Mapping out the Roles of Top Management in Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations.

This study explores how top management (executive and artistic directors) in nonprofit arts and cultural organizations understand and perform their roles on a day-to-day basis. We draw on Henry Mintzberg's seminal work on managerial behavior to map out the roles that today's leaders of arts and cultural organizations assume. Our findings suggest that they are primarily involved in roles concerning interpersonal exchanges and decision-making. In addition to Mintzberg's roles, our qualitative study also reveals the presence of self-management activities, in the sense of dealing with stress and critically reflecting on personal resources. We conceptualize these emerging roles in a new category of "intrapersonal roles," which extends the range of Mintzberg's managerial roles, and thematize the implications for the literature and arts management professional practice, such as how top managers can be positive role models for other employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]