Crowdfunding for Cultural Heritage Institutions: Some Insights from the French Context

Crowdfunding has recently emerged as a buzzword in the cultural and creative sector, mainly indicated as an alternative to the decrease of public funding (Bonet and Donato, 2011; Bertacchini et al. 2011). However, this issue is still not investigated in specific fields such as the cultural heritage sector that is yet reluctant to integrate crowdfunding in its management practices. This paper aims at filling this research gap by focusing on exploring the perception of crowdfunding in cultural heritage institutions by means of an empirical investigation of a relevant sample of organizations in France. The results of the research shed light on the uses and values of crowdfunding in this specific context, paving the way for future comparative research in broader geographical areas.