Arts marketing during COVID-19: a critical review and theoretical integration

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to provide clarity on arts marketing during COVID-19 by undertaking a critical review and theoretical integration of published cultural and creative industries (CCIs) data on the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on the findings from a content analysis of published refereed journal articles and research reports, between 2020 and 2022.FindingsThis study clarifies how scholars in the arts marketing field have examined the concept and identified core dimensions. It also brings together these conceptual categories into an integrative multilevel framework of relevance for arts marketing during COVID-19. The framework outlines interconnected processes as well as dualities, such as digitisation, monetisation and sustainability of the CCIs and poses a future centred on entrepreneurial actions.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper is that it provides clear-cut evidence for new frontiers for research in the field during a period of discontinuous change due to COVID-19, through a literature review that has not been undertaken previously. It links the need to be entrepreneurial as a means for the CCIs to survive and thrive during and after a global crisis.