The Value Innovation of Symphony Orchestras and the Triggering Effect of Coronavirus

Abstract

The current coronavirus situation both gives an opportunity to the organizations and forces them to change and rethink fundamentally their business models. The pandemic causes an extremely difficult situation for symphony orchestras, as they have to cancel their performances and redefine how to reach their audience. Either they follow a Red Ocean Strategy and lose significant revenue or develop a Blue Ocean Strategy and prosper. The Blue Ocean Strategy involves a value innovation that can be achieved by four actions (eliminate, reduce, raise, create) and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization. After briefly reviewing the concept of business model innovation, the article gives an overview of some novel aspirations, attempts and projects selected from international and Hungarian symphonic orchestral life to provide excellent examples of how the value proposition can be redefined and how the expectations of the 21st-century audience can be met.