WORKARTS AND ART-BASED INITIATIVES: THE IMPACT OF ART ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING

The relationship between Economics and Art is subject to a thorough investigation to determine its evolution over time and to grasp its valuable insights: to achieve this aim, in the first instance, the relatively niche discipline of Cultural Economics is explored. Then, the main approaches to value art are delineated along with the analysis of cultural and economic values as the two main components of art value. After having reviewed and covered such topics, the concept of “workarts” (corporate art collection, artist-led intervention and artistic experimentation) is introduced for a better understanding of the positive impacts provided by art employed at organizational level. Therefore, the primary purpose of this research is to demonstrate how art within the corporate context is pivotal to pursue innovation and improve productivity. Some empirical studies, contributing to the accomplishment of this task, are proposed and examined. Finally, this study insists on the importance for firms to develop and leverage employee creative capabilities stemming from art-based initiatives (interpretable as cultural capital).