Beyond applause

 

   

         

   

         

 

Pieter de Rooij is senior lecturer and researcher in experience marketing & impact at the Academy for Leisure & Events, Breda University of Applied Sciences.
Ondrej Mitas is senior lecturer and experience researcher at the Academy for Tourism, Breda University of Applied Sciences. 

Why impact?

Impact has become an important topic in the cultural industry. Attention has shifted from service quality and satisfaction (in the 1990s), to visitor experiences and customer loyalty (in the early 2000s), to the impact of the visit. The Dutch Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur, 2023), for example, advised the Secretary of State to include societal impact as an additional measure of evaluation alongside artistic value. Furthermore, several theatres have included impact-related outcomes in their core mission. Impact evaluation has become important to strategically improve cultural offerings, and to demonstrate legitimacy and accountability to stakeholders.

Impact and well-being

Impact is often defined as the effect of a service on an individual or group. Impact can be viewed from multiple perspectives. Dunphy (2015) provided a clear overview of six different domains related to the impact of cultural organizations: (1) cultural domain (e.g. aesthetic appreciation, creativity stimulation, cognitive stimulation, appreciation for diversity of cultural expression), (2) personal domain referred to as well-being (e.g. emotional well-being, life satisfaction), (3) economic domain (e.g. direct employment, visitor expenditure), (4) ecological domain (e.g. awareness of environmental issues), (5) social domain (e.g. equality of opportunity, friendships developed), (6) civic domain (e.g. active citizenship, engagement in political processes).

In this study, we have incorporated several well-being dimensions, such as emotions, satisfaction with life, empathy, and leisure quality.

Some theatres have made it part of their mission to contribute to the happiness of their audiences. In this study, after discussions with theatres, we chose to focus on the well-being impact. So we asked: What does attending a performing arts performance mean in terms of changes in visitors’ well-being? In this study, we have incorporated several well-being dimensions, such as emotions, satisfaction with life, empathy, and leisure quality.

Current evaluation processes

Dutch theatres send short visitor surveys consisting of around four multiple-choice questions and one open question after each performance to their visitors. In most cases, the survey is automatically distributed by email the same evening or the next day. The response rates are relatively high, sometimes up to 30% or more. The results are discussed at an organization-wide level a few days later. The surveys include questions related to satisfaction, experience, and the Net Promotor Score (word-of-mouth). These questions reflect economic or commercial goals. We propose that these surveys could be an opportunity to include questions which are non-commercial, and reflect individual impacts as well.

The NPS question has been embraced by multiple organizations. This is a single, straightforward item used all over the world (‘to what extent would you recommend this service to your family or friends?’). One or two items reflecting individual impacts can easily be added to the theatre’s current evaluation practices. This would enable theatres to gain insights into individual impacts without the need for a large quantitative study with high costs and/or lower response rates. However, impact is a container concept. So what might be the single (NPS-like) question that should be used in the performing arts industry?

Since impact is an effect of a performing arts visit, it is difficult – timewise – to inquire about it in a questionnaire distributed shortly after the visit . Visitors would not be able to give a proper answer as to whether or not their visit affected their life satisfaction or leisure quality. These questions relate to long-term effects, while the questionnaire is distributed in the short term. Ideally, these questions would be asked at a later stage. However, this conflicts with the current evaluation process and theatres are not keen on asking their visitors to fill in two surveys. Therefore, it would be interesting for theatres to include relevant questions which are related to individual impacts, and which make sense to ask shortly after the visit. Therefore, the question is: what item(s) should be included that relate(s) to long-term effects?

Photo: Parkstad Limburg Theaters

Three core processes

We identified three psychological process areas which allegedly affect experience outcomes in the long run: (1) attentional processes, such as mindfulness and absorption, (2) affective processes, such as enjoyment, being emotionally touched or connection with fellow audience members, and (3) cognitive processes, such as learning and gaining insights. Visitors are able to reflect on these processes shortly after the visit. Incorporating questions related to these processes would make sense to visitors. Therefore, in this study, we wanted to investigate the relationship between these three processes (the extent to which visitors were absorbed, touched or made to think) and the four well-being concepts (emotions, satisfaction with life, empathy, and leisure quality). The goal was to find the items that best correlate with well-being. The conceptual model (Figure 1) reflects the theoretical background of the study.

We identified three psychological process areas which allegedly affect experience outcomes in the long run.

Research method

In this project, we collaborated with two theatres in the Netherlands. Parkstad Limburg Theaters (PLT) from Heerlen/Kerkrade and Chassé Theater in Breda are among the

Netherlands’ largest and most prestigious theatres. The former has 2,320 seats spread across two locations, while the latter boasts 2,280 seats in three auditoriums. Both venues host a wide range of performances, showcasing local emerging talent, established national and international companies, and a mix of large-scale entertainment and artistic experimentation. Both organizations host approximately 350,000 visitors every year.

We administered a questionnaire to theatre attendees measuring outcomes two to three days before (t0), immediately after (t1), and one month after (t2) a performance of their choice. The t0, t1 and t2 questionnaires contained items reflecting the dependent well-being concepts (such as satisfaction with life, empathy, etc.). The t1 questionnaire included items reflecting attention, affection, and cognition. These items are included in Table 1. The respondents filled in all three questionnaires, enabling us to investigate changes in well-being.

 

     

These impact evaluations can be used for future programming decisions and for accountability purposes.

We collected data during December 2024 and January 2025, covering over 500 respondents from 24 separate performance acts. Our approach to analyzing the data is aggressively empirical - we will examine bivariate correlations between each item and t0-t1 and t0-t2 change scores. We will also conduct multiple regressions and exploratory factor analyses to understand covariance structures of the predictor items. Nevertheless, the aim is to identify one or two items, rather than to develop a multi-item scale.

Finally

The aim of this study is to find one or two items related to individual impact that theatres can use in their current evaluation practices. Theatres program many performances which they want to evaluate with the same item(s) in a consistent way. This information can be used for future programming decisions and for accountability purposes. We realize that producers or artists might have different needs than theatre venues. Since each performance will have its own specific goal or intention, they might be interested in evaluating the specific impact of their single performance. This would require specific indicators, focused on single performances and related to specific content of this single performance.