Management in the Performing Arts: An Empirical Exploration of Organizational Structures in Indian Theatre

Abstract

It is well established that organizational structure is critical to the performance of organizations. For performing arts organizations, especially from developing countries such as India, mere survival is a struggle and sustainability becomes a vital goal before the achievement of mission. Our emergent conceptual framework, based on a grounded theory study of six theatre organizations, sheds light on aspects of organizational structure that have contributed to organizational sustainability. Theatre organizations in India are highly dependent on a small core group, often comprising founders or founding families, and rely on strong personal networks in the arts sector. They are supported by membership that is flexible and project-oriented, and organizational boundaries are relatively porous. An exploration of performing arts in the Indian context offers valuable points of comparison to the nature of organizational structures of arts organizations in the West, as evidenced by Western literature.