Donna and Vijay’s Article Published in International Journal of Arts Management
New article officially published by Vijay Sathe and Donna Finley in the IJAM – International Journal of Arts Management.
“This article will explain how business model innovation (BMI) was implemented to renew two leading Canadian arts organizations: the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) and Alberta Ballet (AB). In both organizations, failure had resulted because their traditional business models had not adapted to deal with market, economic, and competitive pressures, changing audience needs and cultural/societal shifts.”
Across North America today, arts organizations are typically undercapitalized, too often generate operating deficits, and are fighting to stay solvent. In Canada, fiscal instability was exacerbated when public funding was significantly reduced. Covid-19 has devastated arts organizations even further.
All too often, attempts at renewal are focused on reinventing the art, re-capitalizing, or laying off staff, rather than an reimagining the underlying business model. The conventional operating models are continued and, with each new annual deficit, operating capital erodes further. When levels of deficit and negative working capital become intolerable, arts organizations typically devise temporary solutions such as private “save the arts” recapitalization campaigns, government bailouts, staff layoffs, temporary wage rollbacks or, in extreme cases, bankruptcy and restart.”
