Art Based Initiatives as Strategic Tools: The Role of Art in Business Culture, Innovations, and Leadership

Ungkawanont, Natthawadee (2025) Art Based Initiatives as Strategic Tools: The Role of Art in Business Culture, Innovations, and Leadership. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Art and business are often perceived as opposite disciplines, one being emotional, expressive, and intuitive. While the other is rational, strategic, and profit-driven. Yet they intertwine with powerful constructive collaboration that drives creativity, innovation, and cultural transformation within the modern world. This dissertation explores the evolving relationship between art and business, particularly through the strategic move of the Art-Based Initiative (ABIs). That emphasises artistic processes into corporate strategies to enhance organisational adaptability, innovation and employee engagement.

Historically, art served as a tool for communication, status, and symbolic power and still is as of today. From prehistoric cave painting to renaissance patronage (Dissanayake, 1988; Art in Context, 2021). The changes come in the mid-20th century when scholars Ellen Dissanayake and Giovanni Schiuma redefine art as fundamental human behaviour and strategic recourse (Schiuma, 2011). Today, many organisations choose to adopt art not only for aesthetics, but as a method of fostering creativity, problem solving, emotional intelligence, and collaborative work culture.

This dissertation uses qualitative approaches to analyse the role of art within organisational management and its ability to support strategic transformation. The finding will be supported by a theoretical framework and practical case studies, such as Google's creative space and Craig Knight’s office environment research. This demonstrates the impact of artistic engagement on the productivity and well-being of employees.

Alternatively, this dissertation argues that integrating art into business practices offers not only symbolic and cultural capital, but also strategic value. Helps organizations evolve as living organisms and adaptable beings. It offers recommendations for implementing ABIs in varied business contexts while addressing the limitations and barriers to wider adoption.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Supervisors:	Name Email MacDonald, Robert UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general H Social Sciences > Economics > Business H Social Sciences > HM Sociology > Leadership H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Leadership
Divisions:	School of Business (- 2025) > BA (Honours) in Business Studies
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	19 Mar 2026 15:48
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2026 15:48
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/9193

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