Performance in cultural organizations: the case of Organizações Sociais in Brazil

The public support for the arts and culture has been widely discussed by economists, arts administrators, and policy-makers in the last decades. The shortage of funds to support the cultural sector - intensified in many countries during the 1990’s - increased the demand for performance measurement and accountability in the sector. Performance indicators started to be applied to monitor the operations and the management of cultural organizations, resulting in a general complaint based on the alleged inappropriateness of the managerial rationality to the arts field. Despite of this fact, the use of performance measurement methods is being adopted by many countries to implement new hybrid models for the funding and management of arts and cultural institutions. In this sense, this study uses quantitative methods to examine the performance evolution of cultural organizations operating under the Brazilian Social Organizations (OS) model. The results indicate that OSs are being more efficient and effective in terms of revenue and accountability maximization, and are less focused on economy maximization objectives. The effectiveness of the OS model in terms of reducing the dependency on public funding and enabling the diversification of revenues might lead cultural institutions towards financial stability and organizational sustainability. While many positive aspects regarding Social Organizations have been identified, this study emphasizes some points of attention regarding the OS model and the use of performance indicators in the arts and cultural field.