Acta Univ. Sapientiae, Economics and Business, 13 (2025) 121–145
Abstract: The classical marketing management literature rests on the assumption that the marketing concept can be universally applied, with its extension celebrated as a landmark achievement in the discipline’s evolution. Yet the arts and theatre domain resists such an approach, with auteur (director-led) theatre in particular, rejecting the framing of performance as a product. This article identifies and systematizes three clusters of structural factors that impede the consolidation of cultural marketing as a distinct academic field in theatre practice. Drawing on empirical data, it further examines audience motivations to develop a comprehensive model of determinants influencing theatre attendance. The analysis ultimately culminates in a theoretical framework proposal that seeks to reconcile structural challenges with audience behaviour, thereby advancing cultural marketing research in the performing arts.
Keywords: marketing theory, theatre marketing, audience behaviour, noncommodifiable value
SAPIENTIA HUNGARIAN UNIVERSITY OF TRANSYLVANIA
The Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania is the independent university of the Hungarian community in Romania, which aims at providing education to the members of our community and performing scientific research on a high professional level.
Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania,
Scientia Publishing House
Acta Universitatis Sapientiae
RO 400112 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Str. Matei Corvin nr. 4.
Email: acta @ acta.sapientia.ro
