Educating artists in management – An analysis of art education programmes in DACH region

Abstract

Labour force in the art sector is characterised by high qualification, but low income for those people who perform the core contribution in art, i.e. the artists. As artists are typically self-dependent in managing their business, they should have managerial skills besides those skills necessary to perform their artistic core activities. If the lack of managerial skills is a reason why artists fail to make a living from their talent, then this chain of cause and effect could be ruptured by adequate educational opportunities. This paper analyses the curricula of a wide range of institutions offering art education programmes and identifies their managerial learning content. In doing so, we focused on German-speaking countries, the so-called DACH region (i.e. Germany, Austria and Switzerland, whereas D, A and CH are country codes). We identified and analysed 159 course syllabi of 81 art universities, schools and academies. The results of our study indicate a lack of managerial learning contents: a vast majority of institutions follow a rather traditional approach to art education, focusing solely on artistic competences. We suggest the implementation of managerial learning contents to better prepare art students for successful careers in the arts.

Keywords:

• education in arts
• art syllabi
• management in arts
• curriculum
• arts
• education
• DACH region

Public Interest Statement

Artists are typically self-dependent in managing their business. This requires artists to be highly skilled in both their artistic core activities and also their managerial ones. As the average artist is characterised by low income from the artistic activity, we question whether the education in managerial skills is sufficient to make a living from their talent. We analysed 159 course syllabi of arts curricula of 81 art universities in the German-speaking countries with respect to the integration of courses with managerial topics. Our study revealed that art curricula in Austria, Germany and Switzerland show a tremendous lack of managerial education within art curricula. As a result, we suggest implementing such non-artistic learning contents in art curricula to better prepare art students for successful careers in the arts.

1. Introduction

Labour in the art sector is characterised by a high degree of qualification, expensive and long-term education, low income, minimally regulated career paths, pitched competition, extremely severe market selection and high risk (Menger, 1999; Montag Stiftung Bildende Kunst Bonn, Akademie der bildenen Künste Wien, & Verlag für moderne Kunst, 2008; Schelepa, Wetzel, & Wohlfahrt, 2008). These are the main drivers for the high share of artists who pursue their careers part-time or have multiple professional engagements. Both, the highly competitive pressure on the art market and the increasingly lowered financial public support for the arts require artists to think and act economically.

The art and cultural sector or, respectively, the creative industries are significant contributors to the European economy. In 2010, the cultural and creative industries accounted for 3.3% of Europe’s overall gross domestic product (GDP) and employed 6.7 million people (3% of total employment) (an increase of 15.5% compared to 2004) (European Commission, 2012). Notably, the fashion sector and high-end industries are sectors that rely strongly on cultural and creative input; these sectors employ five and, respectively, one million people. In addition, employment in the high-end industries is expected to double by 2020 (Frontier Economics, 2012; IDEA Consult, 2012). Furthermore, in contrast to the overall downturn of European employment rates in the years 2008 and 2011 (European Commission, 2011b), employment in the cultural and creative industries proved to be much more resilient (European Commission, 2012). In other words, the cultural and creative industries are strong and, therefore, significant contributors to European economy.

Moreover, the cultural and creative industries have an immense impact on other sectors of the economy such as tourism (Mandl, Dörflinger, Gavac, & Hölzl, 2006). For example, in Austria, a country with a well-established tradition of tourism, culture has become a stronger direct contributor to wealth than tourism. In addition, as culture is a main point of attraction for tourists (culture tourism), it also contributes indirectly to this sector, making culture vital for the overall Austrian economy (Mandl et al., 2006).

However, despite the prospering business in cultural and creative industries, the majority of the core contributors to this sector—the artists—are continuously confronted with low income and high risk on the labour market (Schelepa et al., 2008; Schulz, Zimmermann, & Hufnagel, 2013). Various studies (e.g. Baier, 1995; Beckman, 2001; Schelepa et al., 2008; Schulz et al., 2013) have analysed the social situation of artists in various European countries. A common denominator of these studies is that, while there are a few high earners, the majority of artists face precarity, a phenomenon that is known as “superstar phenomenon” (Schulze, 2003).

Recently, several authors (Daniel & Daniel, 2014; Fanthome, 2013; Mietzner & Kamprath, 2013; Thom, 2015) have investigated the required skill sets for artists. Business and management skills and knowledge were considered as essential elements in a successful artist’s competence portfolio.

This paper emphasises the situation in the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland; DACH region); these three countries form an economic and cultural subspace within Europe and, therefore, have mutual political and social influences, as well as cultural and artistic interchange (Schelepa et al., 2008).¹ Beyond discussing the living and working situation, this paper investigates the educational situation of artists in DACH region. We claim that attempts to remedy the situation for artists by focusing on the labour market and supporting financially (e.g. with subsidies) have short-time effects only. Striving for long-term effects, though, requires throwing levers in artists’ education.

This paper is structured as follows: First, we give a brief overview of the historical background of the artistic profession and the art sector. Then we discuss the socio-economic situation of artists in DACH region in Section 2.2. After outlining artists’ qualification requirements—in particular with respect to (self-)management skills—in Section 2.3, we present the educational situation of artist in DACH region in Section 2.4. Section 3 describes the research approach of our investigation. Section 4 presents the results of our study, which we interpret and discuss in Section 5. We conclude our work in Section 6 with an overview of our findings.

2. The artistic profession in its context

2.1. Artists and artisans

When referring to artists, we should be aware that artists are a heterogeneous group of people, whereas the heterogeneity refers to the variety of professional approaches to art, the spirit of artists and their self-image (cf. e.g. Benhamou, 2003; Menger, 1999). While, historically, the terms artisan and artist had been used synonymously, a semantic split (Table 1) gradually emerged since the Renaissance and was codified in encyclopaedias, treaties and various institutions during the eighteenth century (Shiner, 2001, p. 115). Accordingly, an artist is viewed as a person of genius detached from the world that sacrifices him- or herself for the arts. In contrast, artisans are perceived as experts in their fields who apply their skills for reproductive imagination in the fields of art.

