CAPÍTULO III: LA DANZA COMO PATRIMONIO CULTURAL E INMATERIAL

The internal frame of reference includes the characteristics of the company in which respondents are operating, and which appear to set the stage for decisions. Analysis of the interviews and additional documents led to a number of sub-categories:

(1) a company philosophy of giving;

(2) the effect of ownership; and

(3) the effect of the current context and strategies of the company.

A Philosophy of Giving

In trying to determine whether a type of company philosophy exists surrounding CCI and arts sponsorship, both formal statements and comments by respondents were considered.

Formal statements made by the company, concerning CCI, or generally “good corporate citizenship”, were considered to indicate an aspect of the frame of reference within which individuals operate. It was expected that the expression of a company as more oriented to commercial or philanthropic goals would influence the actions of individuals within the company considering sponsorship. For example, the following is a statement made on the website of a company not included in the study, reflecting a formally stated desire by the company to engage in community partnerships, for the benefit of the community and the company:

[our] success as an energy company depends on the support of people in many communities. We are determined to earn that support, not just through excellence in meeting our customers‘ energy needs, but also by playing an active and important role in community life.

As we develop partnerships in those situations where societal needs intersect with business objectives, powerful results become possible.

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And with strong results, come stronger communities from which we all benefit. (Petro-Canada, 2009)

The idea of good corporate citizenship, and the importance of contributing to society was expressed as part of a corporate strategy in all cases studied. This is not surprising given that all companies considered were engaged in this type of activity. Drilling down to the idea of sponsorship as part of “good corporate citizenship” the link was expressed as part of a strategy in all but one case. Further investigation revealed that most respondents felt that arts sponsorship in particular did contribute to good corporate citizenship.

While being a good corporate citizen was important for all of the companies, a range was evident in which companies could be categorised as relatively more oriented to

commercial versus philanthropic goals in terms of their decision-making. The range is represented in Table 5.4, and described below.

As is evident in Table 5.4, three groupings of orientation were revealed: commercial, philanthropic and a commercial-philanthropic balance.

(1) Commercial orientation: Three cases appeared to be more commercially oriented (cases D, E and K; two companies). In each of these companies, formalised statements reflected commercial goals, and discussion of sponsorship as linked to

“doing good” in the community was limited. This formal stance was echoed in the interviews, with respondents emphasising commercial goals such as brand exposure and return on investment. In terms of other characteristics, both companies were publicly held, and the decisions went through a process which could be characterised as highly formalised, with emphasis on the exposure generated, brand fit and return on investment. In addition, in these cases the Marketing Manager assumed a crucial role in the DMU (decision-making unit).

105 Table 5.4 Company Orientation to Commercial vs. Philanthropic Decisions

Case Categorised as Example statement Characteristics of the decision(s) studied

A Commercial &

Philanthropic

In most instances we do it purely to be philanthropic. To be a good community, corporate citizen.

… But we also have to balance it out between a return to our shareholders.

Decision moved swiftly though may have largely been due to the renewal/inheritance status. Justification and support sought, and recommendation made to progressively higher levels.

The decision-making process starts from a strategic perspective … from a consideration of our business and the needs of our business.

…[we also need to] be a good citizen and to take account of the needs of the community. Having said that it also makes good business sense so there‘s a coincidence between those two. I don‘t see them as there being any dissonance between them.

Structures in place for analysis of proposals.

Justification and support sought, and

recommendation made to progressively higher levels. CCE has key role in large investments.

D & E (same company)

Commercial I‘ve got a little sort of decision tool that I developed. . . [it asks:] can we leverage this event effectively, does it give us a platform? … do we get a sense that these people will deliver? Can we trust them? … It‘s about brand objectives, it‘s about brand strategy. It‘s about the cost.

An attempt to make decisions objectively.

Decisions require input and support from Marketing, and are highly related to objectives of brand. Justification and support is sought, and recommendation made to progressively higher levels.

F Commercial &

Philanthropic

we have commitment to giving back to the community … but we also have to be mindful of how that is spent.

Choosing a sponsorship property I think you‘ve got to say does this resonate with the audience? Do people think this is a good thing?

