ETAs editors were at the AIMAC 2024 and wrote a summary for you
The 17th International Conference on Arts and Cultural Management AIMAC took place on 23 to 26 June 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, hosted by the ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute and AUDAX Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship of ISCTE. The conference received over 420 paper proposals. Eventually, over 350 participants from 40 countries joined for a packed parallel session of over 250 papers.
The Editorial Board attended the conference and present a short summary. The conference was opened by AIMACs co-chair Jean Pierre Benghozi (Centre de recherche en gestion de l’Ecole polytechnique, Paris) who gave an overview of the Association and of the Conference. AIMAC was founded in 1991 with the biennial conference as its main activity. AIMACs co-chair Francois Colbert (and founder, HEC Montreal) also gave a welcome to the participants.
AIMAC is an organisation with a scientific committee made up of 15 members who oversee the various tracks of the conference, in collaboration with the chairs of the local organising committee. Every year, AIMAC grants a paper award for each track, for the Doctoral Symposium, and for a global award. AIMAC is associated with the International Journal of Art Management, launched in 1998, recently available in digital form only.
The conference had no keynotes but instead organised presentations in several parallel tracks on the topics of (1) consumer behaviour, (2) strategic marketing, (3) strategic management, 4) finance, governance, and the economy, (5) organisational behaviour and human resources, (6) entrepreneurship, (7) creative industries, and (8) cultural policy.
Notably several cultural economists presented their work at AIMAC. With the physical challenge to only be able to attend 1 of the multiple parallel tracks at a time, we report only a selection of the papers presented.
Ilde Rizzo (co-authors Marina Cavalieri, Marco Galvagno and Sonia Giaccone) investigates visitor appreciation of Italian archaeological sites using TripAdvisor reviews and econometric analysis. Key findings include that outsourcing management, guided tours, and conservation positively impact ratings, while price and food services negatively affect them. The study suggests improving management practices and focusing on cultural experiences. Differences were noted between Italian and foreign visitors, with foreigners generally giving higher ratings. Policy recommendations include promoting outsourcing and investing in conservation and cultural services.
Wojciech Hardy presented on the change observed in music listening behaviour during the pandemic. The key takeaways were that the pandemic reduced music listening mainly through reduced mobility and that it also influenced the music listened – lower mobility implied that charting songs were: longer, with longer titles, older, and more acoustically diverse. The reason for this was attention economics, i.e. we have less and less attention, which affects our capacity for making informed rational choices – instead we increasingly rely on recommendation algorithms and just picking what’s out there. COVID-19 relaxed this relationship a bit by introducing (on average) more time for leisure when mobility was constrained.
Monika Murzyn-Kupisz and Chiara Dalle Nogare presented on corporate museums in Italy and their service provision based on the core functions (research, collection management, and dissemination), and visitor friendliness. Results show corporate museums do not provide more services but instead provide greater digital services compared to traditional museums, arguably due to their relation with the parent firm.
Trine Bille (co-authors Kasper Arendt, Bo T. Christensen, Vibeke Jensen and Beatrice Rangvid) presented on the impact of teaching models in higher education on non-creative employment in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs). Using a unique alumni dataset combined with a labour market and socio-demographic database in Denmark, they study 4,717 graduates from Business Schools and find that a high percentage of graduates are employed in the CCIs (24%) within 0-4 years after graduation. The study shows competence teaching models (emphasising learner-centric, situated, authentic, and experiential approaches to learning) positively increase chances of employment in the CCIs, these competences are strongly associated with competences needed in the CCIs.
Hendrik Sonnabend (co-author Trine Bille) presented a paper on female leadership in the movie business, with evidence from 130 years film making in Germany (1890-2023). Drawing on an online databased on German films, the data used cover 22,394 movies, where information is available on the director’s name (from which the director’s gender is categorized). Additional variables are the year of release, the type and length of the movie, the production company and the producer, prizes, and public funding, among others. The results of the analyses document a closing gap in female leadership in the German movie industry. Possible explanations are the establishment of sector-specific formal education that may work as a job market signal to overcome discrimination, and public funding. However, when it comes to making films that provide a living, the gender gap is still present and substantial.
Enrico Bertacchini and Alice Fontana presented a comparative study on the management of and access to digital resources in Italian museums, proposing a data management planning approach to study and disentangling key phases of the access and management strategy.
Enrico Bertacchini, with Francesco Puletti, also presented on the role of Italian independent artists-run spaces as incubators of artistic careers. Results show which factors influence the capacity of artist-run spaces to provide more effective strategies than those individually pursued by the artists to face the complexity of their labour market.
Marie Ballarini presented on the economic and artistic implications of the technical standardization of virtual reality, proposing a detailed study of the ecosystem of virtual technologies and artists involved.
Bartosz Jusypenko and Trilce Navarrete presented the results from a pilot discrete experiment survey to understand consumers’ preference for museum shop products, containing educational, sustainable, luxury, artistic, or personalised characteristics. Results showed consumers are sensible to price, and have a diverse preference on product characteristics that support sustainability, creation by local artist, and use of revenue for a social cause.
Stefano Russo, Bartosz Jusypenko, and Trilce Navarrete presented on a survey about the Generation Z attitudes towards digital museum participation. Results from the survey show that the cohort engages with digital content not for leisure but for educational reasons, suggesting a closed market. Regarding determinants for participation, digital capital is a new form of capital not previously captured, while living in cities ceases to outperform participation. This is an important finding, as digital remote access is increasingly considered of sufficient quality for those not able otherwise to have a physical experience.
Peter Booth presented on the value associated with online and onsite cultural participation based on a the multi correspondence analysis treatment of a 2022 online survey in Norway on cultural consumption, resulting in oppositions in 3 axis related to (1) being interested or sceptic about cultural consumption online, (2) on identifying benefits for information access online, and (3) on the the type of content accessed. Results suggest there is a generational change regarding the attitude towards cultural participation online.
Jordi Mckenzie and Paul Crosby presented a study on the bias of listeners towards piano variations of popular music when interpreted by AI. Survey results show participants rate consistently lower the piano variation when informed this is done by AI (even if it is interpreted by a professional pianist). We suggested future research could also include a gender dimension where female piano interpreters would be included in the options.
Alexis Perron Brault presented on the effectiveness of song placement on video games and found that the songs that are placed in the menu have a greater popularity effect as identified in online streams. This may be because not all players ‘finish’ the game but all players spend a fair amount of time at the menu figuring out settings and getting started.
AIMAC and ACEI organised a joint panel discussion to explore potential collaboration between the organisations. The panel included Marilena Vecco, Jordie Mckenzie, Enrico Bertacchini, and Pierre Jean Benghozi. The lively discussion evidenced the commonalities of the two organisations: both have interest in the arts and culture sectors and industries, both have (alternating) biannual meetings, both have a journal, and both have interest in exchanging perspectives to advance understanding of the field. At the end of the panel, it became clear that the two organisations want to explore exchange and will be following up at the ACEI 2025 in Rotterdam.
The panel involved a discussion among the speakers and with the entire audience present, through continuous interaction and exchange of feedback. It was focused on the need for bridging gaps between the two fields, arts and cultural management and cultural economics perspectives.
A lively debate aimed at improving the effectiveness of research and practice in the cultural field emerged, emphasising the importance of interdisciplinary and collaboration. In particular, three major key questions/topic for future research were identified:
- Digitization
- Sustainability
- Local development and tourism
The importance of curiosity as a driver and stimulus for research was also emphasised: it drives scholars to explore new territories, promotes creativity, and fosters interdisciplinary dialogue… Curiosity sparks innovative solutions to contemporary cultural research challenges!
