abstract: 'Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the perceptions of key

  stakeholders of the human resource management (HRM) practices and

  challenges in performing arts organisations in Victoria, Australia.

  Challenges include the precarious nature of employment in the industry;

  poor wages and conditions leading to financial insecurity and the

  domination of the industry by small- and medium-sized organisations. The

  passion and commitment of the performing arts workforce are both a

  strength and a weakness in that they ``buy in{''''} to the expectations of

  long hours and unpaid work. These challenges impact on managers and

  administrators as well as performers and raise many challenges for the

  HRM function and places constraints on even basic HRM practices. Despite

  the claims of the stakeholders that the large companies have

  sophisticated HRM practices the early evidence suggests otherwise.

  Furthermore, many of these problems cannot be solved at the

  organisational level and need an industry and government response.

  Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach is used to

  guide this study as it allows contextual evaluation of the data. Eight

  key stakeholders interviewed for this study included one official

  specialising in industrial relations from Live Performance Australia,

  one official from the Media and Entertainment and Arts Alliance, two

  government officials from the State government, one with responsibility

  for working with Performing Arts companies in relation to funding and

  resources, and the other with responsibility for government arts policy

  development; two chief executive officers - one from a small arts

  company and the other from a large arts company; one HR director from a

  large arts company; and one manager from a small-to-medium-size company.

  Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide an

  information-rich inquiry. Findings The study suggests that there are

  considerable barriers to the effective adoption and implementation of

  HRM in the performing arts. In particular, the research identified four

  major features that impact on HRM practices in the arts sector. These

  are: first, the precarious nature of employment, due to the short-term

  and project focussed work. Second, the reliance on often limited

  government funding, supplemented by philanthropy, sponsorship and box

  office takings, leading to short-term and long-term financial insecurity

  and limited capacity for long-term planning. Third, limited resources

  and high levels of casualisation which leads to low income, poor working

  conditions, lack of training and few opportunities for career

  development. Fourth, despite these difficult conditions, the sector

  appears to attract a highly motivated and committed workforce including

  not just performers but also managers and administrators and the sector

  appears to rely on their passion, commitment and shared endeavour.

  Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of HRM

  systems and practices in the performing arts.'
affiliation: 'Opara, SC (Corresponding Author), RMIT Univ, Coll Business, Melbourne,
  Vic, Australia.

  Opara, Stanley Chibuzo, RMIT Univ, Coll Business, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

  Stanton, Pauline, RMIT Univ, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

  Wahed, Waheduzzaman, Swinburne Univ Technol, Dept Management \& Mkt, Melbourne,
  Vic, Australia.'
author: Opara, Stanley Chibuzo and Stanton, Pauline and Wahed, Waheduzzaman
author-email: 'Stanley.Opara@rmit.edu.au

  Pauline.stanton@rmit.edu.au

  wwaheduzzaman@swin.edu.au'
author_list:
- family: Opara
  given: Stanley Chibuzo
- family: Stanton
  given: Pauline
- family: Wahed
  given: Waheduzzaman
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1108/ER-05-2018-0128
eissn: 1758-7069
files: []
issn: 0142-5455
journal: EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
keywords: 'HRM and creative industry and performing arts; Industrial relations and

  creative industries and performing arts'
keywords-plus: WORK; HRM; PROFESSIONALS; ORGANIZATION; MATTER
language: English
month: OCT 7
number: '6'
number-of-cited-references: '48'
orcid-numbers: 'Opara, Stanley/0000-0001-8022-5098

  Stanton, Pauline/0000-0002-2036-6726'
pages: 1451-1466
papis_id: 1cc85ca2f0201142d603ef8cf0eb362d
ref: Opara2019lovemoney
times-cited: '4'
title: 'For love or money: human resource management in the performing arts'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000487036600018
usage-count-last-180-days: '5'
usage-count-since-2013: '33'
volume: '41'
web-of-science-categories: Industrial Relations \& Labor; Management
year: '2019'