Table

Country	University
Austria (10)	University of Vienna, Academy of the Fine Arts of Vienna
	University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna
	University of Applied Arts of Vienna
	University of Music and Performing Arts of Salzburg (Mozarteum)
	University of Music and Performing Arts of Graz
	Art University of Linz
	Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität
	University Klagenfurt
	Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität
	University of Vienna
Germany (51)	Berlin University of the Arts
	Academy for Music and Theatre Hamburg
	University of Music Fribourg
	University of Music and Performing Arts of Stuttgart
	University of Music (Karlsruhe)
	University of Paderborn
	University of Music “Hanns Eisler” Berlin
	Humboldt-University Berlin
	University of Music and Theatre Hannover
	University of Music and Theatre Munich
	Robert Schumann University Düsseldorf
	University of Music (Münster)
	Academy of the Fine Arts (Mainz)
	University of Music (Mainz)
	University of Music “Franz Liszt”
	University of Music and Theatre Hamburg
	Film Academy Baden-Württemberg
	University of Bayreuth
	University of Performing Arts “Ernst Busch”
	University of Frankfurt
	University of Music and Performing Arts (Frankfurt)
	University of Giessen
	University of Applied Sciences of Schwaebisch Hall
	Berlin Weissensee School of Art
	Academy of the Fine Arts (Essen)
	Braunschweig University of Art
	University of Art (Bremen)
	University of the Fine Arts (Dresden)
	Art Academy Düsseldorf
	University of the Fine Arts (Frankfurt am Main)
	University of Art and Design (Halle)
	University of the Fine Arts (Hamburg)
	Academy of the Fine Arts (Karlsruhe)
	Art University Kassel
	University of Music of Cologne
	Academy of the Fine Arts Munich
	Academy of the Fine Arts Münster
	Academy of the Fine Arts Nuremberg
	Academy of the Fine Arts Stuttgart
	University of Music and Theatre Rostock
	University of Music and Theatre Leipzig
	University of Music Detmold
	Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe
	Muthesius Art University
	Art University of Media Cologne
	University of Graphik und Buchkunst Leipzig
	University of design Offenbach am Main
	University of the Fine Arts Saar
	Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
	Folkwang-University Essen
	University of Film and Television Potsdam
Switzerland (20)	University of Art and Design Basel
	University of Music Basel
	Basel School of Design
	Bern University of the Arts
	University of Lausanne
	University of Art and Design Lausanne/University of the Fine Arts Geneva (reunion)
	Academy of Music Lausanne
	University of Theatre Lausanne
	University of Music Geneva
	University of Art and Design Luzern
	University of Music Luzern
	Zurich University of the Arts
	University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland
	Academy of Physical Theatre
	Academy of Music Fribourg
	Conservatoire Neuchâtelois
	University of Music Lugano
	University of Arts (Ecole cantonale d’art du Valais)
	F + F School of Art and Media Design
	School of Art and Design St. Gallen

Table 1. From the co-meaning to the split of semantics “artist vs. artisan” (Shiner, 2001)

Before the split	After the split
Artist/artisan	Artist	Artisan
Talent or wit	Genius	Rule
Inspiration	Inspiration/sensibility	Calculation
Facility (mind and body)	Spontaneity (mind over body)	Skill (body)
Reproductive imagination	Creative imagination	Reproductive imagination
Emulation (of past masters)	Originality	Imitation (of models)
Imitation (nature)	Creation	Copying (nature)
Service	Freedom (play)	Trade (pay)

Interestingly, it appears that despite this split of qualities, the term “artist” dominates public discussion even when referring to artisans. We believe that the terms “artist” and “artisan”, as conceptualised by Shiner (2001) (Table 1), reflect the two extremes (i.e. archetypes) on a continuum (Bauer, Viola, & Strauss, 2011); therefore, throughout our paper, the term “artist” will refer to artists, artisans and any hybrid form thereof.

In the absence of a legal definition for any artistic profession, it is difficult to perform analyses in this area (Karttunen, 1998; Menger, 1999). The most cited definition of artists appears rather vague (UNESCO, 1980):

“Artist” is taken to mean any person who creates or gives creative expression to, or recreates works of art, who considers his artistic creation to be an essential part of his life, who contributes in this way to the development of art and culture and who is or asks to be recognized as an artist, whether or not he is bound by any relations of employment or association.

Due to this vagueness, various ways can be found in the literature attempting to narrow down artistic professions to measureable characteristics. For instance, a study on the social situation of artists published by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture in 2008 (Schelepa et al., 2008) used seven criteria to define professional artists, whereby at least one of these criteria had to be met:

•	membership in a professional representation or community of interests,
•	membership in a collecting society (e.g. society for musical performing or mechanical reproduction rights),
•	receipt of financial support for artistic activities from public institutions,
•	publication of at least one artistic activity in the form of an exhibition, production, performance, etc. in the previous five years
•	graduation from an artistic curriculum and/or
•	income from artistic activity.

One major reason for the difficulty in defining artists—and, as a consequence, the artistic labour market—may stem from the fact that the “definition of art and culture has obviously been broadened as cultural policies have developed” (Menger, 1999, p. 542). Therefore, studies on artists (Karttunen, 1998) and/or their employment situation and career patterns shall be interpreted carefully. In particular, comparative interpretations are difficult to be performed as studies may have been based on differing definitions of the artistic profession.

When analysing statistical surveys and studies around the artistic profession, one has to be aware and consider that most of the available data does not only consider professional artists, but also include amateurs. However, the revenues that amateurs receive for their artistic activities are generally lower than those received by professionals. By including amateurs, the calculated average annual income for artists as a whole is statistically depressed. Many studies (e.g. Alper & Wassall, 2006; Schelepa et al., 2008) argue that amateurs, who are paid less than others or “have to” follow jobs apart from artistic activities, want to make their living from artistic work but are not able to do so due to market forces. In fact, most amateurs and semi-professionals do not seek to pay their living with artistic work, but regard it as an interesting and well-paid hobby (Abbing, 2003).

Again, the absence of an adequate definition (Karttunen, 1998; Menger, 1999) for what constitutes an “artist” gives rise to such misconceptions. For instance, Schelepa et al. (2008) tried to sort out non-professionals by setting the criterion that a person has to be member of a professional representation or collecting society. Membership in such organisations is, though, not a guarantee for professionalism, as a single publication, exhibition, etc. is often sufficient for being accepted as a member. For this reason, amateurs who want to earn some (minor) royalties or have their interests represented also join such organisations.

