“Music to our ears”: understanding why Canadians donate to arts and cultural organizations

The contribution of donations and volunteer time to North American arts and cultural organizations is impressive. Growing economic uncertainty coupled with the increasingly competitive nature of philanthropic work and fluctuating volunteerism rates describe some of the challenges facing nonprofit managers in the arts and cultural field today. The intent of this study was to explain charitable giving to an arts and cultural organization in a Canadian context using variables supported in the literature related to philanthropic behavior. The variables included the norm of social responsibility, donor benefits, philanthropic behavior, and household income. Data (233 questionnaires) were collected at a renowned community symphony with revenue from various sources including over $1 million annually in private support. Multiple regression analysis determined two of the four hypotheses were supported and two were partially confirmed. While the norm of social responsibility and household income did confirm existing literature, philanthropic behavior seemed only defined by length of time as donor rather than by volunteering for arts and cultural organizations and donor benefits included tax incentives but not receiving a “gift” in exchange for a support. Research such as this, which contributes to our understanding of arts and cultural donors and the benefits they seek, continues to be important with the potential to inform nonprofit managers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationship marketing,audience retention and performing arts organisation viability

Marketing strategy in performing arts organisations has become particularly important in the increasingly competitive environment in which the arts operate. Since the late 1980s there has been a necessary shift in focus to audience development away from product development. This change in focus is being encouraged to ensure the long‐term viability of performing arts organisations (PAOs) and micro‐economic reform. While government reports have recommended strategies aimed at building audience‐based recognition, this is an expensive approach for many PAOs and does not produce short‐term returns. Little attention has been paid to building enduring relationships with existing audiences as a way of having a more dramatic impact on PAOs' long‐term viability. This paper explores this theme through relationship marketing and the implication of retaining existing audiences. The paper identifies the changing cultural environment which has led to the importance of marketing. It then explains the concepts of relationship marketing and its pertinence to PAOs' viability by presenting a loyalty ladder. The structure is modelled as a dynamic conceptualisation of the relationships (audience and organisation) to assist arts managers to decide whether to focus their efforts on catching or keeping customers to maximise earned income. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Rethinking arts marketing in a changing cultural policy context

This paper investigates recent changes in British cultural policy and their implications for arts marketing. It first points out the decisive role of the policy in shaping the environment of the nonprofit arts and argues that arts marketing developed as an organisational strategy within the context of marketisation policy since the 1980s. This is followed by an analysis of the current cultural policy, where ‘social impacts’ of the arts are highly emphasised and state intervention intensifies. Through a case study, it is demonstrated that nonprofit arts organisations are adapting to the new environment by rapidly expanding programmes for educational and social purposes while implicitly resisting top‐down political pressure. The paper raises the question of whether the arts marketing framework can reflect the new reality of arts management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficiency,stability and the decision to give to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the United States

• Using data from the Cultural Data Project, this study extends the literature by examining the impact of financial disclosure information on donations to arts and culture‐related nonprofit organizations in the United States. Results for organization financial stability are for the most part counterintuitive: financially unstable arts and culture‐related nonprofits receive more donations. The current analysis supports prior research and finds evidence of a “crowding in” effect for fundraising expenses, suggesting that nonprofits that spend more on fundraising and marketing raise more funds than those that spend less. Additional analysis indicates efficiency matters to donors when it comes to fundraising efforts. As the “cost to raise a dollar” increases donations decrease. Nonprofit managers in arts and culture‐related organizations concerned about increasing donations should consider strategies that will increase the efficiency of their fundraising and marketing efforts. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

To pay or not to pay — the role of monetary incentives in an optimal blood donation service bundle

• This study derives four attributes that make up the typical blood donation service bundle. It focuses on the role of monetary incentives in such bundles, but also discusses three other attributes, namely the offering organization, the distance to donation location, and the donation time. Each attribute is discussed in the context of a blood donation marketing mix. In an empirical conjoint study, 529 potential blood donors evaluate different designs of blood donation service bundles. Monetary incentives are found to be the most important factor when donors compare different blood donation service bundles. It is found that the distance to the donation location is almost as important as monetary incentives. Blood donation organizations aiming to collect all blood donations from unremunerated blood donors should therefore shape their service bundles to be attractive for potential blood donors. It is concluded that nonpaying blood donation organizations have to offer superior convenience to their donors to be able to compensate for not offering monetary incentives. Operating with mobile donation teams is one of the concrete suggestions for blood donation marketing that are given in this study.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cash may be king,but goods are queen: Marketing for noncash donations by nonprofit organizations

To thrive and survive, nonprofit organizations should always seek new sources of donations. Although many of these entities are laser-focused on obtaining cash and other similar forms of funds from their donors, they should not forget the abundant donation type that is also available to them: noncash goods. The process of marketing to donors for these goods is unique compared to fundraising for cash. Consequently, the goal of this study is multifaceted: to remind nonprofit organizations of the availability of noncash goods as a donation source, encourage them to unlock this trove through marketing, and provide them with recommendations on how to do so.     

