Understanding digital transformation through the lens of change management: a case study in the art and cultural sector

The cultural sector was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with economic losses estimated at US$750 billion suffered across the global cultural industry. In response to this crisis, digital transformations have a key role to play in ensuring the vitality of the cultural industry. This paper aims to understand the contribution of technological change in the arts and cultural sectors. Using the Culture Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean organization as a case study, our research demonstrates that individual, organizational and technology-readiness dispositions are key predictors of digital transformations in the cultural sector. Based on an action research approach, our study used a range of qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data over a 9-month period in 2022. In total, data from 7 individual and group interviews, 8 observations in 4 cities, 18 informal discussions, and 70 questionnaires were collected (response rate of 30% of the target population). Analyzed using Lewin’s Change Management Model, the results offer promising avenues for action, paving the way for an understanding of digital transformation in the arts and cultural sectors, an area often neglected in management research.

Mots clés

• cultural sector
• arts sector
• digital platform
• organizational behavior
• change management