This bias of existing studies notwithstanding, the socio-economic situation of the average (non-superstar) artist is precarious, as we will present in Section 2.2. Due to the bias in existing studies on the artistic profession, we draw mainly on data from public statistical institutions in presenting the socio-economic situation of the average artist. Data from such public statistical institutions are usually highly aggregated; however, we believe that such official statistical data collected on a broad basis may be more reliable for the purpose of our study than data from studies focussing on specific aspects. We emphasise that the data used in our study is a snapshot of the current situation for the majority of artists. For this reason, absolute values shall be interpreted rather as indicators for the situation than as strictly formal numbers.

2.2. The socio-economic situation of the average artist

Although some artists range among the best-paid professionals, the average income in the arts is much lower than in comparable professions (Abbing, 2002; Adler, 2006; Alper & Wassall, 2006; Schulze, 2003). The art markets are winner-takes-all markets (Abbing, 2002; Adler, 2006), where a relatively small number of people have extremely high income and dominate the market (“superstar phenomenon”), while the large majority faces low income (Adler, 2006; Rosen, 1981; Schulze, 2003).

In fact, the financial situation of average artists is rather precarious. Frequently, artists pursue multiple jobs and/or projects at the same time and have rather insufficient social health or retirement pension insurance coverage (ERICarts, 2014; Schelepa et al., 2008). In addition, the borders between work and private life, and between employment and unemployment often become blurred (Schelepa et al., 2008).

Artistic work is often characterised by individuality and uniqueness (Abbing, 2002; Rothauer, 2005), this pursuit of individuality and the heterogeneity of the work areas and interests make it difficult to build a joint representation of interests for artists. Many small, heterogeneous representations of interests (for writers, composers, actors, etc.) hinder effective lobbying activities that could improve future working and living situations. Therefore, there are currently no clear occupational titles (Karttunen, 1998, 2001; Rothauer, 2005), which could be fixed by law, and also no generally accepted professional fees or hourly rates for artistic work (Rothauer, 2005).

The lack of economic appreciation for artistic work (Austin & Devin, 2009) and the lack of clarity about art professions are reflected in the working conditions in the arts. In contrast to other occupational areas, artists are confronted with an extremely high share of atypical labour conditions. Contract types vary from the classical-dependant employment to self-employment, from temporary appointment to contract work on the basis of professional fee rates, from non-remunerated freelancer activity to jobs with compensation for expenses (Beckman, 2001; Montgomery & Robinson, 2003; Schelepa et al., 2008; Throsby, 2007).

Only long-living art organisations, such as orchestras, operas and art or music academies, are able to employ the majority of their artistic labour force on the basis of long-term contracts (Towse, 1996). Long-term contracts and straight-lined careers are rather exceptional among artists as a whole; therefore, the request for flexibility is one core attribute of artistic professions. Art organisations and artists themselves mostly combine various types of employment.

Nevertheless, the high share of self-employed persons—and among those, the high rate of people running their own one-person business—is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of performing activities in the field of art and culture.

In the European Union (EU27), 25% (2009) of all workers in the cultural sector are employed on the basis of part-time engagements (compared to only 19% among total employees in the European Union); and 6% (2009) of the “cultural workers” hold several jobs (compared to 4% among total employees in the European Union) (European Commission, 2011a).

However, artists as a professional group have not always been poor. The existence of large groups of artists with low average incomes is mostly a twentieth-century phenomenon, which became particularly intolerable after Second World War (Abbing, 2002). Since then, improving the economic position of artists has played an important role in subsidisation policies in the Western European countries (Frey, 2003). Considering that the economic position of artists remained bad or even deteriorated implies that these efforts were largely ineffective (Abbing, 2002).

2.2.1. The socio-economic situation in Austria

The Austrian micro census from the year 2010 reported 130,500 workers in cultural professions (4% of all Austrian workers) (Bachinger et al., 2013): 33,532 people in the profession group of “professional writers, fine artists, and performing artists” (ISCO occupational group 245), 35,667 in the software and games sector, 23,714 in advertisement, about 10,000 people in architecture and design and 4,964 people in broadcasting and television (Bachinger et al., 2013). In total, the cultural and creative sector generated a turnover of 18.2 billion Euros and contributes about 3.5% (2010) to Austrian economy (Bachinger et al., 2013). From 2008 to 2010, this sector grew three times faster than the entire economy (Bachinger et al., 2013).

Table 2 illustrates the numbers of employed and self-employed workers in cultural jobs in different art genres in Austria. As can be seen from this table, in every genre with the exception of “design”, the number of self-employed persons is lower than that of employed persons. Interestingly, in the field of broadcasting and television, the ratio of employed persons is extremely high (99% of all 4,964 persons working in this field are employed (Bachinger et al., 2013)).

Table 2. Employment in the field of culture in Austria (2010) (Bachinger et al., 2013; Worm, 2013)

Art genre	Total number of art workers	Number of employed art workers	Ratio of employed art workers among total art workers (%)
Architecture	14,924	9,466	63.43
Design	2,183	762	34.91
Music, literature, arts and performing arts	33,532	21,537	64.23
Broadcasting and TV	4,964	4,915	99.01
Software and games	35,667	27,899	78.22
Publishing	9,793	9,049	92.40
Video and film	5,695	4,080	71.64
Advertisement	23,713	15,409	64.98
Creative and cultural sector in total	130,471	93,117	71.37

With an employment ratio of about 70% (i.e. 71.37% in 2010 (Bachinger et al., 2013; Worm, 2013) and 70.8% in 2011 (Statistik Austria, 2014b, p. 195)), Austrian workers in cultural jobs are self-employed twice as often as the Austrian labour force in general (i.e. about 15% in 2013 (Statistik Austria, 2014a)). Interestingly, particularly in the domain of artistic design, the majority (about 75%) of the labour force is exclusively self-employed (Bachinger et al., 2013).

Considering the high educational level among artists (cf. Section 2.4.1), the average remuneration of artists is drastically below that of the average labour force (Baier, 1995; Beckman, 2001; Montgomery & Robinson, 2003; Schelepa et al., 2008; Schiffbänker & Mayerhofer, 2003). For instance, a survey revealed that about half of the interviewed graduates (1991/92 and 1992/93) of the Viennese art academies had a monthly net income of less than € 726 (i.e. the at-risk-of-poverty threshold at that time) at their disposal (Baier, 1995). In 1998, only 2.3% of Austrian artists were ranked in the highest income group (highest income decile) with an average monthly income of more than € 4,360 (Schiffbänker & Mayerhofer, 2003), reflecting the “superstar phenomenon” (Rosen, 1981; Schulze, 2003). In contrast to these top earners, 46% of fine artists, 30% of musicians and 17% of performing artists had an income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold (€ 726) (Almhofer, Lang, Schmied, & Tucek, 2000; Schiffbänker & Mayerhofer, 2003).