The influence of external reference price strategies in a nonprofit arts organization's “pay‐what‐you‐want” setting

Nonprofit arts organizations face conflicting objectives to balance—or more specifically, to create—artistic and educational value and to generate financial income from various sources. Pay‐what‐you‐want (PWYW), a participative pricing mechanism where services have no fixed price and customers actively decide what to pay, is a novel pricing mechanism and is of high interest for organizations and researchers alike. Based on the concepts of loss aversion and gain, this study presents a field experiment to test the effects of different PWYW pricing strategies on the amount of money paid by visitors of a German photo biennial. Explicitly, the provisions of minimum, maximum, and suggested external reference prices are compared to a setting with no external reference prices. We test the derived hypotheses, discuss the results, and provide implications for future research, as well as for the management of nonprofit arts organizations.     

After-Life Consumption and Charitable Giving

Abstract . Most studies of charitable giving only examine total charitable contributions. This paper finds that contributions to religious organizations should be studied separately from contributions to nonreligious organizations. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions that religious giving is fundamentally different from nonreligious giving. Religious giving is assumed to directly influence after‐life consumption, while nonreligious giving is not related to after‐life consumption. While contributions to both increase with income, contributions to religious organizations also increase with age. There is no relationship between age and contributions to nonreligious organizations. Also, as income rises, religious contributions fall as a share of total giving.     

Transfer of marketing knowledge to Catholic primary schools

While the role and importance of marketing have grown in nonprofit organizations, marketing knowledge in nonprofit education organizations, specifically primary schools, is sparse. This paper reports the research findings of an exploratory study designed to examine the transfer of marketing knowledge to Catholic primary schools. It identifies and explores what school leaders know about marketing, how they acquire that knowledge, and what factors contribute to or impede its development. Qualitative data gathered from Catholic school educational leaders reveal that while marketing is viewed in schools as an important management function, marketing knowledge is slow to transfer. Findings reveal that marketing knowledge is primarily developed unintentionally, as a result of trial and error, and that a lack of formal marketing training results in a heavy dependence on volunteers. Findings also indicate that school leaders have minimal autonomy under the Diocese, which, along with economic, cultural, and structural barriers, functions to limit marketing knowledge development. It was also found that, although cross‐sector cooperation is desired among educational leaders, it is not pursued, further limiting the transfer of marketing knowledge. Theoretical and managerial implications for resource‐strapped primary schools in competitive environments are discussed.     

The contribution of marketing innovations on art organization performance: cases from the biggest art organizations in Greece

Marketing innovation approach in art organizations is the only way for them not only to survive in a period of limited public funding but also to expand their cultural mission. This study explores the effects of innovation on economic and cultural performances of nonprofit organizations by analyzing empirical evidence from the seven biggest art organizations in Greece. The findings show that marketing innovations on art organizations have a positive impact on their economic performance but have a limited impact on their cultural performance. Unlike previous studies, the specific marketing innovations that influence economic outcomes are examined, followed by recommendations and limitations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Higher education: marketing in a quasi‐commercial service industry

The UK Government is promoting widening participation and asking universities to develop their student intake of 18–30 year‐olds by 50 per cent by 2010. The financing of these changes is encouraging a marketing emphasis shift, as funding is reduced and alternative revenue methods sought. Traditional marketing of charitable educational institutions sought to ensure sufficient student enrolments for solely government‐funded core activities. Further marketing is now seen in quasi‐commercial activities. This paper investigates the need for a further marketing approach to satisfy these government policy changes. Using the comparative method, the paper looks at the complexity of the issues around US and UK higher education and their revenue value conflicts, marketing perspectives and, finally, the differences in perspectives and expectations between commerce and education. As the matter is current and ongoing, the main form of collecting evidence is through personal interview and recent media releases. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications     

Relationships among levels of government support,marketing activities,and financial health of nonprofit performing arts organizations

• This exploratory study researches and analyzes the empirical effects of financial levels of government support and marketing practices on the financial health of nonprofit performing arts organizations. Declining government subsidies and increasing competition from non-traditional sources have presented these organizations with unique opportunities and challenges that call for a market-centered, as well as an art-centered approach. Financial health is critical for the long-term success of a nonprofit performing arts organization. Few empirical studies have examined the interrelationships between these key variables. This study analyzes a sample of 63 American professional symphony orchestras employing 20 years of data. The correlations among financial levels of government support and marketing activities were positive and significant, the correlations among levels of government support and financial health were negative and significant, and the correlations between levels of marketing activity and financial health were negative and varied in significance. Causal analyses were less conclusive, but significant causal relationships were found for large symphony orchestras, indicating that segmentation research may be warranted. Implications and opportunities for future research are presented which have potential application for government agencies, academic researchers, and arts organization managers, boards of directors, and donors.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Creative marketing and the art organisation: what can the artist offer?

