The economy and culture in science, both in research and teaching, have often been been seen as separate spheres. Economists focus on economic measures such as efficiency and profitability and cultural scholars on cultural contexts and experiences. In recent decades, there has been a shift as research fields have come closer together in Sweden and internationally. The economic sphere has become increasingly focused on experiences and the cultural sphere integrated into commercial structures. Collaborations between economists and cultural scientists have enabled a better understanding of social, cultural, historical and structural structural contexts, which is necessary to understand a changing society.

Within the research area of consumer behavior in marketing, research in the area of consumer culture has contributed to a better understanding of how culture and economy interact. Historically, culture culture in marketing has been seen as an external variable that exists alongside and influences the economy. In a more contemporary perspective, culture is no longer seen as a variable a variable that can be broken out and studied in isolation. In such a perspective, economy is not separate from culture. This means that people are always in a cultural context where economics can have different meanings and interpreted in different ways. Profitability may have different meanings and be valued differently in a financial district compared to a fishing village. In a more contemporary perspective culture is not separate from the economy. We are always in an economic context context where culture can have different meanings and be interpreted in different ways. Market-based economic reasoning is prominent in the market orientation of cultural institutions.

Another example is how art is valued, which visible in the tensions between economy and culture. Art is valued in a market and is influenced by market demand, norms and social societal values, but also by museums, galleries and auction houses. In addition to economic value, there is sentimental value, nostalgic value, historical value and experiential value. Provenance affects historical and economic value. Quality is closely related to value and it is relevant to ask questions about who assesses quality and whose perspective it represents.

The tensions between economics and culture are important for a deeper understanding of a changing society. The reality can become barren if economists and cultural scientists become too myopic, and an overly microscopic view can lead to them not understanding or respecting each other's knowledge. In these areas of tension, greater understanding and tolerance of different theoretical and methodological perspectives is required. It is important to have an overview, but at the same time deep knowledge is needed to truly understand a specific phenomenon. It could be likened to a fish swimming in deep water and still seeing the marine environment around it. Interdisciplinarity requires both depth and breadth, as opposed to multidisciplinarity, which often risks being more breadth than depth.

Karin M. Ekström

Research project
The importance of art museums for the valuation of contemporary art

Karin M. Ekström
Professor of Business Administration, specializing in marketing at the University of Borås.