Another survey revealed that the remuneration for artistic work is not only low, but also irregular for about 81% of Austrian artists (Schelepa et al., 2008), indicating that only 19% of artists have a regular income (Schelepa et al., 2008). Artists are mostly engaged for individual projects, which are short term only (i.e. a few weeks or months). This short-time horizon for employment, the irregular sequence of different jobs with different durations and the multiplication of short-term contracts result in a complex situation characterised by a lack of sustainability due to a discontinuity in work and short-notice ad hoc employment (Benhamou, 2003). This extremely unsatisfactory situation decreases artists’ alternatives and options to plan their income and family life.

Furthermore, a survey indicates that the yearly average net income of Austrian artists from their artistic work amounts to about € 4,500 (Schelepa et al., 2008). Even if all kind of revenues (i.e. revenues gained by non-artistic as well as artistic activities) are considered, an artist’s average net income per year amounts to no more than € 12,400 (Schelepa et al., 2008), which is far less than that of self-employed or salaried Austrian workers in general (self-employed: € 24,077 (average gross income per year 2011); salaried employees: € 19,752 (average net income per year; 2011) (Statistik Austria, 2012, p. 11)).

In general, the ratio of artists living at-risk-of-poverty is very high: about 37% of Austrian artists (Schelepa et al., 2008) live below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold (Austria 2007: € 1,064 monthly (Statistik Austria, 2009)), compared to 19.4% (2008) of the total population (Statistik Austria, 2009). Considering the average equivalence income or the weighted per capita income (on the basis of the number and age of the household members), respectively, indicates that the income of artists is much lower than that of the average Austrian population (Schelepa et al., 2008). However, there are differences between artists of different art genres. Table 3 shows that fine artists and writers in particular suffer from a precarious income situation (net income from artistic activities: € 3,000 per year).

Table 3. Income situation in various art genres 2008 in Austria (Schelepa et al., 2008)

Art genres	Average net income per person per year from artistic activities (€)	Average total income per person per year (including income from non-artistic activities, €)
Arts on average	About 4,500	About 12,400 (exclusively self-employed artists on average about 6,700)
Performing arts	About 8,000 (often dependent employed)	About 12,000
Film	About 8,000	About 17,500
Music	About 4,900	About 19,000
Literature	About 3,000	About 13,100
Fine arts	About 3,000	About 10,600

Due to the variety of artistic institutions in the performing arts, artists in this art sector are often employed in standard employment relationships, and hence “only” 17% of performing artists have to live with an income below the poverty level. In contrast, about 30% of musicians and about 46% of fine artists live beyond this level (Almhofer et al., 2000). Because of this low remuneration level for artistic activity, the share of additional non-artistic occupation is particularly high in the field of the fine arts (Schelepa et al., 2008).

2.2.2. The socio-economic situation in Germany

In Germany, the cultural and creative industries generated a turnover of € 137.3 billion (2010) (Schulz et al., 2013) (an increase of 23% compared to 2003). A total of 959.936 (2012) “cultural workers” (defined as musicians, vocalists, actors, fine artists, film/television/audio artists, designers, architects, game and software programmers and other cultural professions) could be identified, with 126,285 persons in the field of design and the fine arts and 102.213 in the field of architecture (Schulz et al., 2013).

Professions in art and culture are characterised by a huge share of self-employed persons. In Germany, the share of self-employed persons among artists is about four times higher than the average one of the German population (BMWi, 2014). In 2012, about 25% of all workers in cultural professions were self-employed (BMWi, 2014). Particularly writers, fine artists, composers and freelancers in the fields of dance, performance and theatre have to be mentioned in this context (Haak & Schmid, 1999). In contrast, the general self-employment rate in Germany is about 6% (DeSTATIS, 2014).

The average annual income of professions included in the German social security system for self-employed artists (Künstlersozialkasse) amounted to € 14,992 (2012) (Künstlersozialkasse, 2014). For instance, in Berlin, self-employed artists live with a net income half that of other self-employed individuals in the same region (Mundelius, 2009, p. 143). According to a German micro census in 2009, about one-fifth of German self-employed artists live beneath the current at-risk-of-poverty threshold (BMWi, 2009a). The monthly average income of male artists amounted to € 1.092 (2009) and of female artists to € 931 (2009) (Schulz et al., 2013, p. 159); and about 73% (2006) of fine artists and 55% (2006) of performing artists could not live solely from their artistic work (Dangel, Piorkowsky, & Stamm, 2006, p. 20). Musicians, in contrast, seem to face slightly less economic risks as more than 55% (2006) of self-employed musicians were able to live from their artistic work (Dangel et al., 2006, p. 20). Overall, confronted with such difficult living situations, about 21% of self-employed artists reported to seek for more certainty by engaging in an additional permanent, salaried job, while 8.4% were considering giving up their artistic profession (Dangel et al., 2006).

2.2.3. The socio-economic situation in Switzerland

About 1.4% (2009) of total employment in Switzerland was engaged in the cultural sector (ERICarts, 2014). Nineteen-thousand and twenty-eight (2009) people worked in the music industry, while 6,907 (2009) worked on the literature and book market (Weckerle & Theler, 2010). Another 11,006 (2009) people worked in the area of the performing arts, while 6,742 (2009) people worked in the film industry and 7,128 (2009) worked on the art market (Weckerle & Theler, 2010).

The working situation of Swiss artists is quite similar to the one in Germany and Austria. The share of cultural workers in total employment of Switzerland was 1.40% (2009), the share of self-employed in cultural employment was 12.10% (2009) and the share of self-employed in total employment was 15.17% (2009) (ERICarts, 2014).

Weckerle and Söndermann (2003) emphasise the “precarious” situation of many artists in Switzerland. Beside self-employment, project-orientated part-time engagements dominate the Swiss artistic labour market (Weckerle & Söndermann, 2003). For instance, the Swiss professional association “visarte” has established that 2,300 fine artists live with an annual average net income of only CHF 30,000 (about € 19,780).

