Factors encouraging competitive myopia in the performing arts sector: an empirical investigation

Arts and cultural organisations are frequently accused of ‘competitive myopia’, i.e., of failing to realise that damaging competition can emerge as much from developments in the broader leisure and entertainment sectors (cinema, sports arenas, home entertainment, etc.) as from the activities of other arts and cultural venues. This empirical study of 141 British theatre companies explored the influences of certain market and organisational factors (market communality, environmental complexity and volatility, resource slack, accountability systems and managers' backgrounds) on the extent and depth of a theatre management's search for information regarding ‘unconventional’ competitors. Around half the theatres in the sample made no attempt whatsoever to assess competitive threats outside the performing arts domain. The theatres most likely to collect information on unconventional competitors were those which (1) operated in ‘complex’ markets and in markets perceived to overlap with the customer bases of unconventional competitors, (2) possessed organisation systems wherein managers were subject to large amounts of personal accountability, and (3) employed well-qualified people to administer threat assessment processes.