Revisiting museums of contemporary art: what factors affect visitors with low and high levels of revisit intention intensity?

ABSTRACT

This paper explores visitor behaviour in the context of contemporary art museums. Assuming that the consumption patterns of contemporary art differ from those of classical art, the study analyses the impact of the cognitive and affective components on revisit intention. We use a survey of visitors to five contemporary art museums in St Petersburg, Russia and apply structural equation modelling. The paper distinguishes between three levels of revisit intention to find out whether cognitive and affective components predefine the likelihood and intensity of revisit intention. The findings demonstrate that the cognitive component has a significant impact on the affective component and revisit intention. Among the affective dimensions, empathy and responsiveness of museum staff are the most important predictors of the high level of revisit intention. The results highlight the need for raising interest of the general public in contemporary art and the importance of human interaction to stimulate revisit intention.

KEYWORDS:

• Contemporary art museums
• consumer behaviour
• revisit intention
• cognitive–affective-conative model
• structural equation model (SEM)
• SERVQUAL

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The publication was prepared within the framework of the Academic Fund Program at HSE University in 2022 [grant number 22-00-068].

Notes on contributors

Julia Trabskaya

Julia Trabskaya is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management at HSE University, Russia and the University of Tartu, Estonia. Her research interests include knowledge-based entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and creation, museum branding, artistic and creative cultural ecosystems. She has published in such journals as International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Journal of Place Management and Development, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Foresight and STI Governance, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research.

Elena Zelenskaya

Elena Zelenskaya is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management and a Junior Researcher of the International Laboratory of Intangible-driven Economy at HSE University, Russia. Her research interests include cultural economics, arts and culture marketing, and place branding. She has published in such journals as Journal of Product and Brand Management, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research.

Anastasia Sinitsyna

Anastasia Sinitsyna is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Management at HSE University, Russia and Research Fellow in School of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Her research interests include cultural economics, migration, and econometrical and statistical analysis. She has published in such journals as Social Inclusion, Housing Studies, and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.

Nikita Tryapkin

Nikita Tryapkin is a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of Management and a PhD student at HSE University, Russia. His research interests include consumer behavior, museum innovations and their antecedents, ambidexterity of leadership in museums.