The performance of performance indicators in the arts

Abstract

Abstract The introduction of performance indicators into the field of the arts and culture has been fraught with difficulties. It is the premise of this article that many of those difficulties can be traced to tensions arising out of the actual uses of performance indicators in the arts. Based on concrete examples of the use of performance indicators, the author examines four different functions—affecting behavior, evaluating behavior, monitoring behavior, and inferring behavior—and explores some of the issues arising from each one.