Ruth Rentschler

Changes in museum management : a custodial or marketing emphasis

In recent years museums have changed from being predominantly custodial institutions to becoming increasingly focussed on audience attraction. New emphasis is placed on museum‐audience interactions and relationships. This change in the purpose and priorities of museums has impacted upon the nature of museum management. The recognition of new roles for museum directors and the need to appeal to differentiated audiences has created new challenges for previously traditional, custodial directors. This paper presents a conceptual framework for managing museums, taking account of the museum service context and the delivery of the museum service product. It then examines two museums, one in Ireland and one in Australia, both of which have a similar cultural history. The paper considers the different management styles for museum directors and how these different styles illustrate the changes in professional perspective from the traditional (a focus on custodial preservation) to the more current (a focus on educating and entertaining the public).

The Role Of Creativity In Entrepreneurship

This paper evaluates the contribution of creativity to entrepreneurship theory and practice in terms of building an holistic and transdisciplinary understanding of its impact. Acknowledgement is made of the subjectivist theory of entrepreneurship which embraces randomness, uncertainty and ambiguity but these factors should then be embedded in wider business and social contexts. The analysis is synthesised into a number of themes, from consideration of its definition, its link with personality and cognitive style, creativity as a process and the use of biography in uncovering data on creative entrepreneurial behaviour. Other relevant areas of discussion include creativitys link with motivation, actualisation and innovation, as well as the interrogation of entrepreneurial artists as owner/managers. These factors are embedded in a critical evaluation of how creativity contributes to successful entrepreneurship practice. Modelling, measuring and testing entrepreneurial creativity are also considered and the paper includes detailed consideration of several models of creativity in entrepreneurship. Recommendations for future theory and practice are also made.

Accountability versus artistic development

Nonprofit museums and performing arts organizations have become subject to closer attention in recent years, following the collapse of some seemingly stable cultural organizations. These events have stimulated a renewed interest in accountability and technology in nonprofit cultural organizations, as they are put under pressure to provide value for money. At the same time, technology has an important role to play in the extent to which nonprofit cultural organizations utilize available resources efficiently and effectively. Consequently, this study examines nine nonprofit museums and performing arts organizations in Victoria, Australia and establishes that while technology is used to increase viability and to some extent promote vitality, it does not solve all the problems for museums and performing arts organizations.Part of the reason for this is due to the fact that the notion of accountability has been hijacked by accountants and economists, enabling some to forget the true mission of these nonprofit museums and performing arts organizations, which are vitality‐oriented.

Museum and Performing Arts Marketing: A Climate of Change

Abstract Although most arts organizations are nonprofit institutions, they are not nonmarket institutions. (DiMaggio 1985)

Museum and Performing Arts Marketing: The Age of Discovery

Trends in museum and performing arts marketing from 1975 to 1994 were analyzed and suggested that a third period was emerging; the data in this article confirm that claim. Among the latest arts marketing articles, there is a significantly greater focus on marketing strategy than on the other two categories--marketing as culture and marketing as tactics.

Drivers, impediments and manifestations of brand orientation: An international museum study

Purpose – While the body of work exploring brand orientation has grown, there has been a general failure to build on extant research and generate a holistic conceptualization of brand orientation. This paper aims to develop a model of the key drivers, impediments and manifestations of brand orientation in a museum context.Design/methodology/approach – A collective case study design was used, consisting of key informant interviews using a semi‐structured interview protocol and analysis of institutional documents and observational research. Interviews took place with well‐known museums across three countries: the UK, the USA and Australia. This paper demonstrates the richness of qualitative case studies as a method of theory building and as a precursor to further empirical research.Findings – The case study findings reveal both a philosophical and behavioral aspect of brand orientation. Thus, six attributes are presented that include brand orientation as an organizational culture and compass for decision‐ma...

Exploring Metaphor as an Alternative Marketing Language

Purpose – The main aim of this paper is to stimulate more relevant and critical ideas about marketing and the wider management field by exploring the actual and potential contribution of metaphor to marketing theory and practice. The subsequent connections made can help contribute towards understanding and coping with the theory/practice gap.Design/methodology/approach – To date, the majority of metaphor application has tended to be literal and surface‐level rather than theoretically grounded. This paper interrogates the literature surrounding metaphor in marketing and management fields, while also examining the contribution of other areas such as art. The paper constructs and debates the conceptual notion of the marketer as an artist.Findings – Incorporation of theoretically grounded metaphors into marketing theory can help develop a form of marketing which is capable of dealing with ambiguity, chaotic market conditions, creative thinking and practice.Originality/value – Adoption of a metaphorical approa...

Assessing Sport Management Journals: A Multi-Dimensional Examination

The rating of refereed journals has become important for academics and institutions as well as for sport management as a field of study. This paper argues that the dearth of a rating system in sport management works against the best interests of the development of the field. This paper presents a rating scheme for sport management journals, which replicates an earlier study of marketing journals, using weighted multi-dimensional perceptual ratings (Polonsky & Whitelaw, 2006). Forty-five senior sport management academics evaluated 13 journals on four criteria: journal prestige, contribution to theory, contribution to practice and contribution to teaching. Using the weighted scores of the four criteria for each journal and a supporting cluster analysis, four categories of journals were identified. The results of this study will assist academics as they argue the case for the quality of journals in which they publish. Further it facilitates evaluation of sport management journals in relation to one another on the basis of their overall ranking and their scores on the four individual criteria.

Culture and Entrepreneurship Introduction

he articles in this issue present entrepreneurship as a focus for serious T research and debate in the arts. The articles link entrepreneurship to innovation and creativity, not by simply describing the traits of entrepreneurs, but also by analyzing behavior and outcomes and using aggregated data and cases to develop broad theoretical perspectives. The articles herein discuss entrepreneurs as leaders, examine the workings of entrepreneurial organizations, explore how to successfully introduce innovations into a changing marketplace, and search for ways to reconcile the demands of creativity with the traditions of culture. The guiding principle of this issue is Peter Drucker’s view of entrepreneurship as a practice that has a knowledge base and that seeks to enable organizations to innovate while remaining true to their missions. Innovation, then, is the specific tool of entrepreneurs (Drucker 1985); creativity is the specific mission of the arts. Together they exploit change as an opportunity to do something different. Drucker’s analysis includes businesses and nonbusinesses; in analogous manner, the articles herein discuss how small for-profit and nonprofit organizations and their leaders work in a complex and changing environment and struggle to apply new ways of performing human work in a service industry.

Lessons Learned from Community Organizations: Inclusion of People with Disabilities and Others

Workforce diversity requires broader vision and scope in managing diversity so that there is greater inclusion inside and outside organizations. This paper provides this vision by extending the stream of workforce diversity research to community-oriented inclusion and its processes. The authors interviewed 34 people with disabilities and 40 people without disabilities who were stakeholders of community arts and sports organizations. The participants with disabilities were mainly arts audiences, artists and sports athletes, and the participants without disabilities were mainly managers and government officials. The key findings report the importance of inclusion through common interest groups being facilitated by (1) non-minority specific communal activities, (2) listening to minority voices, (3) multidimensional accessibility, (4) availability of organizational and natural champions and (5) cross-boundary networks and collaborations. In order to create more inclusive organizations, the authors suggest that private organizations need more community-oriented values, goals and strategies that foster boundaryless inclusion of people with disabilities and other minority groups in organizations and society.