Understanding individual membership at heritage sites

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present George Kelly's The Psychology of Personal Constructs and to discuss how Repertory Grid Technique can aid a better understanding of friends and members in an arts marketing context.
Design/methodology/approach – The project is a phenomenological study drawing on Kelly's The Psychology of Personal Constructs. The author conducted 16 unstructured face-to-face interviews across the UK during 2007 with individuals who were friends or members of at least five heritage supporter groups as part of a larger mixed methods study. The interviews included the building of Repertory Grids.
Findings – Analysis of the Repertory Grids gives a detailed understanding of participants' perceptions of, and involvement in, heritage supporter groups. Five themes emerged from the analysis: Organization; Engagement with the Organization; Involvement; Motivation; and Relationships with other members.
Practical implications – The paper provides a rich understanding of the portfolio of memberships that individuals have and of how they perceive and interact with them.
Originality/value – The paper contributes to the arts marketing literature methodologically by illustrating how to use Repertory Grid Technique in an arts marketing context and by focusing on friends and members, whose perspectives the academic literature does not cover extensively.