BENEFITS, ADVANTAGES, AND USEFULNESS OF MUSEUM NETWORKS The case of Fondazione Musei Senesi in Tuscany

This thesis presents a case of network analysis applied to the cultural sector. In particular, it investigates a network of 45 museums in the Lands of Siena, unified in 2003 under Fondazione Musei Senesi. The aim of this research is to investigate to what extent is it useful for museums to be part of a network, assuming a threefold perspective according to the main points of view on the subject: that of the Foundation itself, as the “head” of the network, the museums within the system, and the visitors. Results have revealed that, as expected, networking in the museum sector has a massive potential. However, the case of Fondazione Musei Senesi has also pointed out the complexities of networking and the limitation to properly exploit this potential. Nonetheless, data has also shown that, by taking into account different stakeholders’ perspectives together, some useful insights on the benefits of networking can still be reached. This because each specific point of view allows a different perspective on the subject and, when compared, they can provide an extensive overview of the usefulness of networking for all the stakeholders of the network itself. The evidence obtained from interviews and surveys lead me to conclude that, although the difficulties, it is still useful for Sienese museums to be part of the network. In the end indeed, the social and cultural mission of these museums is more easily pursuable by joining together rather than by acting individually and this is emphasized by social media followers and museums’ visitors, especially in critical situations such as the spread of Covid-19.