Understanding value creation and word-of-mouth behaviour at cultural events

ABSTRACT

Despite its undoubted importance to policy makers and practitioners, cultural value remains a highly contested concept. Empirical work in the area has, meanwhile, been hampered by the use of a unidimensional framework of cultural value. The understanding of word-of-mouth (WOM) communication behaviour related to cultural values has consequently been limited. The purpose of this paper is to develop cultural value segments using a multidimensional value framework to enable a profile to be developed of the WOM behaviour (both online and offline) of each segment. A typology with four distinct segments of cultural consumer, each exhibiting different combinations of cultural values and of WOM communication preferences. The study thereby challenges the orthodoxy of value creation and transmission in cultural settings. Practical recommendations include the use of market segmentation based on multidimensional value ‘constellations’: not only to achieve better audience development but also to encourage wider value communication through word of mouth.