The purpose of this research is to investigate the practice of business investment in arts and culture, and provide a better understanding of this phenomenon from a competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the practice of business investment in arts and culture, and provide a better understanding of this phenomenon from a competitive strategy perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Our understanding of the way in which companies build relations with the arts and cultural world is very limited. Many studies have looked at the marketing implications but have not really expanded on the larger impact of these activities on overall company strategy and results. The competitive advantage/competitive strategy framework provides a new perspective on the issue and highlights how the different ways in which businesses collaborate and build relations with the arts can be understood as an integral part of the company's activities. In order to illustrate how arts and culture can impact on companies' competitive advantage we present a series of case studies from Italy.
Findings
The case studies presented provide a useful set of tools for other companies, involved in supporting the arts or considering similar activities, to benchmark their activities and the nature of their involvement against some successful international case studies.
Originality/value
The paper is an original attempt to situate a common business practice such as business support of the arts in a larger understanding of our socio‐economic context. Such practices are usually dismissed as simple philanthropy, although they can have a strong connection with the competitive strategy of a company and be a source of competitive advantage, particularly in a new economic era where aesthetic, creative and symbolic values attached to goods and services are becoming increasingly important.
Details
Keywords
The aim of this paper is to develop understanding of how open-access (OA) studios as creative social enterprises (CSEs) can negotiate coexisting creative, social and economic…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to develop understanding of how open-access (OA) studios as creative social enterprises (CSEs) can negotiate coexisting creative, social and economic missions, and manage the motivations of stakeholders. In particular, it explores how this affects management practices and ways in which diverse social actors engage with the organisation and each other. This paper expands on the existing literature on social enterprises in relation to multiple value and stakeholder management and also contributes to the makerspace and wider creative industries literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a qualitative, single-case case study of an OA studio established as a social enterprise based on analysis of secondary texts, interviews and observation.
Findings
It is identified that a multifaceted value system creates both challenges and opportunities in relation to communal resource management and community development. Tensions between the creative and economic priorities of members and both the economic imperatives of the organisation and its social mission are also highlighted. It is suggested that despite these challenges, the OA model presents an opportunity to develop more collective forms of creative practice and support a reframing of the creative economy.
Research limitations/implications
As a single case study in the geographical context of the United Kingdom, limited generalisations on OA management in other countries can be made without further investigation.
Practical implications
There are practical implications for OA and other CSE founders in relation to resource and membership management and facilitating inclusive access. There are creative industries policy implications in the encouragement of more sustainable collaborative approaches.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on social entrepreneurship, makerspaces and the creative industries by developing the understanding of OA studios and CSE management and the internal dynamics that influence organisational and social outcomes.