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The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of a greater marketing orientation among arts organisations and its impact on funding through sponsorship.

Utilising a qualitative methodology, the study employs case studies for the purpose of formulating tentative and emergent knowledge.

The case study observations reveal the adoption of a marketing orientation across the sample and most significantly for the purposes of securing and consolidating sponsorship relationships. But contrary to popular academic theory this is managed without significant threat to artistic integrity or adaptation of theatrical productions.

Data were derived from a purposive but limited sample. The advantages of a qualitative method in producing rich data is well established, however a longitudinal study would facilitate the understanding of the temporal shifts in arts sponsorships and counter the limits of the cross‐sectional nature of the study.

The study reveals a managerial capacity for arts organisations to attract sponsorship through customer orientation without the need to compromise its artistic and social goals.

A central concern to the increasing significance of business and private funding for the survival of arts organisations is the impact this has on the producers ability to remain faithful to the artistic integrity of their productions. This longstanding academic debate now has predominance in arts marketing management and the issues addressed in this paper serve to address this shift in emphasis.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the sensemaking strategies of managers involved in making decisions concerning arts sponsorship.

A qualitative, multiple case method is employed, using multiple informants in ten arts sponsorship decisions. Within and between case analyses were conducted and examined iteratively, along with literature to generate themes to guide future research.

This study finds art sponsorships may be seen as ambiguous, cueing sensemaking; the sensemaking strategies of senior managers involve response to pro-social cues while middle managers draw on commercial benefit cues; sensebreaking and sensegiving are part of the process; and the actors and their interpretations draw from cues in the organisational frames of reference which act as filters, giving meaning to the situations.

This study presents a novel perspective on these decisions, focusing on the micro-level actions and interpretations of actors. It extends current understanding of sponsorship decision making, contributing to a perspective of managers responding to cues, interacting and making sense of their decisions.

For arts managers, this perspective provides understanding of how managers (potential sponsors) respond to multiple cues, interpret and rationalise arts sponsorships. For corporate managers, insights reveal differences in sensemaking between hierarchical levels, and the role of interaction, and organisational frames of reference.

This study is unique in its approach to understanding these decisions in terms of sensemaking, through the use of multiple informants and multiple case studies.

In an arts organisation context, this paper aims to further the understanding of service relationships by developing a framework explaining how sponsored arts organisations could better manage their relationships with sponsors to facilitate mutual benefit and relationship persistence.

Grounded theory methodology was applied to sponsorship of arts organisations through interviews with the managers of arts organisations worldwide who had been involved in seeking and managing sponsorship relationships.

Reciprocity was found to be the key factor in successful sponsorship relationships, but emotional reference to reputation was also important. Together they link uncertainty in the complex sponsorship environment with an arts organisation’s artistic ambitions.

This study extends the understanding of service relationships by shedding light on the sponsorship relationship from the sponsored organisation’s point of view and in particular highlighting the role of reciprocity in managing the relationship with their sponsor.

Understanding the moderating roles of reciprocity and reputation in sponsorship relationships helps to explain key facets of such relationships which can partially negate sponsor benefits and threaten a sponsorship’s continuation.

Social exchange theory literature posits that a relationship is dependent on the strength of its social interactions and is clear upon the role of trust, power and commitment within that relationship as a means of value creation. However, an understanding of the nature of experiences, expectations, motivations and perceptions as components of the value derivation process are missing. SET literature does not identify these components as antecedents to value creation but central to value derived. This research builds upon that premise to give understanding into how value is derived from arts sponsorships.

A qualitative exploratory approach is used to research arts sponsorships in New Zealand of differing size, duration and profile.

This research gives understanding into the nature of experiences, expectations, motivations and perceptions as components parts of value derivation and their interactions resulting in the creation of an iterative value derivation model of the life cycle of an arts sponsorship relationship from a business perspective.

This research has relevance for both academics and marketing managers involved in arts sponsorship. The findings from this research can be used as an analytical tool to help businesses when evaluating their arts sponsorship.

Argues that the general area of commercial sponsorship activity, while attracting increasing interest from marketing practitioners as an important strategic option in marketing communications, has not been the subject of sufficiently rigorous and comprehensive investigation by theoreticians. States the purpose is to establish and consolidate the available body of knowledge combining an overview of the standard conceptual approaches to marketing communication with an examination of the recent academic research in sponsorship, while maintaining a focus on current marketplace practice. Argues for a coherent and structured approach to the management of sponsorship expenditure through the application of a ‘management by objectives’ approach. Parameters are established in terms of a working definition of sponsorship, a review of its commercial development and an overview of current activity. Develops a commercially ration framework within which sponsorship activity may be undertaken. Views objective‐setting as the cornerstone of sponsorship management and outlines a classification of sponsorship objectives that subsumes current practice clarifies the range of potential benefits. Examines the criteria that govern rational sponsorship selection and proposes an evaluation strategy based on stated criteria. Methods of evaluating effects of marketing communications (sponsorship particularly) are examined and new evaluation techniques are advanced to facilitate the implementation of this rigorous scientific approach.

