TY - JOUR

T1 - Public boards

T2 - Questions of representation on supervisory boards of german, austrian and swiss theatres

AU - Heskia, Thomas

PY - 2021/9/1

Y1 - 2021/9/1

N2 - Governance of theatres in German-speaking countries has been studied primarily in relation to their powerful artistic directors. However, the author suggests that their power relates to the weakness of the supervisory bodies. He analyzes the role of the supervisory boards of 153 theatres in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland to explain why the specific history of the theatres as outsourced public institutions, their different legal structure, administrative federalism in Germany and cultural differences have led to the lack of comparable standards across regional jurisdictions. Despite far-reaching structural changes in recent decades, governance appears to need further development. This article explains why overall control still lies in government structures rather than in supervisory boards, why diversity is almost completely lacking, and why even a well-designed supervisory structure cannot prevent a governance crisis in theatre.

AB - Governance of theatres in German-speaking countries has been studied primarily in relation to their powerful artistic directors. However, the author suggests that their power relates to the weakness of the supervisory bodies. He analyzes the role of the supervisory boards of 153 theatres in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland to explain why the specific history of the theatres as outsourced public institutions, their different legal structure, administrative federalism in Germany and cultural differences have led to the lack of comparable standards across regional jurisdictions. Despite far-reaching structural changes in recent decades, governance appears to need further development. This article explains why overall control still lies in government structures rather than in supervisory boards, why diversity is almost completely lacking, and why even a well-designed supervisory structure cannot prevent a governance crisis in theatre.

KW - Boards

KW - Germany/Austria/Switzerland

KW - Governance

KW - Legal forms

KW - Public corporate governance

KW - Repertory system

KW - Theatre

KW - Cultural Distribution/Cultural Organization

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118685130&partnerID=8YFLogxK

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85118685130

VL - 24

SP - 32

EP - 47

JO - International Journal of Arts Management

JF - International Journal of Arts Management

SN - 1480-8986

IS - 1

ER -