How To Attract And Retain Artistic Talent: The Case Of An Italian Ballet Company

Previous studies highlighted the relevance of human capital in performing arts (e.g., Caves, 2000; Throsby, 2001), but they did not investigate which factors could attract and retain artistic talent. This paper aims at filling this gap by addressing two research questions: how organizations can attract and retain artistic talent? Why do artists choose to work for an organization? Do retention factors differ from attraction ones? In order to address these questions, we conducted an explorative case study on the Italy's most renowned contemporary ballet company - Fondazione Nazionale della Danza Aterballetto. According to our findings, differences among attraction and retention factors emerged depending on individual characteristics, like professional experience and professional needs. In particular, we found that all dancers’ are attracted by the reputation of the Resident Choreographer, the organization’s reputation and its organizational ‘flat structure’. The most relevant retention factors are for all dancers the creative process’ characteristics and for the more experienced dancers the perception of the organization as a collaborative environment and ‘open place’, where they have the chance to collaborate not only with organizational members but also with external artists developing a network of professional relationships. Implications for research and management are discussed.