Disruptive innovation in the nonprofit arts and cultural sector

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Kernan
2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirae Kim

Nonprofits face increasing pressure to compete in the market, while they must maintain their civic commitment. Focusing on the arts and cultural sector, this study conducts the first large-scale, comprehensive empirical measurement of nonprofits’ engagement in various roles. The article uses a previously validated 18-item role index to categorize nonprofits as primarily engaged in either civic or market functions, so that a subsequent regression analysis can identify the common characteristics of civically active nonprofit arts service organizations. The data come from (a) qualitative interviews with leaders of arts nonprofits, (b) a random national sample of more than 900 arts nonprofits, and (c) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax returns of the sample nonprofits. The findings suggest that civically active arts nonprofits have diverse networks, recognize civic engagement as the industry norm, and are consciously aware of their nonprofit status. The results suggest how nonprofits can balance their equally important market- and civic-oriented functions.


Author(s):  
Lori Stahlbrand

This paper traces the partnership between the University of Toronto and the non-profit Local Food Plus (LFP) to bring local sustainable food to its St. George campus. At its launch, the partnership represented the largest purchase of local sustainable food at a Canadian university, as well as LFP’s first foray into supporting institutional procurement of local sustainable food. LFP was founded in 2005 with a vision to foster sustainable local food economies. To this end, LFP developed a certification system and a marketing program that matched certified farmers and processors to buyers. LFP emphasized large-scale purchases by public institutions. Using information from in-depth semi-structured key informant interviews, this paper argues that the LFP project was a disruptive innovation that posed a challenge to many dimensions of the established food system. The LFP case study reveals structural obstacles to operationalizing a local and sustainable food system. These include a lack of mid-sized infrastructure serving local farmers, the domination of a rebate system of purchasing controlled by an oligopolistic foodservice sector, and embedded government support of export agriculture. This case study is an example of praxis, as the author was the founder of LFP, as well as an academic researcher and analyst.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 578-583
Author(s):  
Irina P. Tikunova

The article presents an overview of the all-Russian scientific and practical conference (with international participation) “Information Context of Culture: Resources, Technologies, Service” (the 11th conference of heads and specialists of information services for culture and art). The conference, orga­nized by the Russian State Library, the Russian State Library of Arts, and the St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture, on the instructions of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, was held in Moscow on September 24—25, 2019. Its purpose was to summarize the results of scientific research and practical experience on the issues of information support of the cultural sector in the digital age, to identify some problems and find ways to overcome them, and to demonstrate the best achievements in this field. The conference was attended by more than 90 representatives of cultural management bodies, federal, regional and municipal libraries, universities, training centers and other organizations of culture, science, education and mass media from 22 regions of Russia, as well as heads and specialists of national libraries of Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (via video link). Thanks to the online broadcast, the total audience of the event increased by almost 200 people. The conference participants noted the importance of scientific and information activities in the cultural sector both for society in general and for the sector’s development in particular. In order to improve this work, the conference participants recommended to promote its digitalization, which is aimed at creating public resources for culture and art and organizing information services in the 7/24 mode via the Internet, including on mobile devices; to intensify the mutual use of resources through participation in joint projects; and to strictly observe copyright when creating information resources and methodological materials.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Srivastava ◽  
Dr. Preeti Sharma

Increased competition, new technologies and the shift in power from the provider to the customer have produced unrelenting pressure on life insurance business. The market forces point to one overwhelming strategic imperative: customer-focused strategy. Customers are willing to build long-term relationships based on trust and mutual respect with firms that provide a differentiated and personalized service offering. Over the past few years, life insurance industry responded to intensified competition and high customer attrition by entering each other’s markets to capture greater “wallet share” and ostensibly lower their economies of scale. The service delivery process is influenced by quality of personnel, information technology, internal processes, human resource practices, and even an institution’s own change orientation. Now a day’s customers are demanding seamless, multi-channel sales and service experiences. Simultaneously, other players are looking for opportunities to invade this space or to redefine it through disruptive innovation. The result is forcing life insurance companies to examine a more balanced, integrated approach to the customer experience and growth. This research, we analyze the need, preference and satisfaction of customers in life insurance business and provide perspective on how to improve the customer experience.