2.3. Art and (self-)management requirements

A crucial requirement for any artistic profession is commitment (Dudek, Bernèche, Bérubé, & Royer, 1991; Eikhof & Haunschild, 2007). A large part of this high dedication is, though, rarely rewarded with an adequate income. Many artists are not able to determine the value of their work (Abbing, 2002; Austin & Devin, 2009; Caserta & Cuccia, 2001). While some artists consciously accept disadvantages such as existential fear and self-exploitation for the benefit of self-determination, self-fulfilment and autonomy (Dudek et al., 1991; Eikhof & Haunschild, 2007; Throsby, 2007), undervaluation is frequently due to a lack of self-confidence or shame (Dudek et al., 1991). On the other hand, artists frequently lack management and commercial knowledge and skills (Eikhof & Haunschild, 2007; Menger, 1999). The lack of business knowledge is one of the most common reasons why artists fail to make a living from their talent (BMWi, 2009b).

Inevitably, every artist has to deal with economic or management issues (Eikhof & Haunschild, 2007; Menger, 1999). Consequently, an appropriate educational background in the field of management and commerce are—in addition to artistic talent, of course—key qualifications for success. While artists are not expected to become financial or bookkeeping experts, all artists face “simple” (entrepreneurial) questions during the course of their career, such as: What is my target group—who will buy my work? How many works (or performances) do I have to sell to make my living? What should be the price of my work or service? (BMWi, 2009b).

The conception of the artist who thinks and acts with business sense is not an invention of current market pressures, but rather was present in all eras in history of art (e.g. Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Hans Makart, Andy Warhol or Jeff Koons). For instance, from the Gothic to the Baroque period, studios of painters were medium-sized companies; works were created based on division of labour and remunerated by clients according to the adduced expenditure of time and effort (North, 1996).

Albrecht Duerer (1471–1528) is an outstanding example for an artist who acted with great business sense. His economic success was principally based on the fact that his work reflected the taste of a great number of customers. He was also one of the first fine artists who (around 1498) signed his pieces of art with his initials (“AD”). These monograms became Duerer’s trademark and guaranteed the authenticity of his works. Duerer also advocated his copyright, when he brought to trial a Venetian engraver who had copied some of Duerer’s works and had sold them on the market (around 1506). Based on copyright—conferred by Maximilian I—Duerer prohibited any further reproduction of his graphics. Duerer was also organised in a business sense with regard to the production and distribution of his work. In his studio, he produced approximately 200–500 copies of his printings, employed numerous salesmen and kept the books meticulously (North, 1996, pp. 32–33).

Furthermore,—to name some other examples—at the peak of his popularity (about 1830), the famous Austrian musician Johann Strauss, Sr. (1804–1849) employed 300 musicians who played in groups of 25 each at diverse balls (Ginsburgh & Throsby, 2006, p. 139). Andy Warhol (1928–1987) was an artist who had an excellent command of the balancing act between art and commerce. His experience as a commercial designer enabled him to break out of the conventional gallery business and to transform experimental art into commercial goods and vice versa.

2.4. The educational situation of artists

The level of education is extremely high among artists in Europe: In each of the studied countries, the share of labour force with tertiary education was much higher in the cultural sectors than in total employment (European Commission, 2011a, p. 64). About 53% (2009) of the European “cultural workers” were university graduates (European Commission, 2011a, p. 71), compared to 26% (2011) (European Commission, 2011c) university graduates among the total European labour force (Mischke & Wingerter, 2012, p. 20).

2.4.1. The educational situation in Austria

In Austria, people with jobs in the cultural field frequently have a high educational level. The ratio of university graduates among persons in the field of culture is about 34.3%, whereas only 16.6% (2013) (Statistik Austria, 2014a) or, respectively, 15.8% (2012) (Statistik Austria, 2013, p. 33) of Austrian’s total labour force are university graduates.

Basically, artists pass a multilevel (theoretical and practical) education or training (Almhofer et al., 2000, p. 46). Figure 1 displays the significance of academic education for all domains of art. Academic education seems particularly high in the field of music (about 60%). However, in the performing arts, private training makes up an important education path with about 31% (Figure 1) (Schelepa et al., 2008). Only a minority of artists (about 3.4%) uses other formal education forms, such as seminars, workshops or summer/winter schools (Schelepa et al., 2008).

Figure 1. Artistic education paths in percentage values 2008 in Austria (n = 1,798, multiple responses) (Schelepa et al., 2008).

For all types of artists, continuing education is an important factor for competitiveness and even survival. However, in practice, the emphasis in this context is mainly put on the core artistic abilities, whereas continuing education in non-artistic areas is rather uncommon among artists: only 20% of Austrian artists pursuing continuing education activities participate in non-artistic programmes. Such non-artistic programmes are mostly chosen in the fields of languages (12%) and computing (11%). Interestingly, artists rarely attend courses in the field of (art) management (about 7%). The reasons for this low rate are presumably the lack of awareness and the absence of adequate courses (with respect to the subject matter of the courses, course durations and costs). High course fees and the lack of time are also important reasons why Austrian artists do not take advantage of any further education (Schelepa et al., 2008).

Comparing the high rate of university graduates among artists and the extremely poor working and income situation raises the question whether the current (academic) art education adequately prepares their students for their professional future. Thus, one of the strongest points of criticism on art curricula is their failure to prepare their students for the economic reality of (self-employed) professional lives on the art market (Almhofer et al., 2000).

2.4.2. The educational situation in Germany

Similar to the situation in Austria, workers in Germany’s cultural sector also show a rather high level of education. Compared to a share of 26% (2011) (Mischke & Wingerter, 2012) of university graduates among German employees, amongst workers in the cultural sector, this share is almost twice as high; it reaches 48% (2009) (European Commission, 2011a, p. 71). In spite of this high level of education, the country’s “cultural-workers” do not feel “well-trained”: According to an official investigation concerning “Culture in Germany” (German Enquete Commission, 2007), many artists do not feel prepared for the complex and competitive artistic labour market. The report indicates that current educational structures at universities and further education programmes only allow the acquisition of additional qualifications and knowledge (for instance, “generic skills”) to a limited extent. Thus, the main point of criticism is the lack of interdisciplinary subjects in artistic education, as students do not seem to be prepared for the pitfalls of highly dynamic and complex career paths. In its final report, the German Enquete Commission “Kultur in Deutschland” conjectures that art universities only offer insufficient “crash-courses” in the field of management and self-employment (German Enquete Commission, 2007).

