The Digital New Museology Framework. A qualitative case study on fulfilling the museum’s societal role in the digital space

Recent advancements in digital technology have resulted in important changes within museum practices. In light of these advancements, several weaknesses in museums’ digital abilities have come to light, as museums have generally failed to keep up with the digitalization of industries. This has considerable implications when it comes to museums’ sustainability in an increasingly competitive market, as well as their ability to engage and to grow their audience. Additionally, this poses a challenge when it comes to the museum’s ability to further its educational mission through engaging and entertaining digital experiences, which is an “edutainment” goal that is an essential mission of the modern museum. For these purposes, museums are urged to invest in developing their digital platforms and providing fully digital museum experiences. Existing research provides many insights in terms of opportunities for the improvement of museums’ digital practices and the increase of their societal value, which are focused on a visitor-centric perspective. However, a gap in research is found in terms of current applications of these digital practices for the goal of furthering the museum’s mission. Therefore, this research project examines museums’ current digital strategies in order to uncover ways through which they can create visitor-centric digital experiences to further their societal role. In this context, this research uses a case study methodology in order to identify current patterns in museum practices through the analysis of 10 museums’ websites and Instagram platforms. These 10 case studies are selected based on variations in locations, sizes and year of establishment, in order to attain a greater generalization of findings. Based on theoretical insights, this study is analyzed through a conceptual model based on the new museology framework, which allows for a thorough exploration into the applications of the museums’ edutainment mission and the dimensions of the digital visitor experience. From the research, significant findings are uncovered in terms of the ways in which museums further their societal role in the digital-only context. These findings are overall aligned with the theoretical background on digital new museology practices. Additionally, further findings uncover several areas of needed improvements in current museum practices.