The poem ‘My Paintings’, written in a deliberate, uncorrected dyslexic style offers an insight into the mind of a present day avant garde bad boy of British art, Billy Childish. Constantly challenging the art establishment through public demonstrations of distaste against the annual Turner Prize,[Button, V. (1999) ‘The Turner Prize’, Tate Gallery Publishing, London.] Childish and his cohorts launched an alternative, Stuck‐ist, art manifesto,[Alberge, D. (1999) ‘Rebels Get Stuck into the Brit Artists’, The Times, Thursday 26th August, p. 7.] in the belief that it would assist in a shift in public perception of what good art is, as well as influence the creative practice of those artists concerned with more traditional, authentic forms of art. Childish's ex‐girlfriend Tracey Emin, however, has had other ideas. She has revelled in mass media exposure and now dismisses the concept of traditional painting as a valid art from.[Brown, N. (1998) ‘Tracey Emin’, Art Data, UK.] These are two examples of contrasting creative, artistic behaviour. Their creativity has resulted in varying levels of commercial success. By examining the role that creativity plays in determining how the idea for a creative product is first identified, through to its commercial exploitation, there are valuable lessons contained in such a process for both profit‐oriented and nonprofit art organisations alike. Instead of constantly fighting the conflicting philosophies of art for art's sake versus art for business sake, following the market and consumer demand, there is a much more effective method for establishing longer‐term success, which mirrors the creative practice of the artist. The existing literature on arts marketing is examined. A critique of the usefulness of current thinking is presented, with the recommendation that the formal models of marketing offered in arts marketing literatures can only ever hope to offer general advice on marketing. What is called for is a much more in‐depth analysis of how creative entrepreneurial marketers as artists can offer alternative visualisations of more appropriate models of marketing for the industry. This in turn should result in the stimulation of creative research methodologies that can inform both theory and practice within arts marketing in particular, and the wider remit of marketing in general. The use of the metaphor and the examination of published biographies of creative individuals are used to construct a manifesto of marketing artistry. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

The marketing and public relations practices of Australian performing arts presenters

Although arts organisations are often said to be underdeveloped in marketing and management areas, it is unclear whether this is actually an intentional response to the atypical environment in which they exist, or simply a result of limited skills and resources. This paper looks at performing arts presenters (PAPs) in two Australian States, profiling what they do in the way of marketing, how sophisticated they are at it and the reasons they behave the way they do. In‐depth interviews with marketing managers indicated that PAPs are confused about the role of marketing, relying instead mainly on public relations. While it was widely acknowledged that marketing would be beneficial, the marketing that is executed is generally ad hoc and basic. This lack of marketing action is due primarily to a paucity of skills and resources and a historical preference for public relations, not as a considered response to the arts environment. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Applying the marketing concept to cultural organisations: an empirical study of the relationship between market orientation and performance

A recent trend in nonprofit organisations is an emphasis on business management and concepts. This paper examines the application of the marketing concept to nonprofit arts organisations through an analysis of the relationship between market orientation and organisational performance. Data were collected from arts organisations in two large Canadian cities, and a structural equations model was developed to test the impact of marketing activities and culture on three performance variables (customer satisfaction, peer reputation and resource attraction). The analysis shows that the model fits the data well and that six hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between market orientation and organisational performance were supported. The study concludes that those organisations that implemented more market‐driven activities into their marketing plans were more likely to develop a market‐oriented internal culture. A market‐oriented culture not only predicted a growth in resources and higher levels of customer satisfaction, but also a growth in reputation among peers. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Value-Driving Activities in Euro-Zone Banks

We develop and test accounting-based valuation models for commercial banks. We extend Begley et al.'s framework (2006) and propose a valuation model where goodwill is generated by virtually all commercial and investment banking activities. Key features of our model are: the development of a relation between future cash flows from fee income and the bank value that depends on lending, borrowing and off-balance sheet business; and the inclusion of proprietary investment and trading as value-driving activities. Empirical tests on a sample of Euro-zone banks from 1998 to 2006 provide the following evidence. Unrealised expected cash flows from fee income are the most important source of unrecorded goodwill. This is consistent with the increasing importance of revenue from the sale of financial services to banks' income. The contribution of fee income to goodwill is higher for banks with large deposits and new loans. Equity securities are a source of unrecorded goodwill, but the introduction of fair value accounting, with the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), reduces their valuation role. Yet equity securities remain positively associated with unrecorded goodwill after IFRS adoption, suggesting that the fair value standards do not fully capture market expectations about future cash flows of investment assets.     

