Doing (and Using) Research in Arts and Cultural Management

Russell Belk is York University Distinguished Research Professor and Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at Schulich School of Business, York University. His research involves the extended self, the arts, collecting, gift-giving, sharing, digital consumption, and materialism. He is primarily qualitative and often conceptual, visual, and cultural. He has over 800 publications; in 2012 a 10-volume subset was published in Sage’s Legends in Consumer Behavior series. In 2023 he received an honorary doctorate with festschrift from Université de Reims. He co-initiated the Consumer Behavior Odyssey, the ACR Film Festival, and the Consumer Culture Theory Conference.François Colbert has been active in the field of arts and culture for over 50 years, particularly in the performing arts, museum, and film sectors. He has given numerous training and professional development seminars in arts management, with a focus on the field of marketing management in a cultural context. He is professor of marketing and holder of the Carmelle and Rémi Marcoux Chair in Arts Management at HEC Montréal. He founded the AIMAC Conference and the International Journal of Arts Management. He is the codirector of the Master of Management in International Arts Management and author of the book Marketing Culture and the Arts published in 16 languages.Danilo C. Dantas is Professor of Marketing at HEC Montréal, Canada, where he serves as the pedagogical director of the Professional Master’s and Graduate Diploma in Management of Cultural Organizations. His research focuses on the marketing of music, employing various research methods. His work has been published in the European Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Interactive Marketing, the International Journal of Arts Management, and the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, among others. He is also the co-chair of AIMAC, the International Association of Arts and Culture Management.Ruth Rentschler OAM is Professor of Arts and Cultural Leadership, UniSA Business, Adelaide, Australia. Is an Honorary Visiting Adjunct Professor at John Moore’s Business School University, Liverpool, and is a Guest Professor Peking University and Supervising Professor Flinders University.Her research entails creative topics focusing on inclusion and diversity. Ruth’s work is often qualitative, with particular interest in unique longitudinal secondary data sets, the self and others, and more recently film and the digital world. She has designed and taught research methods at PhD level in numerous universities around the world. Ruth has received national and international awards for her contributions to arts and cultural management and higher education. She is widely published, including her most recent book, Routledge Companion to Governance in the Arts World (Rentschler, Reid & Donelli, Routledge, Eds., 2025).Jennifer Wiggins is Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Kent State University, Ohio, USA, and Co-Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Arts Management. Her research on consumer willingness to donate, willingness to pay for arts experiences, and willingness to support new creative and social ventures has been published in top journals in marketing, entrepreneurship, and arts management. Her methodological expertise is in experimental design and measurement. She has mentored over two dozen doctoral students and teaches philosophy of science, theory development, and research methods at the doctoral level.

"As data continue to drive decision making, funding, and policy cultural managers need resources like this book to aid them in learning, doing, and using research." Constance DeVereaux, State University of New York at Buffalo, USA"Written by five experienced arts management professors this comprehensive and digestible book about research methods and publication practices in arts and cultural management, specifically, is a much-needed practical resource for undergraduate and graduate students as well as their professors and mentors. The authors provide clear definitions, detailed research design descriptions and examples that will inspire fellow researchers and professional managers working in an increasingly complex and complicated arts and cultural economy." Diane Claussen, DePaul University, USA

• PrefaceChapter 1 Foundations of arts and cultural researchWhat is research?Academic researchInformation search from the manager's point of viewQualitative ResearchQuantitative researchThe importance of writing clearlyHow to use this BookReferencesChapter 2: Research Questions and Research DesignsIntroductionStep 1: Identify Your Potential ContributionStep 2: Clarify Your Research GoalStep 3: Specify Your Research QuestionStep 4: Select Your Research DesignConclusionReferencesChapter 3: Doing ethics in arts and cultural management researchIntroductionEthical dilemmasTypes of ethical dilemmasTypes of ethical breachesA research ethics frameworkSteps in the research ethics processGaining RespectBuilding TrustBeing responsible and accountableIndividual CommunityInstitutionalConclusionReferencesChapter 4 What, Why and How: Writing a Literature ReviewIntroductionWhat is a literature ReviewSteps in a Literature Review1. Define the boundaries/gaps of your subject.2. Define the constructs or concepts you are going to use.3. Explain your contribution to knowledge.4. Address Your AudienceTypes of Literature ReviewThematic literature reviewSystematic Literature reviewAnnotated bibliographic analysisNetnographyMeta-analysisSpectroscopyConclusionReferencesChapter 5: Survey ResearchIntroductionStep 1: Selecting and Sampling ParticipantsStep 2: Measuring the VariablesStep 3: Designing and Distributing the Survey QuestionnaireStep 5: Analyzing and Presenting the DataConclusionReferencesChapter 6: Depth Interview ResearchIntroductionStep 1: Literature Review and Research QuestionStep 2: Locating Participants and Preparing for InterviewsStep 3: Conducting the InterviewStep 4: Transcribe, Code, AnalyzeStep 5: Write-up or Edit your FindingsConclusionReferencesChapter 7: Experimental ResearchIntroductionStep 1: Selecting the Type of ExperimentStep 2: Determining the Factorial DesignStep 3: Designing and Pretesting the ManipulationsStep 4: Designing and Distributing the QuestionnaireStep 5: Analyzing and Presenting the DataConclusionReferencesChapter 8: Case Studies IntroductionWhat is Case Study?When to Use Case Studies as a Research Method?3.0 Key stages in case study researchStep 1: Define a research questionStep 2: Determine the subject and set the boundariesStep 3: Craft and test the tools Step 4: Collect dataPrinciple 1: use multiple sources of evidencePrinciple 2: create a case study database Step 5: Analyze the dataConclusionReferencesChapter 9: Ethnography, Netnography, and ObservationIntroductionEthnographyNetnographyStep 1: Locate DataStep 2: Data AnalysisStep 3: Data InterpretationStep 4. Publishing your NetnographyObservationAutoethnographyMechanical ObservationNon-Participant and Unobtrusive ObservationConclusionReferencesChapter 10: Effective Writing and Presentations IntroductionStep 1: Preparing to Communicate Your ResearchStep 2: Framing the Phenomenon and Research QuestionStep 3: Writing a Literature Review and Theoretical FoundationStep 4: Writing Methods Sections and FindingsStep 5: Writing Discussion and Conclusion SectionsWriting for a Managerial AudienceConclusionReferencesConclusion