Decision made swiftly by CCE, and then later leveraged and justified internally.

G * Philanthropic Approached it first from the standpoint of doing good in the community, then sought to negotiate specific benefits.

Swift apparently “easy” decision, aided by knowledge of CCE. Justification and benefit sought post-decision.

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Case Categorised as Example statement Characteristics of the decision(s) studied

H Philanthropic [our company‘s] business philosophy … is very much about trying to make the world a better place.

Quick decision made by largely CCE, in consultation with others. Justification and benefit sought post-decision.

J Philanthropic it‘s more of a philosophy … it‘s probably nicer[than] those sponsorships because you‘re not trying to figure out what you‘re leveraging you know.

… it still fits but it doesn‘t have to be overtly commercial

Based on rapport and relationship – easy decision. Justification and benefit sought post-decision.

K Commercial a lot of our sponsorship … are based around what kind of rate card value will we get. And even when we deal with charities sometimes we‘ll say what are we going to get out of it? How much advertising are you doing? what media plan do you have in place? where will our logo be?

Noted that this decision was a commercial sponsorship. Decision required much negotiation internally, and justification based on commercial return.

* not authorised to quote from case G.

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Two other cases shared these same ownership characteristics, but were not categorised as “commercial”. In one case (H) it was evident that the more important framing came from a strong global corporate culture of giving back to the community. In the second case (A) the respondent‟s statements suggested an orientation more towards philanthropic goals.

(2) Philanthropic orientation: Three cases (G, J, H; three companies) were

characterised as decisions made in companies with a perspective more oriented towards philanthropy. In cases G and H this was assessed from formal

statements made in the public domain. In case J little public information was available, yet the respondent was very clear on the company‟s stance. These respondents noted that the company‟s main focus for these decisions was to be a good corporate citizen. The benefits and use of the sponsorship was developed not as part of the decision, but following the decision. Interestingly the three cases do not share other characteristics. Two are privately-owned organisations, and one is publicly held. In each of these decisions however, the DMU was relatively small, with the key decision-maker being an owner or Chief Executive.

(3) Commercial and Philanthropic Balance: In 4 cases, (A, B, C, F; three

companies) formal statements reflected a frame of reference which saw the two objectives appearing relatively equal in importance for the company. It was in these four that a balance was expressed as part of the frame of reference in making these decisions. Two of the three companies were State-owned enterprises (SOE‟s)⁹ which have a formal mandate to contribute to society.

In conducting the above analysis, it became evident that a company orientation impacted all decisions made by the company. In other words, for companies in which two cases were studied, both cases bore similarities reflecting the company orientation. It was also evident that while three categories are noted above, it was less of a strict categorisation and more of a range.

9 The SOE Act reads: The principal objective of every State enterprise shall be to operate as a successful business and, to this end, to be — (a) As profitable and efficient as comparable businesses that are not owned by the Crown; and (b) A good employer; and (c) An organisation that exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates and by endeavouring to accommodate or encourage these when able to do so. (New Zealand Government, 1986, p. 6)

108 Ownership

Ownership was another area of interest in considering the internal frame of reference.

All companies but two noted the importance of ownership as helping to shape their sponsorship decisions. Ownership at times appeared to determine whether the company views sponsorship as more commercial or more philanthropic as in the previous section.

Here, however, ownership was considered in terms of how the respondents made reference to the specific type of ownership and subsequent consideration of key stakeholders.

Discussions of ownership revolved around who specifically owned the company (private, public or SOE). Two companies, representing a total of four cases were identified as SOE‟s. In each of these companies, and consistently in the four cases studied for these two companies, the respondents noted that their status as a government owned enterprise was important in establishing their need to give back to the community. One respondent stated, ―as an SOE we have a social obligation.‖ This is not surprising given the SOE Act which stipulates that these organisations are required to contribute to the community.

