Innovation, Competitive Advantage and Audience Outreach in Cultural Institutions

The Analysis of Digital and Organisational Innovations as an Outcome of the Pandemic

Keywords: cultural institutional system, competitiveness, digitalisation, globalisation, social media, public service media, theatre, pandemic, hybrid model, innovation

Abstract

This study examines the institutional strategic conditions necessary for maintaining the competitiveness of the cultural institutional system, with a particular focus on the long-term potential for leveraging the digital and organisational innovations that have emerged during the pandemic. The central question of the authors is how cultural institutions can maintain their professional relevance, audience relationships, and operational sustainability in a media environment based on platform logic. The study reviews the challenges of platform homogenisation, as well as related approaches in innovation theory and technology criticism, and then provides a detailed analysis of the role of digital content delivery, which has gained momentum following the pandemic. It also examines hybrid event formats, site-specific performances, ticketing models, and organisational digitalisation. Drawing on domestic and international examples, this paper argue that maintaining the competitiveness of cultural institutions today is inseparable from the development of digital competencies, the creation of new forms of audience engagement, and the consistent strategic integration of institutional innovation.

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Published
2026-09-10
Section
Studies