Marketing Research
Does the Artist’s Name Influence the
Perceived Value of an Art Work?
Introduction
T
here appears to be a need for the inclusion
of art issues in marketing and management
research, especially the interaction between
art branding and consumer behaviour during the
process of evaluating an artist in the complex
visual arts market (Muñiz, Norris and Fine 2012;
Preece and Kerrigan 2015; Schroeder 2005, 2006).
Researchers have examined the concept of
perceived value from a variety of perspectives,
such as that of the product and its price (Voss,
Parasuraman and Grewal 1998; Woodruff 1997;
Zeithaml 1984) within the scope of human
behavioural processes and the consumer experi-
ence, both hedonistic and utilitarian (Babin,
Darden and Griffin 1994; Bigné Moliner and
Callarisa 2000; Holbrook 1999). There are also
those who consider the consumer experience to
be a balance between two concepts such as qual-
ity and price, costs and benefits (Fornell et al.
1996; Lovelock 1996; Monroe 1990; Voss,
Parasuraman and Grewal 1998) or whether the
experience is defined as unidimensional or mul-
tidimensional (Sánchez-Fernández and Iniesta-
Bonillo 2007). Recently, consumer culture theory
(CCT), service dominant logic (SDL) and brand-
ing research have been used to look at the concept
of value from a sociocultural perspective
(Galvagno and Dalli 2014; Karababa and
Kjeldgaard 2013; Vargo and Lusch 2004).
Proponents of CCT are interested in co-creation
(Peñaloza and Venkatesh 2006) while those of
SDL take a micro-analytic and social construc-
tion approach (Edvardsson,Tronvoll and Gruber
2011), going beyond co-creation interactions and
46
Elisa Hernando, Sara Campo
consumption, which can refer to customer par-
ticipation in the value creation process or to the
process itself (Grönroos and Ravald 2011).
The various approaches to analyzing the valu-
ing of art have been somewhat biased or have
been undertaken from the standpoint of supply,
without considering the consumer or art collec-
tor. Furthermore, there have been no empirical
studies of the influence of an artist’s name on
the value of his/her work as perceived by collec-
tors (brand value). This study seeks to address
the research gap by exploring how collectors,
when considering a work of art, transform the
name of the artist into economic worth. Elisa Hernando
is a professor of Art Economy,
There are two approaches to examining
Management and Valuation
brands. One approach focuses on corporations
at Universidad Nebrija in
and organizations – how to measure and manage Madrid. She holds a PhD in
brands to maximize their value and analyze their Business Administration and
brand equity from a sociological perspective Art History from Universidad
(strategic brand management, or SBM) (Kotler Autónoma de Madrid.
and Keller 2011). The other treats brands as
Sara Campo
socially constructed with a complex value-added is an associate professor of
system of intermediaries (cultural branding Marketing at Universidad
theory, or CBT) (Freeman 1984; Preece and Autónoma de Madrid. She is
Kerrigan 2015). the author of books and of
The concept of brand has been studied in articles published in interna-
depth in the fields of business organization and tional journals such as
marketing, although there is some divergence Tourism Management,
regarding the definition. Brand has been defined Journal of Tourism Research,
International Journal of Service
as a symbol or name that differentiates and influ-
Industry Management, Journal
ences the purchase decision, assigning the prod- of Business-to-Business
uct a utilitarian and/or symbolic value (Aaker Marketing, Cyberpsychology,
1992; Farquhar 1989). The concept of brand Behavior, and Social
works in multiple ways, one of which is to create Networking and International
meaning for the consumer (Aaker 1992). Journal of Market Research.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTS MANAGEMENT