Design, innovation, and rural creative places: Are the arts the cherry on top, or the secret sauce?

Timothy R. Wojan, Bonnie Nichols · 2018 · PLoS ONE

Summary. Rural establishments with strong design orientations—particularly those integrating design into core operations—grow faster economically than those without systematic design approaches. Design-intensive rural firms cluster in counties with educated workforces and performing arts organizations. The study identifies three distinct design and innovation orientations among rural businesses and confirms that design integration correlates with wage growth during economic recovery, suggesting design capability drives rural economic performance.

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Wojan, T. R., & Nichols, B.. (2018). Design, innovation, and rural creative places: Are the arts the cherry on top, or the secret sauce?. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192962

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  title   = {Design, innovation, and rural creative places: Are the arts the cherry on top, or the secret sauce?},
  author  = {Timothy R. Wojan and Bonnie Nichols},
  journal = {PLoS ONE},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.1371/journal.pone.0192962},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192962}
}

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TI  - Design, innovation, and rural creative places: Are the arts the cherry on top, or the secret sauce?
AU  - Timothy R. Wojan
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Details

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192962
Countries: United States
Regions: North America
Categories: regional-innovation-systems, innovation-theory
Added: 2026-04-28