When is “enough” enough? Modeling the information‐seeking and stopping behavior of senior arts administrators

Among managers, those who are responsible for nonprofit organizations in general and arts organizations in particular have been an understudied group. These managers have much in common with their for‐profit counterparts, but their environment also differs in significant ways. The goal of this exploratory research effort was to identify how senior administrators in fine arts museums and symphony orchestras go about identifying and acquiring the information they want to complete a range of management tasks. Deciding when and where to look for information, obtaining the “right” information at the time it is needed, evaluating its credibility and utility, and determining when “enough” information has been collected are challenges facing this group of information users every day. A multiple‐case studies design involving a replication strategy was selected to structure the research process. Data were collected from 12 arts administrators using a pretested interview protocol that included the Critical Incident Technique. Patterns in the data were identified, and the data were further reviewed for disconfirming evidence. The study resulted in a list of the types and sources of information that arts administrators use as well as a list of the factors or “stopping criteria” that influence them to end their information‐seeking process. A model describing the way in which arts administrators go about acquiring the information they want was also developed. The main findings of the study are (a) arts administrators do not consider information seeking to be a discrete management task, (b) they rely heavily on direct personal experience to fill their information‐seeking needs, and (c) they are “satisficers” when it comes to seeking information. Based on Simon's alternative to rational choice theory, satisficers are people who are willing to pursue a “good enough” option rather than the best possible option (maximizers) (Simon, 1956). Since arts administrators have not been studied in the context of LIS research before, understanding more about where they go for information, what factors influence the level of effort they are willing to invest in seeking information, and how they decide when they have “enough” information provides insights into the information‐seeking behavior of a new user group. Furthermore, although this research effort is focused on specific users in a specific field, the results from this study may be compared to what we already know about other user groups to confirm and expand existing models of information‐seeking behavior.