2.4.3. The educational situation in Switzerland

Compared to other countries in Europe, the share of university graduates among “cultural workers” is relatively low in Switzerland: The university entry rate of students in areas such as art and humanities is 20% below the OECD average (OECD, 2014, p. 341). The share of university graduates among “cultural workers” reaches 42% (2009), compared to about 38% (2009) among total employees in Switzerland (European Commission, 2011a, p. 71).

3. Research approach

The socio-economic situation of artists has given rise to severe criticism of current art curricula. This paper analyses current art curricula in the German-speaking area (DACH region) with respect to the integration of courses with managerial topics. More specifically, this paper addresses following research questions:

•	Do art curricula in DACH region area include courses with managerial or economic topics? And if yes, to what extent are such courses offered?
•	What significance do these courses take within the curricula with respect to obligation (compulsory vs. elective subject) and course ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) points in relation to a whole curriculum’s ECTS points?

Basically, this research has explorative character aiming at providing a descriptive overview of the current situation. The study was conducted by means of an online research. In a first step, relevant institutions were identified via online research (81 institutions; see Appendix A). In a second step, these institutions’ websites and course brochures were analysed concerning learning contents in the offered curricula and course syllabi (159 courses). Using common techniques of text and content analysis, the curricula of art studies were analysed concerning practice-oriented training and economic/management-relevant topics such as business studies, marketing, accounting or law for artists (including intellectual property rights) (McCalman, 2005).

First, we analysed academic art curricula for managerial learning contents. Second, we analysed art management curricula, business-related art programmes (private and academic) as well as art management courses and seminars (with a minimum course length of several days). Figure 2 provides an overview of the process of analysis; it shows the performed steps taken throughout the analysis, together with their sequence.

Figure 2. Process of analysis: steps and their sequence.

4. The study: analysing art curricula and syllabi with regard to managerial knowledge and skills

Analysis of academic curricula in the arts with regard to economic, respectively, practice-orientated learning contents shows a rather poor situation of art education in DACH region. Most notably, Austria offers marginal academic education possibilities in the context of business management or marketing for art professions. Particularly, learning content that would support future artists in entering the art market and driving their professional career, such as courses in marketing, financing, business administration (including bookkeeping), self-management, are offered mainly by private institutions, charging rather high course fees.

Analysis also raised the question concerning the cost-performance ratio of such courses. Most of the private institutions give similar specifications regarding course contents in the syllabus such as, for instance, basic principles in marketing, business administration and law. But with respect to duration, the content of courses may differ strongly.

Furthermore, high costs and required time (long-lasting, full-time courses) may represent an obstacle for professional artists to attend such courses. For (self-employed or employed) artists, it is most likely impossible to attend full-time courses, as attending the course would mean they have to sacrifice time they require for artistic work or/and generating revenues they need so badly.

As this study was conducted as an online research, this additional research question could not yet be answered; it will be subject to future research.

4.1. The situation in Austria

Only one out of the eight Austrian art universities (including two private universities) does not offer any business-related courses as part of its art curricula; this is the Academy of the Fine Arts of Vienna; despite in-house and external discussions concerning the implementation of managerial contents in art curricula (Montag Stiftung Bildende Kunst Bonn et al., 2008), it does not have any such course in its portfolio. All other institutions do offer courses in this context, although the contents and the course lengths are in most cases extremely limited (1–2 ECTS points²). In addition, such non-artistic courses are mainly offered on an optional basis (elective courses).

In this regard, the University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna, particularly the Institute for Cultural Management, is an exception, offering a scale of courses in the field of cultural studies and management (e.g. cultural business administration, exhibition management, law and communication, etc.) that can be attended by in-house and also external students. As one of few, this university offers also instrumental diploma studies with focus on music management (workload: 15 ECTS points). Also, the University of Applied Arts of Vienna offers courses with cultural management topics (management in the arts, 2–3 ECTS points) in the entire set of its curricula. Additionally, graduates of art and cultural theory studies may register for the postgraduate study “art & economy” (4 semesters, € 2,330 per semester). The University for Art in Linz is the third Austrian university with an offer of art management, respectively, practice-relevant content (practice-orientated studies and management, 2 ECTS points).

The other art universities in Austria offer non-artistic, respectively, management courses only to a limited extent. The University of Music and Performing Arts in Salzburg (Mozarteum Salzburg) offers only two compulsory subjects in this context in its diploma studies of performing art (stage and media law, 1 ECTS point; organisation of work routine, 5 ECTS points). Additionally, the Mozarteum Salzburg offers in its master’s study “vocals” an emphasis on the education of management skills (major field of study: cultural management).

The situation in the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz is similar to the one in Salzburg. Non-artistic topics are only educated in courses in the field of law (theatre and contract law; about 1.5 ECTS); planning and project management; or press, public relations and journalism (each 1–2 ECTS points).

The Austrian private university, Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität, offers a variety of optional subjects in the field of art management (business administration, marketing, public relations, law, computing, etc.) in its master’s studies. Additionally, “cultural management” may be chosen as a major field of study (workload: 13 ECTS points) in instrumental curricula. However, the only compulsory subject in this context is “theatre law” (about 0.5 ECTS points).

The second Austrian private university, Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität, offers courses in the fields of self-management and law (2 ECTS points), business experience, theatre law and production management (2–4 ECTS points).

In summary, almost all art universities in Austria offer courses with some kind of art management-related topics. These courses’ length—and, thus, the depth in which these contents can be taught—is, however, very limited. Considering the total workload of an average bachelor study (about 180–240 ECTS points), the time extent of the majority such art management courses (1–2 ECTS points) is marginal, as the important business-relevant topics can hardly be communicated in a profound way in such a short time. Even the more comprehensive offering of managerial courses at the University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna (instrumental diploma studies with focus on music management, workload: 15 ECTS points) and at Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität (course on “cultural management”, workload: 13 ECTS) does not seem sufficient for a thorough education in the respective fields.

To some extent, the lack of practice-oriented training and economic/management-relevant learning contents in art curricula is compensated by co-operation between educational institutions. For instance, the curriculum “applied musicology” (co-operation of University Klagenfurt and Kärntner Landeskonservatorium for Music and Acting) tries to improve the career chances of instrumental students (practice-relevant modules, 12 ECTS points). The University of Vienna (Institute for Theatre, Film and Media Sciences) offers in co-operation with the private Institute for Cultural Concepts the university course “culture and organisation” (two semesters, € 4,800). Additionally, the University of Vienna offers in co-operation with the Wiener Volkshochschulen GmbH various continuing education programmes in the field of art and economy (“Werkstätte Kunstberufe”, up to three semesters, each € 250–1,086).

