Ms Kimiya’s scientific contributions

This study addresses the issue of performance measurement for Cultural Organizations and especially for Non-Profit Performing Art Organizations. In recent years, the cultural sector has become more and more competitive, seeing a consequent increase in the number of associations created, along with a declining public funding and volunteer support. This phenomenon results in a need for these organizations to apply business principles in order to handle public and/or private funds in a more accountable way, and to improve their performance. The literature review shows that evaluating the performance of such organizations is a complicated matter, since they have multiple goals, and sometimes conflicting objectives, particularly when their legitimacy depends of an institutional acknowledgement, as in the case of some European countries that apply the Welfare-State model. Traditional measurement tools, such as financial results, are therefore inadequate or at least not enough, since they cannot help measuring qualitative outcomes, such as artistic achievement. A multidimensional approach is therefore necessary to encompass the diverse perspectives inherent to this kind of organization. After studying several previously used multidimensional performing measurement models, we will show that they all have one criterion in common: the client's satisfaction. The necessity of focusing on the customer leads us to consider assessing the client's experience from his/her own point of view. We will use 5 criteria that allow an in-depth understanding of the customer's experience: Reliability, Accessibility, Entertainment, Physical Comfort, and Personnel Leadership. With applying the Emotion chart measurement model to the case of the Theatre de la Cité Internationale de Paris, we demonstrate that the measurement of the client's experience is preponderant and a useful tool to appraise and improve the performance of PAOs. With the help of the 200 questionnaires filled in by the theater's audience, we reach a better understanding of the customer's expectations, and are able to give useful and concrete recommendations on how to enhance the quality of the service delivered by the Theater. Keywords: Experiential marketing, performance measurement, performing art organizations, non-profit organizations