Art in the age of its digital reproduction: reimagining performing organisations in the context of discontinuous institutional change

Abstract

My research, which navigates a space between organisational self-interest and institutional conformity, investigates how organisations and their members respond to and influence changes to the institutional environment in which they operate following discontinuous technological change. It draws together themes from the innovation literature and institutional theory to inform new insights on how changes in technology trigger shifts in the logics that define institutional fields and field members. My research focuses on how nonprofit arts organisations are responding to environmental changes following new technology and its social uses. Specifically, I consider how classical music organisations (orchestras and opera companies) are reimagining "who they are" in response to digital innovation. My research sample includes, the New York Philharmonic orchestra, the London Symphony orchestra and the Royal Opera House.