Building Sustainable Success in Art Galleries: An Exploratory Study of Adaptive Strategies

Historically, art galleries have operated in a cottage industry that placed a premium on building unique relations with artists and clients. Recent economic and technological trends threaten the viability of this model. Art galleries now face a very challenging environment, demanding careful attention to strategy formulation and execution. However, more questions than answers can be found in the literature about management practices, art gallery performance, and factors affecting gallery success. This paper reports findings on these issues from an exploratory survey of Colorado art galleries. Results suggest that art gallery owners and mangers are not overly concerned about external pressures influencing their organizations. This attitude could adversely affect efforts to build sustainable success and value through adaptive strategies