immersive cultural tourism, heritage and sustainability, innovation performance, virtual idols, and cultural entrepreneurship. For instance, virtual idols have recently become popular in China and provide an effective way for the young generation to engage with the culture and creative industries, such as music, fashion, and art. As Zirui Chen shares, its adaptation to digital environments has opened discussions on the construction of online communities including digital fandom (e.g., Simons, 2019; Zhang et al. 2024). In this regard, many Chinese scholars have further implemented IRC on online celebrity fan communities, highlighting the shared emotional experiences from digital fan practices (e.g., Gu, 2022; Zhu and Hu, 2024). This study extends these discussions by critically examining digital fan practices within virtual idol Luo Tianyi’s fan community, highlighting the key hierarchies in relation to emotional rituals and gender based on eight months of online participant observation, alongside semi-structured interviews with ten fans. By extending the application of Collins’ (2004) IRC theory model to the digital environment, Chen’s study highlights the role of fans as both consumers and co-creators, revealing how emotional rituals drive the sustainable development of virtual singers. The case of Luo Tianyi also exemplifies the potential of online fan communities in producing cultural value and driving economic growth on digital platforms. Houda Kohli Kallel explores how fashion and cultural heritage play an essential role in preserving traditional skills and indigenous knowledge. As Kallel proposes, in a context of globalisation, these aspects become vectors of transcultural creativity, particularly in interdisciplinary design projects. This summary examines how industry and the purple colour of the Carthaginians influence contemporary designers in various creative fields, while exploring the impact of sustainability and art on these practices. The methodological approach of this study is based on a qualitative analysis of the creative and craft practices of the Carthaginians, in particular their purple colour industry. Jiaoya Huang and Jianghong Liu’s paper explores the process of identifying and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities in China’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs) from the perspective of institutional theory. Focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in three major cities—Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou—the study examines how regional institutional contexts shape entrepreneurial behavior and opportunity recognition. The research identifies key drivers and barriers entrepreneurs face, including government policies, market conditions, and cultural influences, and how these factors impact their ability to innovate and compete in the creative sector. Using a qualitative interpretivist approach, the study contrasts the institutional environments of these cities, highlighting Beijing’s strong government support for cultural preservation, Shanghai’s global connectivity fostering international collaboration, and Guangzhou’s industrial focus on manufacturing and trade. Hu Meng’s study focuses on how to achieve a high degree of consumer experience value fit and value co-creation, as well as how to promote high-quality marketing effectiveness. Specifically, using semi-structured interviews and desk review methods, a qualitative study was conducted towards six experiential marketing cases based on Grounded Theory. In the process of constructing theoretical models, this article discussed the motivation for the change of customer relationship quality in the effect of experiential marketing and the inducement of business model innovation. In addition, not only the different paths and influence mechanisms of different experiential value fit and different immersion degrees are discussed, but also the critical success factors of experiential marketing are summarized. The significance of this article lies in exploring business model innovation and customer relationship quality improvement in the experience economy era from multi-case perspectives, clarifying the influencing factors and mechanisms of relationship quality in experiential marketing in practical forms. Panelists came from institutions including Northeastern University (China), University of Kairouan (Tunisia), China Media University (China), Loughborough University (UK), and Peking University (China) contributed.