Arts sponsorship is very much a Cinderella sister of sports sponsorship. The amounts involved are vastly different, media exposure is much smaller and advertising opportunities are less. Major objectives of arts sponsors are promotion of the corporate image, enhancement of community relations, and, to a certain degree, the promotion of brand awareness. An in‐depth case study by Middlesex Business School of the Peterborough Festival of Country Music revealed four main types of sponsors. Sponsorship was identified as coming together in a field of flux rather than a strict matching. Characteristics of both the Company and Event were identified which were influential in determining the process of sponsorship. When identified, these characteristics enable an accurate picture of the sponsorship relationship to be drawn. With this in focus, wider issues of control and policy, social influences and ideology in relation to cultural issues may be considered.

The purpose of this paper is to address a particular tension in arts marketing, that is, the ongoing search for balance between achieving artistic excellence and financial stability, while keeping work accessible and satisfying a range of stakeholders, public and private.

Using Fiske’s (1992) relational models theory as a framework to categorize different modes of exchange between a sponsor and an arts organization, this paper focusses on the varied nature of interactions between parties.

Drawing on data from a longitudinal case study, the authors evaluate the many opportunities and risks associated with sponsorship arrangements and to explore how these become manifest and potentially resolved within the relational structure over time. Moreover, the authors examine how an arts marketer can employ particular relational models of exchange to mitigate the risks of another model which is operational within the sponsorship.

The aim of this paper is to consider the variety of exchange ongoing in long-term sponsorship arrangements, and in using Fiske’s RM theory, to identify the risk and opportunities associated with these exchanges. The case study examined here is, of course, idiosyncratic in terms of people, time and place. However, what is general, and what the authors wish to draw attention to, is how managers can employ different models of exchange to mitigate risks arising out of the dominance of any one model in the sponsorship relationship.

For executives involved in the management of sponsorship relationships, a rich understanding of their risks and opportunities is important. For example, rather than assuming that market-based considerations or social bonds to be either wholly positive or negative, in this paper the authors have demonstrated that each can have an important role in the dynamic of sponsorship relationships. Therefore, for example, while strong social bonds will mitigate the risks of market-based mechanisms, the risks of social bonds themselves can be balanced through appropriate intermittent recourse to market-based mechanisms. In any specific sponsorship arrangement it will become a matter of balance, and a development of understanding of the role of market, hierarchical, reciprocal and communal dimensions associated with long-term relationships.

In this regard, the authors offer six propositions, which capture the mitigation and enhancement of risks and opportunities, respectively, as well as considerations for relationship dynamics arising from the analysis.

In line with the reappraisal of the welfare state concept started in the 1980s and culminated in the recent economic crisis, governments have reduced the public funding available to cultural institutions. Thus, cultural institutions have progressively adopted more market-oriented practices, rethinking their relationship with the world of business in order to get additional economic resources. This chapter addresses corporate support to the arts and culture in the case of Italy, a country where government has traditionally played a central role in supporting culture. Drawing on the extant literature on sponsorships and corporate philanthropy, we propose a cluster analysis carried out on 160 investments in artistic or cultural activities made by 95 mid-sized Italian companies between 2008 and 2015. Results provide an up-to-date empirical evidence of corporate giving patterns in Italy and suggest an original typology of business investments in the arts and culture. Our study, focusing on the case of a Latin country and on a sample of mid-sized companies, extends the empirical settings usually investigated. Moreover, different from previous studies, we elucidate the influence that the characteristics of supporting organizations have on business investments in the arts and culture.

Business sponsorship is moving from sport to the arts, as companies recognise that there are equal publicity benefits at less cost. Dave Grayston looks at the growth of this patronage and talks to one enthusiastic supporter — Arts Minister, Hugh Jenkins.

The purpose of this paper is to report exploratory research into UK music festival attendees awareness of, and attitude towards, brands that sponsor music festivals. Sponsorship is an important revenue stream for music festivals, and, conversely brands perceive music festivals to be an effective channel through which to reach young target audiences. Further, there have been concerns expressed about the impact of alcohol sponsorship on drinking and health, but very little research has been conducted in this area.

A questionnaire was used as the primary method of data collection in order to investigate brand recall, brand awareness, brand use, brand attitude and any concerns about the potentially negative impacts of sponsorship, and specifically alcohol sponsorship.

There is evidence to suggest that brand sponsorship of music festivals has an impact on brand recall, awareness and attitude to the brand, but little evidence of impact on brand use. On the other hand, there are variations between brands and festivals. The values associated with sponsoring brands are largely positive. Some respondents indicated concerns about the consequences of sponsorship, particularly in relation to alcohol sponsorship.

This exploratory study has started a long overdue investigation into music festival attendees views on sponsorship. There is considerable scope for a larger scale study to investigate the impact of sponsorship over a larger number of brands and festivals, and to learn more about the sponsorship arrangements that have the most impact.