Museums in the Infosphere: reshaping value creation

ABSTRACT

This paper provides a theoretical contribution by investigating how digital technologies are currently reshaping the museum value chain in the Infosphere, an information environment where boundaries between the offline and online worlds are rapidly becoming blurred. This study applies Porter’s value chain to museum management to understand (1) how ICTs impact the primary production processes of museums, and (2) how museums are currently relocating in the new emerging environment. The study is conducted through an extensive literature review on museums and digital technologies. The research results identify four approaches to digital transformation: (1) a back-office approach to improve the preservation of cultural heritage; (2) an onsite approach to enhance the quality of the museum experience; (3) an online approach to extend the museum experience beyond museum doors; and (4) an onlife approach based on multisensorial and interactive technologies, LOD and IoT, to create a wider, more accessible and hybrid museum experience.

KEYWORDS:

• Infosphere
• onlife
• museum value chain
• preservation
• enhancement
• value creation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cristina Simone

Cristina Simone is an Associate Professor of Management at the Sapienza University of Rome where she teaches ‘Management and Innovation Management’. Her main research fields are strategic management, knowledge management, innovation and organization design. She is the author of many international and national scientific publications, and she is the principal investigator of several scientific projects. She is Associated Editor of the International Journal of Environment and Health and reviewer of many IF journals; she is co-director of the scientific book series ManOTec. She is an affiliated member of the Organisational Processes and Practices Research Group (OPPRG), School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University London.

Mara Cerquetti

Mara Cerquetti is an Associate professor of Management at the University of Macerata where she teaches ‘Management and Organization of Cultural Institutions', ‘Cultural Marketing' and ‘Cultural Heritage Management'. She has participated in several international conferences and her publications have been published in several national and international scientific journals. Her research and publications focus on cultural management and policy, cultural heritage value and value creation, museum management and marketing, and sustainable tourism. She is a member of the Scientific Committee and Editorial Board of the Journal ‘Il Capitale Culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage’.

Antonio La Sala

Antonio La Sala, PhD in Management & Information Technology, is Research Fellow at the Sapienza University of Rome (Economics Faculty) and Adjunct Professor of Business Management (Architecture Faculty). He has been Visiting Scholar at California State University, Sacramento (College of Business Administration) and he is a member of prestigious scientific academies such as the Academy of Management and EGOS. His main research interests include resilience, complexity, organizational behavior and systems thinking. He is the author of numerous national and international scientific publications and member of research projects on resilience and technological innovation.