Corporate giving to the arts and culture in Italy: An exploratory analysis

The paper addresses the issue of corporate support to the arts and culture. Drawing on the extant literature on sponsorships and corporate philanthropy, we propose a cluster analysis carried out on 160 investments in artistic or cultural activities made by a sample of 95 mid-sized Italian companies between 2008 and 2015. Results provide an up-to-date empirical evidence of corporate giving in Italy and suggest an original typology of business investments in the art and culture, distinguishing between ‘things-in-common’, ‘neighbor’ and ‘contamination’ investments. This study, focusing on the case of a Latin country and on a sample of mid-sized companies, extends the empirical setting usually investigated. Moreover, by considering the characteristics of supporting organizations, we illuminate the influence that such aspects have on business investments in the arts and culture.