Avoiding the ‘SoHo Effect’ in Baltimore: Neighborhood Revitalization and Arts and Entertainment Districts

This article investigates how state‐sponsored ‘arts and cultural districts' and ‘creative placemaking' revitalization strategies affect urban neighborhoods, using the Station North Arts & Entertainment (A&E) District in Baltimore, Maryland (USA) as a case study. Through ethnographic participatory methods and 39 qualitative interviews, we studied the activities and attitudes of various stakeholders within Station North. Since its designation as an arts and entertainment district in 2002, a number of public–private partnerships have helped increase home values in Station North, suggesting that the ‘branding' of Station North has been successful. While the institutions involved in the district, including community development corporations and local universities, are careful to insist that they do not want to displace low‐income residents, many interviewees expressed concerns that these institutions exert influence outweighing that of longtime residents. While a certain level of gentrification has occurred with the arrival of new residents, we argue that the people who are most likely to be displaced from the arts and entertainment district in the future are, paradoxically, artists, especially those who wish to buy homes and settle in the district. After discussing the case of Station North, we consider broader implications of the use of arts for urban revitalization.     

Volunteerism,compassion and religiosity as drivers of donations practices

• The topic of donations is one of high relevance and has been widely covered in contemporary marketing literature. It is a topic of interest to both theoreticians and practitioners alike, particularly due to its implicit links to fundraising activities and research. The reality of what makes an individual donor ultimately part with his money and give it away to a nonprofit organization is a hot contemporary topic. This study looks into the role of religiosity as a predictor of donations practices. Also volunteerism and compassion, two acts of pro‐social behaviour are analysed as predictors of donations practices. Using data collected from a survey of 612 charity donors in Portugal, the results show unequivocally that religiosity does influence donations practices, and so being a predictor of donations practices. Moreover, pro‐social behaviour is a predictor of donations practices when in the case of volunteerism, but not in the form of compassion.
• The findings are particularly useful for nonprofit organizations that want to attract and retain individual charitable donors and may also help to increase donation regularity, to obtain higher amounts, and donations both to religious and to secular organizations. Finally, it can be stated that the understanding of religiosity sheds light on knowledge about donations practices, and that this study also makes an important contribution to academia, as it is the first study conducted in Portugal that assesses the drivers of donations practices.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the cultural consumption of a new wave of immigrants: the case of the South Korean community in South West London

The purpose of the study was to develop and test a model explaining the cultural consumption of a new immigrant ethnic group (South Korean) in terms of their highbrow, middlebrow, lowbrow, public/private and ethnic minority cultural pursuits. A core premise of the study was that due to the overall higher socio‐economic standing of the South Korean community (in comparison to many other ethnic minority groups residing in the UK), this particular immigrant group would more closely resemble the omnivore and not the univore cultural consumer. A model was developed on the basis of previous literature in the fields of audience development research, arts marketing and educational sociology and was tested, consequent to qualitative interviews conducted with relevant experts and with South Korean immigrants, on a sample of 351 residents of an area in South West London that contains a high density of South Korean immigrants. The findings indicated that bridging social capital, perceived barriers to the arts, passion for the arts and educational motivation were the strongest predictors of omnivorous consumption amongst this group. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tainted museums: ‘selling out’ cultural institutions

• This paper examines the role of museums as repositories of cultural meaning and symbolic capital. As educational and cultural institutions, museums serve to legitimise works of art within the frame of an art historical context. However, our comparative case study reveals how the taken‐for‐granted role of the museum as an allegedly unbiased platform for disseminating the arts can be usurped for economic or political ends. Using the cultural settings of the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Venezuelan art museum circuit, we examine via our case studies how legitimation in the arts may be jeopardised or misused if and when cultural institutions succumb to commercial and political pressures. By adopting a qualitative research design, we observe the macro‐context in which institutional roles are defined and played out, and demonstrate the ideological discourses at play in the role of these cultural institutions as meaning‐makers. Although they may be presented as neutral spaces, museums inadvertently serve to circulate socio‐political views. How the institution manages these views and unavoidable macro‐level forces will in turn influence the cultural credibility of the museum framework as a legitimising force on the cultural horizon. Attention is devoted to how these pressures can affect the production and consumption of art, offering an alternative perspective on the development of museum policies.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.