Bridging structural and micro-level factors in cultural labor studies

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine how the organizational structure of arts groups and their administrative personnel’s socio-demographic attributes affect the working conditions of and create tensions for their staff. Recent discussion about the cultural industries and labor has pursued two strands – macro-level research expounds on the organization of cultural industries and labor market; and micro-level studies focus on the work and employment of cultural practitioners. Very few of them, however, articulate the relationships between the two levels. This study contributes to the literature with a multilevel framework that examines the interplay between the structural conditions and personal factors in which labor–capital relationships evolve.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies a qualitative approach to collect and analyze data. It conducted 39 in-depth interviews with arts managers and administrators from a sample of 18 performing arts organizations across four performing arts sectors in Hong Kong, namely, drama, music, dance and opera. The stratified sample covers arts organizations of different funding models – the public “nationalized” form, the mixed-economy form, and the privatized form.FindingsThis study shows that the funding and organization model of arts organizations resulted in various forms of job structure, and that the practitioners’ socio-demographic background shapes their career expectations. The job structure and career expectations together affect the labor turnover and influence organization strategies.Originality/valueThis study’s methodological contribution lies on its application of a multilevel framework to analyze the relationships between the macro- and the micro-level factors underpinning the working conditions of labor in the cultural industries. Besides, it contributes to the discussion about “labor precariousness” with empirical evidence from a comparative study of arts managers and administrators from organizations across four performing arts sectors.