In Austria, private institutions play an important role in the impartment of business knowledge for artists. Among the analysed Austrian courses in the field of art and management (n = 43), only 18% (41%) seem suitable for artists (Figure 3), as they have a limited course length (3–14 days) and can be attended for rather low costs (€ 100–900). About 60% of the investigated courses range at a price level above € 1,000 and 12% of the courses cost more than € 10,000.

Figure 3. Programmes (private and academic) in the field of art management 2008 in Austria (n = 43).

Nevertheless, the majority of the analysed courses is characterised by highly practical components (internships, case studies, guest lectures by experts and practitioners from art/cultural institutions and business) and a limited number of participants (on average 20 participants).

4.2. The situation in Germany

Among the art universities (n = 51) in Germany, almost one-third (29%) of art institutions do not offer any business-related programmes, whereas the majority (71%) includes business-related educational contents in varying “density”: 16% offer managerial courses in low density (i.e. only few courses in few curricula), another one-third (29%) offer managerial courses in medium density (i.e. only few courses in many curricula), and only about one-fourth (26%) offer in all their art curricula either compulsory subjects (more than 2 ECTS points) in the fields of marketing, business administration and law, or modules of specialisation in this context (high density). Furthermore, they support students through career service centres.

In particular, two German academic service centres have to be mentioned in this context: the Career and Transfer Service Center of the Art Universities of Berlin and the Centre for International Art Management. In both cases, several art universities collaborate in order to be able to offer their art students further education in the field of management, marketing, business administration and help them in their career entry.

Figure 4 illustrates the ratios of art universities in Germany with business-relevant programmes according to the course density described above.

Figure 4. Offer of business relevant programmes in art universities 2008 in Germany (n = 51).

Analysis of the educational situation for artists in Germany shows that among the offered programmes in the field of art management (n = 96), only 31% seem to be suitable for artists (Figure 5), as the majority of the programmes with the stated target group “artists” offers only very long-lasting (1–2 years), respectively, full-time courses at very high price levels (78% at price levels above € 1,000).

Figure 5. Programmes (private and academic) in the field of art and management 2008 in Germany (n = 96).

4.3. The situation in Switzerland

For Switzerland, our analysis of the educational situation for art students with regard to their management or business-related skills shows that among the 18 analysed art universities, 12 offer programmes in this context. Among these 12 programmes, 6 offer art management courses to a great extent (modules of specialisation, etc.). Interestingly, the analysis indicated that in Switzerland, the business-related education of art students is especially high in the field of design.

Regarding course offers in continuing education (private and academic) in the field of art management in Switzerland, the majority of the 15 analysed courses were (with respect to their topics) relevant for managers in the art sector, while only 5 of the investigated were (with respect to their topics and course duration) relevant for artists. However, regarding the course prices (prices: CHF 1,100–15,000), all of them seem to be offers in a rather high price segment. Compared to the annual average net income of Swiss fine artists, if CHF 30,000 (Weckerle & Söndermann, 2003) or to the Swiss average worker income of CHF 71,638 per year (OECD, 2007), such courses, though, seem to be affordable for artists. Concerning the price-performance ratios (e.g. a three-day course focussing on fundraising for CHF 1,100), none of them seem to be reasonable for artists to invest in these educational offers.

5. Interpretation and discussion of the results

After having collected, analysed and presented data for each of the three countries in the DACH region separately, we will now compare the results among these countries. Furthermore, we will discuss selected alternative approaches from the Anglo-American area to provide examples.

Austria offers only limited possibilities for artists to learn and further develop their management respectively business-relevant skills and knowledge. As Austria is a relatively small country, the supply might seem adequate, but considering the cultural standing of Austria and the great importance of culture for Austria’s economy, the supply of business-relevant courses for artists seems to be insufficient.

Switzerland is one step ahead and puts a stronger emphasis on business-relevant topics in academic art curricula, particularly in the field of design. Also the majority of German art universities educates in art management-related topics or offers career service centres in order to support their students in their career planning. Still, in both countries, there are many art universities that do not offer any or only a few art management courses: 29% of the investigated 51 German art universities and 30% of the investigated 20 Swiss art universities do not offer any business-relevant courses.

In order to provide some examples of alternatives, we searched for documented research in the Anglo-American area that might allow for comparison and/or serve as a motivating approach. Such an exemplary study was undertaken for the subject “How schools, colleges, and universities are addressing integrated programmes between the arts, business and entrepreneurship programs” (Weaver & Bowman, 2006). Among 83 interviewed educational institutions in the USA, about 61% offer “art economic” programmes, and among the 39% of institutions that currently do not offer such programmes, 77% realised the lack of such topics (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Offer of economic contents in art studies 2005 in the USA (Weaver & Bowman, 2006).

The offered “art economic” programmes contain courses such as entrepreneurship, marketing, bookkeeping, strategic management, business law.

The study of Weaver and Bowman (2006) does not allow to conclude to what extent these interviewed US institutions offer their “art economic” programmes. However, the vast majority of the analysed education institution offers practice-oriented courses, respectively, courses with economic/management-relevant topics such as business studies, marketing, accounting and law for artists (86% in the United Kingdom and 67% in the USA).

For instance, the Columbia College Chicago offers courses such as “Self-Management for Artists” or “Music Business Affairs”, “Music as a Career”, “Career Building Workshops” with the aim to facilitate students in “[…] how to acquire an agent, how to network, conduct oneself at job meetings and navigate the shark-infested waters […]” (Columbia College of Chicago, 2009). For vocal and theatre students, the University of London offers courses in the field of “Career Management” with focus on “[…] communicating strategies for reflective practice and self-evaluation and personal management for career planning […]” (University of London, 2009). Main issues of these courses are the current cultural and subsidy policy, management structures, marketing strategies and self-promotion.

Many of the analysed art colleges in the United Kingdom and the USA offer additionally so-called “Career Development Centres” or “Career Service Offices”. These service facilities help graduates in entering the art market and developing a career under various aspects such as sustainability and/or flexibility. Seminars, training courses, personal coaching and workshops should support students in their transition to self-employment and independence (Royal College of Music London, 2008).

