Types of Innovations in Cultural Organizations

Background. Gathering information on the innovativeness of public organizations is a contemporary challenge for public policy-makers. The arts and culture sector in Poland needs more coherent and comprehensive data regarding innovations. Yet, there is no single classification of innovations, which could underlay development of a system for monitoring innovativeness of this sector. Research aims. The purpose of this study is to cognize the types of innovations in cultural organizations and to propose their consistent typology as a basis for further research. Method. Typologies of innovations derived from literature review has been grouped according to the components of the Aesthetic-Economic Situation Model. This revealed the potential areas where innovations may appear, what was verified through an instrumental case study. In order to collect the empirical data triangulated methods were applied and encompassed: structured interview, organizational documents analysis, such as annual reports and organizational website, and visual sociology comprising analysis of photographs. Key findings. Typology of innovations provided by Oslo Manual has limited applicability to draw the full picture of innovativeness of art and cultural organizations, however this classification, after some definitional modifications, may be useful. Nevertheless, additional types such as cultural innovation, perception innovation, and functional innovation have been confirmed to appear in organization from the arts and culture sector.