Towards a new conceptual framework for business investments in the arts: some examples from Italy

Sponsorship and cultural patronage has often been associated with a company’s non-business or philanthropic plans. They have always been treated as separate practices from the core activities of any particular business and have not been analysed from a business perspective. Although some research has tried to highlight the role of sponsorship as a marketing tool within a business marketing perspective, not as much attention has been given to the support and involvement of companies with arts and cultural activities. Nevertheless, the Italian landscape presents some interesting challenges and trends for making sense of business investment in the arts from a business perspective. Existing models do not seem to provide a meaningful explanation to why companies are becoming more involved with arts and culture. A new conceptual framework needs to be drawn which takes into consideration the cultural economy perspective. Such a framework needs to present business investments in the arts as a meaningful socio-economic choice within a company value-chain and must attempt to investigate its impact in terms of economic competitiveness. Our preliminary findings suggest the value of such a framework in the specific case of Italian companies investing and collaborating with the arts, but further research is needed to consider its application to other international contexts.