Overall, in line with the German Enquete Commission (2007), we conclude that art universities have the responsibility to prepare art students for their complex career paths. We claim that artists should at least have the opportunity to elect specific business-related courses to enrich their art studies. In general, the regret is smaller if know-how acquired in a management course has never been applied compared to the regret if financial losses or risks disturb the path of an artist due to a lack of management know-how. From an educational policy point of view as well as from the viewpoint of the pubic, it seems preferable to integrate management courses into art programmes. We claim that artists should be placed in a position to know relevant markets and their mechanisms, adapt to economic changes, get along or conquer new markets and work areas; this aim should be considered in the artistic education by integrating business and management courses into art programmes.

6. Conclusions and recommendation

Although the art sector is a highly profitable market, the income and the living situation of artists, who actually perform the core activities without which there would not be any art market or only a fragment of it, are below the average income level of the overall population. This fact is striking as the cultural sector is an important part of European economy (2.6% of the European GDP) and grows faster than the entire economy. Even though artists in the cultural sector are part of a profitable segment of the economy, they seem not to participate adequately in this sector’s revenues. Although the art sector is characterised by the so-called “superstar phenomenon”, the distribution of earnings among non-superstars is expected to be fair and at average level (compared to the average population). Reality looks much different, though.

We emphasise that for a successful career, an artist needs additional competences besides a profound artistic education. Knowledge of business administration, marketing, organisation and knowledge of the own legal rights and duties should be part of any artistic education.

For a better understanding of the educational situation, we analysed the curricula of institutions educating in art in DACH region; overall, we identified and analysed 159 course syllabi of 81 art universities as well as similar art schools and academies. The main conclusion that can be drawn from our study is that the education of artists does not match the current requirements of (self-employed) professional artists, as professional artists are key-players in a highly dynamic and demanding art market with strong competition. For DACH region, the presented analysis shows a rather poor educational situation of artists with respect to the implementation of management topics and practice-oriented management training in art curricula. In most cases, future artists do not have sufficient possibilities to further develop their non-artistic abilities—that are highly relevant in practice—in an educational context. At universities and academies, non-artistic courses are offered only to a very limited extent (with regard to covered topics and time). Consequently, future artists have to fully rely on their own experiences and learning-by-doing, and/or hints and tips by better-informed and established colleagues and mentors.

If art universities and academies would teach applied management topics in compulsory courses, economic mishaps, wrong decisions and strategic mistakes (that may happen especially at the beginning of a professional art career due to ignorance or inexperience) could be avoided. Sensitising students—as future artists—to economic and management topics by creating awareness of such managerial issues and by developing competences for collecting, evaluating and acting upon adequate information would be highly beneficial.

Our study reveals that the German government and also many German universities recognised the importance of implementing such non-artistic or interdisciplinary topics into art curricula. To accelerate this development, the German Enquete Commission (2007) recommends to further implement qualifications in the fields of (self-)management, self-employment, copyright and ancillary rights. Additionally, it recommends art universities to put emphasis on advisory, further education and development programmes, especially in the fields of business start-up, secure existence and competence for innovation.

As our study indicates, Germany shows good approaches in implementing management and practice-orientated topics into the art education system and follows the example of the USA and the United Kingdom. By comparison, Austria and Switzerland are behind in offerings of managerial courses in artistic education. Still, the Anglo-American area seems to be ahead in its offers compared to DACH region.

Based on our findings, we suggest increasing the managerial education at art education for following reasons:

•	Managerial skills are crucial for professional careers of artists and indispensable for a sustainable career development. The Anglo-American area could serve as an example, as these countries already regard a practice-orientated art education as an obligation for a reputed art education institution.
•	On an international level, the educational profiles of art graduates are currently not comparable. In order to improve the competitive position of artists in DACH region vs. the Anglo-American area, curricula have to be pushed to a—at least to some extent—comparable level.
•	New media and technologies highly influence the artistic activities. The artistic activity is experiencing an upheaval, which (future) artists have to be prepared for and adapt to for survival. Only developing appropriate management and technological skills will allow them to make a career out of their work.

While our research focused on DACH region, further research shall be broadened both, horizontally and vertically. On the horizontal level, further research will analyse the art education in other countries; it seems advisable to perform a stepwise analysis focusing on various groups (e.g. with a common educational system and/or cultural background) because such a modular approach is more likely to provide compact results and to-the-point recommendations. On a vertical level, it is necessary to investigate the education of artists not only at universities and academies, but also to tracing the educational paths and profiles in other educational settings, such as continuing education classes. Another promising research approach considers various art markets, their mechanisms and characteristics—possible segmentations might refer to the type of art (e.g. music, fine art) or cultural regions (e.g. Anglo-American area) and identifies specific requirements.

Finally, if the lack of business knowledge is an essential driver why artists might fail to make a living from their talent, then this chain of cause and effect could be ruptured by adequate educational opportunities. It even seems worthy of discussion if such educational opportunities are ultimately even for the public benefit. If so, offering such educational opportunities is even obligatory for governmental authorities in welfare states.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Katharina Viola for her substantial contributions regarding literature review, data collection and the initial conceptual discussions on the topic. This article benefited from her valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this paper.

Additional information

Funding

Funding. The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Christine Bauer

Christine Bauer is an assistant professor at the Department of Information Systems & Operations at Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. She holds a doctoral degree in Social and Economic Sciences and a master’s degree in International Business Administration, both from University of Vienna, Austria, and a master’s degree in Business Informatics from Vienna University of Technology, Austria. Her research focuses on ubiquitous computing and human–computer interaction.

Christine Strauss

Christine Strauss is an associate professor at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics, University of Vienna, Austria. She holds a master’s degree in Business Informatics from the University of Vienna, Austria, and a doctoral degree in Economics from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. She is the head of the research group on Electronic Business at the University of Vienna, Austria, and key researcher at Secure Business Austria Research. Her research focuses on electronic business, operations research, business informatics, and security.

Notes

1. Although DACH region forms a common economic and cultural subspace; they differ in educational systems and cultural policy. For instance, Switzerland considered culture a private matter until the early 1970s (ERICarts, 2014).

2. One ECTS point corresponds to a workload of about 25–30 h. European Bachelor studies (about eight semesters) comprise between 180 and 240 ECTS points (European Commission, 2009).

Appendix A. Investigated art universities and academies in DACH region