Portuguese soap operas: the adoption of innovations in the context of an audiovisual production culture

Abstract

This paper describes the process of introducing a technological innovation - an information system dedicated to the optimization of processes in audiovisual production - in the context of a Portuguese production company focused on audiovisual production of a particular genre: the soap opera. The paper starts from the analysis of the localization process of this kind in the specific cultural and geographical scenario of Portugal, giving rise to what we claim to be an original production model with a specific culture, and then focusing on the concrete process of implementing the proposed solution, in order to evaluate how the introduction of a technological innovation was received by the organization and what are the consequences of the process in terms of organizational transformation in a context of process digitization and dematerialization of procedures. Our case study focuses on the process of analysis that preceded the development of the system in question and intends to frame it in the broader context of the organization's existing audiovisual production culture, in order to draw conclusions about the innovation potential that project implied. Our central argument is that the dominant ideology in a culture of audiovisual production is a determining factor in the adoption of any innovation, even when there is an original and sustainable local production culture.