Author(s):  
Jeremias Prassl

The rise of the gig economy is disrupting business models across the globe. Platforms’ digital work intermediation has had a profound impact on traditional conceptions of the employment relationship. The completion of ‘tasks’, ‘gigs’, or ‘rides’ in the (digital) crowd fundamentally challenges our understanding of work in modern labour markets: gone are the stable employment relationships between firms and workers, replaced by a world in which everybody can be ‘their own boss’ and enjoy the rewards—and face the risks—of independent businesses. Is this the future of work? What are the benefits and challenges of crowdsourced work? How can we protect consumers and workers without stifling innovation? Humans as a Service provides a detailed account of the growth and operation of gig-economy platforms, and develops a blueprint for solutions to the problems facing on-demand workers, platforms, and their customers. Following a brief introduction to the growth and operation of on-demand platforms across the world, the book scrutinizes competing narratives about ‘gig’ work. Drawing on a wide range of case studies, it explores how claims of ‘disruptive innovation’ and ‘micro-entrepreneurship’ often obscure the realities of precarious work under strict algorithmic surveillance, and the return to a business model that has existed for centuries. Humans as a Service shows how employment law can address many of these problems: gigs, tasks, and rides are work—and should be regulated as such. A concluding chapter demonstrates the broader benefits of a level playing field for consumers, taxpayers, and innovative entrepreneurs.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Colin J. McMahon ◽  
Justin T. Tretter ◽  
Theresa Faulkner ◽  
R. Krishna Kumar ◽  
Andrew N. Redington ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: This study investigated the impact of the Webinar on deep human learning of CHD. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional survey design study used an open and closed-ended questionnaire to assess the impact of the Webinar on deep learning of topical areas within the management of the post-operative tetralogy of Fallot patients. This was a quantitative research methodology using descriptive statistical analyses with a sequential explanatory design. Results: One thousand-three-hundred and seventy-four participants from 100 countries on 6 continents joined the Webinar, 557 (40%) of whom completed the questionnaire. Over 70% of participants reported that they “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the Webinar format promoted deep learning for each of the topics compared to other standard learning methods (textbook and journal learning). Two-thirds expressed a preference for attending a Webinar rather than an international conference. Over 80% of participants highlighted significant barriers to attending conferences including cost (79%), distance to travel (49%), time commitment (51%), and family commitments (35%). Strengths of the Webinar included expertise, concise high-quality presentations often discussing contentious issues, and the platform quality. The main weakness was a limited time for questions. Just over 53% expressed a concern for the carbon footprint involved in attending conferences and preferred to attend a Webinar. Conclusion: E-learning Webinars represent a disruptive innovation, which promotes deep learning, greater multidisciplinary participation, and greater attendee satisfaction with fewer barriers to participation. Although Webinars will never fully replace conferences, a hybrid approach may reduce the need for conferencing, reduce carbon footprint. and promote a “sustainable academia”.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-465
Author(s):  
Stanley N. Katz ◽  
Leah Reisman

AbstractThis article discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement on the arts and cultural sector in the United States, placing the 2020 crises in the context of the United States’s historically decentralized approach to supporting the arts and culture. After providing an overview of the United States’s private, locally focused history of arts funding, we use this historical lens to analyze the combined effects of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement on a single metropolitan area – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We trace a timeline of key events in the national and local pandemic response and the reaction of the arts community to the Black Lives Matter movement, arguing that the nature of these intersecting responses, and their fallout for the arts and cultural sector, stem directly from weaknesses in the United States’s historical approach to administering the arts. We suggest that, in the context of widespread organizational vulnerability caused by the pandemic, the United States’s decentralized approach to funding culture also undermines cultural organizations’ abilities to respond to issues of public relevance and demonstrate their civic value, threatening these organizations’ legitimacy.


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