Performing arts organizations: can good governance help in the professionalization process?

International audienceThis paper focuses on governance of organizations that recently started employing professional managers. Professionalization is characterized by its need to acquire professional management competencies and its reluctance to become more formalized (Hwang and Powell, 2009). The aim of this research is to better understand governance of performing arts organizations, with a focus on the board/staff relationship. The author conducted a qualitative study comprising a 590-hour participant observation and interviews with seventeen board members, staff and artists in seven different organizations. She identifies the need for non-profit performing arts organizations to have implicated board members who help setting up a long-term strategy. With cutbacks constraining most performing arts organizations, understanding the role of an effective board helps finding a sustainable path in an uncertain environment. This research also extends our understanding of professionalization in artistic organizations