It, however, also defines a separate arts, entertainment, and recreation sector (sector R) and defines scientific research, advertising, market research, consulting, accounting as part of sector M: professional, scientific, and technical activities. Given that science, art, entertainment, research, advertising, consulting, and accounting all produce some form of information, such a definition is confusing and results in a narrow understanding of the information sector.
Goodrige, Hasek and Wallis (2014) have measured the investment in intangible assets ordered by year, industries, and intangible asset types. In their conceptual framework, intangible assets are comprising reseach and development, mineral exploration, financial product innovation, design, training, artistic originals, organisational structure, software, and branding. They calculated that in 2011, intangible asset investment was significantly larger in the UK economy than tangible asset investment. The core distinction in this approach is the one between tangibles and intangibles. The basic question is however if this strict separation can be upheld in the contemporary economy. A computer clearly is a tangible machine. It however is an information technology, that is a data processing machine. So it has to do with a tangible form that processes an intangible asset. It is therefore unclear how the computer as asset should exactly be classified in this approach.
Higgs, Cunningham and Pagan (2007, 20) define the creative economy as “human activities related with the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of creative goods and services”. They say it is broader than the term cultural industries that focuses on artistic production and stresses the commercial use of “symbolic knowledge and skills” (p. 4). The authors understand the Creative Trident as the total of the creative occupations in the core creative industries as well as in other industries. The definition includes, in contrast to the ISIC’s understanding of the information sector, a broad range of information industries (music, performing arts, film, TV, radio, advertising, marketing, software, online, publishing, architecture, design, and visual arts) in the core creative industries. It furthermore combines the industry and occupation approach.
Bakhshi, Freeman and Higgs (2013) take a comparable approach that suggests measurements of the creative intensity of creative occupations in any industry. They make creative talent the defining feature of a creative occupation. The defining qualities of creative activity are that it is a novel process, mechanisation resistant, non-repetitive, non-uniform, independent of context, and that it involves interpretation not mere transformation (p. 24).
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