Purpose The paper explores the job marketisation of exhibition work by examining the coexistence of traditional and new market norms and the tensions these conflicting norms generate. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on qualitative fieldwork, the paper examines this marketisation through the case of the Swedish MU agreement, introduced to regulate artists' work and income when exhibiting at publicly funded institutions. Findings Conflicting norms contribute to artists pursuing both symbolic and monetary income simultaneously, creating four dimensions of tension. When facing these tensions, artists employ practices of prioritisation, negotiation and guessing. Research limitations/implications The study suggests that marketisation often entails the coexistence of competing norms rather than straightforward change. This coexistence generates tensions, requiring actors to develop coping practices. By examining exhibition work as a case of job marketisation, the study calls for greater attention to how market reforms are experienced and enacted in everyday work practices, and how competing remuneration principles shape professional identities, exchanges and labour market participation. Practical implications The paper offers insights into how a specific marketisation process in the art world unfolds in practice. Open discussion about the tensions generated by this job marketisation, and about the prioritising, guessing and negotiating practices that arise when coping with them, may contribute to a better-functioning job market. Originality/value The study contributes to research on artistic labour by examining an under-researched income category, how new income norms are experienced and managed in everyday practice, and by offering an empirically grounded account of the changing status of display exhibitions in the contemporary art world.
Purpose The purpose of this research is to explore the evolution of cultural meanings of visual art, tracing their transformation into a multitude of meanings co-created by consumers through art-infused fashion and its subsequent effect on consumers’ responses toward art-infused fashion. Design/methodology/approach This research examines three illustrative cases: the collaborations between Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton, Piet Mondrian and Yves Saint Laurent and Jean-Michel Basquiat and Comme des Garçons. Each case involves a review of published works and photo-elicitation interviews, analyzed using the Gioia methodology. Findings Our research illustrates the significant influence of the market – comprising the fashion system providing art-infused fashion – and consumers, on the development of new and heterogeneous cultural meanings associated with art. Originality/value This research addresses limitations of the Movement of Cultural Meaning model by integrating a processing mechanism – consumer meaning co-creation – and further extends its implications for a specific consumer response, the feeling of ownership over art-infused fashion.
Purpose This article develops a practice-oriented theory of the art museum to address the tension between traditional institution-focused theories and the need to attract a diverse public. It posits that a museum's function emerges dynamically from visitor practices, with value co-produced through the interplay of visitor behavior and service design, rather than being institutionally predetermined. Design/methodology/approach A structured, participant observation study was conducted across 30 geographically and typologically diverse art museums. Data from field notes, visual documentation and archival materials were analyzed using a three-stage grounded theory approach (open, axial and selective coding) to identify and categorize core visitor practices. Findings The analysis reveals four distinct, co-existing visitor practices: (1) Aesthetic Wandering (contemplative exploration), (2) Goal-oriented Learning (structured education), (3) Social Performance (identity performance and sharing) and (4) Community Use (utilizing the museum as a “third place”). These practices emerge through interaction with service design: Aesthetic Wandering is facilitated by white cube spaces, Goal-oriented Learning by interpretive technologies, Social Performance by immersive installations and Community Use by amenities and policies. The white cube service design partially supports the first two but is largely incompatible with the latter two. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on a sample of museums primarily from Los Angeles and Seoul, limiting generalizability. Future research could examine museums in other regions and adopt a temporal perspective covering pre- and post-visit experiences. Practical implications The typology provides a blueprint for museums to evolve beyond the white cube. It advocates for a modular service design that creates distinct zones and phygital integrations to simultaneously support all four practices, transforming museums into dynamic, multi-modal platforms. Originality/value This study moves beyond institution-centric and broad “edutainment” models by offering an empirically grounded typology of visitor practices. It reframes the visitor as an active co-producer of the museum experience and extends service-dominant logic by operationalizing co-creation through four distinct practice types. The typology provides a diagnostic framework linking practice observation to service architecture, enabling museums to design services that support the full spectrum of co-existing practices.
Purpose This paper aims to explore the motivations behind performing arts consumption and provide actionable insights for arts marketers to enhance audience engagement through targeted strategies.Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research methodology was applied using 5 focus groups comprising 26 participants from Athens, Greece. Groups were formed using purposive and snowball sampling, based on criteria including age, gender, education level and frequency of cultural consumption. Thematic analysis was used to extract motivational categories and decision-making factors.Findings Six main audience segments emerged: get stimuli, socialiser, art seeker, entertainer, fans and education seekers. The dominant motivation was to "get stimuli," followed by socialising and temporary entertainment. Entertainment motivations were typically passive, addressing emotional needs such as escapism and relaxation. Key decision-making factors included the performance's content, contributors and the reputation of the cultural organisation. Motivations were often overlapping, but dominant drivers varied per individual.Research limitations/implications The study is limited by its single-city focus on Athens and the cultural context of Greek consumers. Although not generalisable, the findings offer insights that can inform broader qualitative or quantitative cross-cultural studies.Originality/value This research contributes to limited literature on Greek performing arts audiences by identifying specific consumer motivations and linking them with strategic marketing recommendations. It revisits and updates past theoretical models within the context of contemporary societal, financial and technological changes, providing a useful framework for cultural marketers and policymakers.
