Object-mediated innovation: Case study of adventures in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan

In the new economic era, cross-boundary innovation is a critical topic, particularly in the cultural and creative industries. In this study, we introduce knowledge management literature to indicate that there are at least three frontiers of knowledge that cross domains: (a) knowledge that must be transferred to resolve syntactic differences, which requires establishing a common ground; (b) knowledge that must be translated to resolve semantic differences; and (c) knowledge that must be transformed to satisfy the interests of two parties. To facilitate the cross-boundary sharing of knowledge, a boundary object was proposed for establishing a communication interface. This study examined the collaboration between the National Palace Museum (NPM) and Digimax that was undertaken to develop a film “Adventures in the NPM.” The research objective was to analyze the process of co-creating this film and the mutual exchange and sharing of knowledge. We examined the data by conducting triangulation through multiple sources. The results showed that the cross-boundary sharing of knowledge can be divided into three types, namely, translation, the process by which animated characters are converted into heritage; transformation from heritage significance into animated stories; and transcendence, the cultural implications derived from the symbolic meaning. We also identified the boundary objects of each process. In conclusion, this study contributes to the literature of cross-domain knowledge management and the practices of creative industries.