IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v11y2000i3p263-269.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Balancing Act: Learning from Organizing Practices in Cultural Industries

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph Lampel

    (The Business School, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road, Nottingham NG8 1BB, United Kingdom)

  • Theresa Lant

    (Management Department, Stern School of Business, New York University, 44 West 4th Street, New York, New York 10012-1126)

  • Jamal Shamsie

    (Anderson School of Business, University of California at Los Angeles, 110 Westwood Plaza, Suite D508, Los Angeles, California 90095-1481)

Abstract

The dilemmas experienced by managers in cultural industries are also to be found in a growing number of other industries where knowledge and creativity are key to sustaining competitive advantage. Firms that compete in cultural industries must deal with a combination of ambiguity and dynamism, both of which are intrinsic to goods that serve an aesthetic or expressive rather than a utilitarian purpose. Managers involved with the creation, production, marketing, and distribution of cultural goods must navigate tensions that arise from opposing imperatives that result from these industry characteristics. In this paper we outline five polarities that are shaping organizational practices in cultural industries. First, managers must reconcile expression of artistic values with the economics of mass entertainment. Second, they must seek novelty that differentiates their products without making them fundamentally different in nature from others in the same category. Third, they must analyse and address existing demand while at the same time using their imagination to extend and transform the market. Fourth, they must balance the advantages of vertically integrating diverse activities under one roof against the need to maintain creative vitality through flexible specialization. And finally, they must build creative systems to support and market cultural products but not allow the system to suppress individual inspiration, which is ultimately at the root of creating value in cultural industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Lampel & Theresa Lant & Jamal Shamsie, 2000. "Balancing Act: Learning from Organizing Practices in Cultural Industries," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(3), pages 263-269, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:11:y:2000:i:3:p:263-269
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.11.3.263.12503
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.11.3.263.12503
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.11.3.263.12503?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Holbrook, Morris B & Hirschman, Elizabeth C, 1982. "The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 9(2), pages 132-140, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Küper, Inken & Edinger-Schons, Laura Marie, 2020. "Is sharing up for sale? Monetary exchanges in the sharing economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 223-234.
    2. Siwarit Pongsakornrungsilp & Pimlapas Pongsakornrungsilp & Theeranuch Pusaksrikit & Pimmada Wichasin & Vikas Kumar, 2021. "Co-Creating a Sustainable Regional Brand from Multiple Sub-Brands: The Andaman Tourism Cluster of Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-23, August.
    3. Eunae Jung & Hyungun Sung, 2017. "The Influence of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak on Online and Offline Markets for Retail Sales," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-23, March.
    4. Moriuchi, Emi & Takahashi, Ikuo, 2022. "The role of perceived value, trust and engagement in the C2C online secondary marketplace," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 76-88.
    5. Severin Oesterle & Arne Buchwald & Nils Urbach, 2022. "Investigating the co-creation of IT consulting service value: empirical findings of a matched pair analysis," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(2), pages 571-597, June.
    6. Trinh Le Tan & Khanh Nguyen Chau Ngoc & Hien Le Thi Thanh & Hoai Nguyen Thi Thu & Uyen Vo Truong Hoang, 2024. "Enhancing Repurchase Intention on Digital Platforms Based on Shopping Well-Being Through Shopping Value, Trust and Impulsive Buying," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, September.
    7. Paul MUKUCHA & Divaries Cosmas JARAVAZA & Forbes MAKUDZA, 2022. "Towards Gender-Based Market Segmentation: The Differential Influence of Gender on Dining Experiences in the University Cafeteria Industry," Management and Economics Review, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 7(2), pages 182-200, June.
    8. Ju Hyoung Han & Andy S. Choi & Chi-Ok Oh, 2018. "The Effects of Environmental Value Orientations and Experience-Use History on the Conservation Value of a National Park," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Lo, Ada & Qu, Hailin, 2015. "A theoretical model of the impact of a bundle of determinants on tourists’ visiting and shopping intentions: A case of mainland Chinese tourists," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 231-243.
    10. Davis, Lizhu & Hodges, Nancy, 2012. "Consumer shopping value: An investigation of shopping trip value, in-store shopping value and retail format," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 229-239.
    11. Hye Jung Jung & Yun Jung Choi & Kyung Wha Oh, 2020. "Influencing Factors of Chinese Consumers’ Purchase Intention to Sustainable Apparel Products: Exploring Consumer “Attitude–Behavioral Intention” Gap," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, February.
    12. Hufrish Majra & Rajan Saxena & Sumi Jha & Srinath Jagannathan, 2016. "Structuring Technology Applications for Enhanced Customer Experience: Evidence from Indian Air Travellers," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 17(2), pages 351-374, April.
    13. Jonathan Dezecot & Nathalie Fleck, 2017. "D'artisan traditionnel à marque artisan : quelle perception de l'artisan par le consommateur ?," Post-Print halshs-02952967, HAL.
    14. Imran Khan & Furrukh Bashir & Rashid Ahmad & Muhammad Ayub, 2021. "Shopping Motivation and Green Consumption: A Study about Green Buying Behavior of Pakistani Consumers," iRASD Journal of Management, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 3(3), pages 233-242, December.
    15. Emilie Hoëllard, 2018. "Lights… Camera… Action! Staging of actors in store," Post-Print hal-01710887, HAL.
    16. Edvin Zhllima & Gentjan Mehmeti & Drini Imami, 2021. "Consumer Preferences for Cheese with Focus on Food Safety—A Segmentation Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-12, November.
    17. Holmqvist, Jonas & Ponsignon, Frédéric, 2025. "Liminality in customer experiences: The uncertain outcome of employing liminal spaces for customer escapism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    18. Park, Hyejune & Joyner Armstrong, Cosette M., 2019. "Is money the biggest driver? Uncovering motives for engaging in online collaborative consumption retail models for apparel," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 42-50.
    19. Ji-Eun Kim & Eun-Soo Park, 2021. "The Spatial Design Marketing Strategy of Global Franchises That Take into Consideration the Characteristics of Modern Consumers—A Study Involving the Global Coffee Companies of Starbucks and Blue Bott," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-36, July.
    20. Sanjeev Swami & Jehoshua Eliashberg & Charles B. Weinberg, 1999. "SilverScreener: A Modeling Approach to Movie Screens Management," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(3), pages 352-372.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:11:y:2000:i:3:p:263-269. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.