Investments in art and culture drive productivity in companies: +75% in 10 years

Over the centuries, economy and beauty have been inextricably linked. The fifth edition of the Banca Ifis report clearly confirms the role of art and culture as strategic assets for the competitiveness of companies and banks.

According to the latest available data, companies that have integrated arts and cultural projects into their business model generated EUR 192 billion in revenues. This figure is already high in itself, but takes on further value when compared to companies that do not invest in these areas.

The analysis that will be published in its entirety in September shows, in fact, that these companies are 1.4 times more productive than peer companies, i.e. similar in size and sector. Those who, with far-sighted vision, decide to embrace art and culture are guaranteed a significant return, since beauty beyond its symbolic value constitutes a performance accelerator. This also applies to people: in companies that invest in culture, employees' salaries grow 2.2 times faster than their competitors. A sign that art, when it enters the company, enhances skills and strengthens the organisational culture.

These results are not episodic. Even in 2023-2024, marked by inflationary tensions, high interest rates and international instability, companies investing in art and culture continued to grow. Despite the average increase in production costs, they managed to increase the operating margin per employee, widening the gap with their competitors. The numbers tell of a solid trend. If we extend the perimeter of analysis to the last ten years, i.e. between 2015 and 2024, the Banca Ifis report shows how the productivity of companies with projects on art and culture has increased by 75%, against +13% for peer companies. Per capita salaries, in the same period, rose by 25%, while companies not involved in cultural projects stopped at +9%.

The impact of beauty does not stop at the world of production, and even a sector apparently far removed from these issues, such as banking, shows similar trends. Banca Ifis has in fact identified 16 banking groups that have adopted artistic and cultural initiatives in a structured manner. During the period of analysis, these banks recorded productivity growth more than three times higher than the average for the banking system. And, as in the case of companies, a correlation between economic performance and salary growth can also be observed here. From 2018 to 2024, the productivity of 'cultural' banks increased by 78%, compared to +34% for the banking system as a whole. Salaries per capita grew by 25 per cent, while the industry average grew by 19 per cent.