Sustainable Management of Contemporary Art Galleries: A Delphi Survey for the Spanish Art Market

Abstract

The art market operates in a very different way from conventional economic markets, ranging from its behaviors of supply and demand, the trading of goods, and the economic agents intervening in it. In addition, it is a highly unregulated market, with very little standardized information in economic terms. This paper focuses on art galleries, which are the most influential intermediaries in the Spanish primary contemporary fine-art market and perform a role that goes beyond the mere distribution of works of art. This study develops and applies a prospective methodology based on the subjective information compiled by experts, known as the Delphi method, to identify and evaluate the factors that determine the current situation and future outlook for Spanish contemporary art galleries. The results show, on one hand, that the method employed constitutes a valid option to provide reliable information. In addition, they show that the survival of these organizations will depend on their ability to adapt to the changing conditions of the economic environment, reactivating and internationalizing demand, and redirecting their business model towards sustainable management by implementing appropriate business management models and techniques.

New Trends in Performing Arts in Korea: The Convergence of Pansori and Korean Contemporary Dance

“…Research using the Delphi technique is often used to derive ways to revitalize the art industry. Mateos-Ronco, and Peiró Torralba (Mateos-Ronco & Peiró Torralba, 2019) analyzed the sustainable management of contemporary art galleries using the Delphi technique. They focused on art galleries, performing a role beyond the mere distribution of art.…”

Growth of Firms in a Fragmented Cultural Industry: Italian Commercial Art Galleries’ Competitive Strategies

“…The role of galleries in the art market was established in the 1880s [33], when galleries, as dealers, became a driving force in the art system. For over a century, they have played a central role for artists needing to reach potential customers [28], representing the most effective known channel [34].…”

“…More specifically, we do not know whether art galleries tend to employ only focus or niche strategies or which specific competitive strategies are associated with their growth. Furthermore, while the literature on the growth of SMEs has identified important variables within a set of internal factors that can be correlated to growth (for example, type of firm strategy or ownership) [22][23][24][25], we do not know which of them are relevant for art galleries, as few researchers have focused on their strategies and managerial choices with few exceptions [26][27][28]. Filling this gap is important not only to extend and test theory in cultural sectors and industries but also because smaller cultural firms often lack the necessary managerial competencies to autonomously identify which strategies are more appropriate for effective competition and growth.…”

The managerialization of museums and art institutions: perspectives from an empirical analysis

“…Managerialization has been thought to be especially suitable for overcoming the period of shrinking financial resources and economic tightness experienced by museums over the past few years (Moldoveanu and Ioan-Franc, 2011). Paving the way for a differentiation of revenue sources, it may contribute to increasing the financial sustainability of cultural institutions (Mateos-Ronco and Torralba, 2019). Furthermore, the managerial shift heralds a reconfiguration of the museums’ exchanges with their stakeholders, opening up new avenues for value co-creation (Loureiro and Ferreira, 2018).…”