Four companies (four cases), were identified as being publicly-traded companies, and while the expectation was that there would be more of a commercial focus, this was not the case. Two of these companies shared the need for extensive commercial justification of sponsorship, consistent with a wider company strategy. The third company expressed that the decision to sponsor an arts initiative was consistent with their culture being more oriented to “social good”. The fourth case with a publicly-traded company was

dominated by the context and time limitations, though had elements of both commercial and philanthropic considerations.

Finally, two companies (2 cases) were privately held organisations. Both of these organisations expressed a more philanthropic orientation towards sponsorship, and both of these decisions appeared to reflect more of the personal frame of reference of the owner or Chief Executive.

Based on the consideration of ownership as an internal frame of reference, it appeared that while ownership may have played a part in the company‟s orientation towards sponsorship, it was not a dominant consideration. Being an SOE gave companies a mandate to contribute to society, yet publicly traded companies also felt it was their role

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to contribute to society. Being publicly traded did not make for a consistent response either. While some publicly-traded companies were more commercially oriented, SOE‟s were not far behind, and it was clear that in one case, being publicly-traded did not deter the company from carrying a more philanthropic orientation. Where ownership did seem to make a difference was when the company was privately owned. In both of these cases the decisions appeared to happen quite easily, and on the basis of a smaller DMU, with an almost intuitive decision, and a more philanthropic orientation.

Company Strategy

Also within this internal frame and linked with the identification of key stakeholders was the company‟s strategy; its goals, needs and challenges. In this study, the current

strategy of the company emerged as an important theme in setting the background or

“frame” for the decision-making process. Firstly, it was evident in all cases, that for a decision to proceed there had to be some level of “fit” or congruence between the

company strategy and the arts initiative. Related comments fell into two main areas: (1) a link with the corporate mission and culture, and (2) the need to connect with particular stakeholders.

In terms of a link with the mission and/or company-held values, respondents noted the role of sponsorship in helping to develop a vital community in which to operate, noting that development of the arts is part of developing a community:

if New Zealand isn‘t successful, then [our company] will not be

successful. If New Zealand is successful and is growing and is dynamic and is diverse then we will be successful as well.

One case in particular expressed formally and via interviews that the global company had a strong desire to contribute to the community and that this was part of their corporate culture and values. In a second case (within a privately-held company) a strong culture of giving was noted, with this aspect of the culture clearly coming from the values held by the owners.

Further comments identified values such as quality, innovation and creativity as those which the company was interested in supporting via sponsorship:

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It‘s the [arts] organisation, their values and what they‘re trying to achieve and what their goals are, which we [the company] align to.

More generally, comments also noted that a sponsorship may help the company project a positive image to the community.

The second category included comments in which respondents noted that a key strategy was to connect with particular stakeholders in particular locations, for example, one respondent noted, ―what we needed to do was introduce the … name and brand into the region.‖ Similar to earlier findings concerning stakeholders in industries and with ownership, the strategy appeared to determine the stakeholders who would be important in the use of sponsorship. Stakeholders included groups such as government, media, key business decision-makers, as well as the customer market.

The fit between the market and the sponsorship investment was the most common category of discussion, which highlighted that the existing company needs vis a vis their market, played a role in decision making. It was necessary that there be a fit between the company‟s target market, and that of the arts initiative. For example, one respondent remarked:

Is this the right kind of property for the kinds of customers? … that‘s crucial. . . It‘s a matter of getting things fitting right between the consumer and the property.

In four of the cases studied, this need for market fit translated into a need to reach a new geographic market, with companies looking to attain a greater presence in a particular location and using the arts initiative to help them achieve this.

The interviews posed some difficulty in trying to ascertain what criteria were applied to the evaluation, as opposed to the benefits the company realised later on. However, it was evident that the company strategy (goals, values and needs) set the stage for the approach by the arts organisation. It was also evident in all cases that a fit was necessary; a benefit to the company and a link between the two organisations had to be made, for an approach

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to be facilitated. Naturally, this fit came into play in the evaluation as well, but as will be discussed, this fit had to be there at the start.

This need for a fit between the company strategy and the arts event was clearly evident, pointing to the role of the strategy in establishing the frame of reference and almost a set of rules by which the sponsorship investment would be evaluated. Further evidence of this link appears in the analysis of the investment characteristics.