Barriers to inter-organisational collaboration amongst performing arts organisations in South Africa

Abstract

There is significant financial pressure on the performing arts sector in South Africa. Demand for the performing arts sector needs to grow if this is to change. This requires inter-organisational collaboration. This study explores, through a grounded qualitative approach, the barriers to inter-organisational collaboration amongst performing arts organisations (PAOs) in South Africa, as seen through the experience of strategic leaders in the sector. These included views from commercial producers, theatres, festival and independent companies, and performing arts promoters. These organisations were professionally run with paid staff. The findings are then compared with the emerging literature in the field, conclusions drawn and recommendations made. Barriers identified include personal pride, artistic ideology, the survivalist reality, fragmented audiences and lack of support from government. The contextual complexity of South African post-apartheid society also acts as a barrier to collaboration. Ideas from the literature for overcoming these barriers are included. For practitioners, the problem of inter-organisational collaboration in the performing arts was identified. It appears as if inter-organisational collaboration (as a means of stimulating primary demand) is constrained when the financial pressures on a sector are so great as to push organisations into a corner. For academics, this study makes a contribution to the literature that is part of a broader relational and ‘shared-power’ turn in leadership studies, where collective action is increasingly required. The strong importance of contextual barriers confirms the call for an increased ‘field-level’ analysis.