The project aims at developing a performance measurement system for museums’ directors that integrates traditional financial and non-financial measures with web data generated by users on social media or reputational platforms. The objective is to provide managers of cultural institutions with an integrated online dashboard to support decision-making.
Integrated performance measurement systems for museums
About the project
Researcher team: Deborah Agostino, Michela Arnaboldi, Camilla Marini, Melisa Diaz, Paola Riva, Matteo Gambolò
Funders: Public and Private Cultural Institutions
Duration: 2018-2020
KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The project aims at developing a performance measurement system for museums’ directors that integrates traditional financial and non-financial measures with web data generated by users on social media or reputational platforms. The background of the project is a context characterized by the continuously growing of online information generated by users though social media, online news, blogs and reviewers channels (i.e. tripadvisor). These web data can provide managers of cultural institutions with precious information to integrated traditional financial and non-financial data with measures about users’ perception, brand reputation and users’ engagement.
The project wants to provide museums’ directors with a dashboard to manage and control their performances in terms of financial stability, quality of services and online reputation. The dashboard provides also a reference benchmarking per each measured performance. Moreover, the dashboard ensures the overall view of all the museums object of analysis, representing a managerial tool to support policy evaluation.
This project comprises the following phases:
- Identification of the relevant dimensions for the measurement of museums’ performances
- Development and application of novel mathematical models for the data collection and quantification of web generated data
- Definition of a set of Key Performance Indicators (financial, non-financial and web-based) to be integrated in the managerial dahsboard
- Construction of an online dashboard to access real time the developed key performance indicators
This project applies on the specific context on Italian public museums collecting data from public documents (i.e. financial reports), from surveys to museums and museums audience. Online data sources comprise official social media pages of museums, online reviews and online news. These data are collected real time and integrated with the other traditional measures.
The project is relevant at the practitioners’ level by giving museums director with an operative tool to manage and control their online reputation. The project is also relevant at the academic level by developing and testing a novel methodology for the quantification of online reputation, which can be applied also in sectors other than museums.
OUTPUTS & IMPACTS
- Agostino, D. (2018), “Can Twitter Add to Performance Evaluation in the Area of Performing Arts? Reflections from La Scala Opera House”, Journal of Arts Management Law and Society, pp. 1-18, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2018.1431985
- Agostino, D., Arnaboldi, M. and Azzone, G. (2016), “Social media data into performance measurement systems: Methodologies, opportunities, and risks”, In Azevedo, G., Oliveira, J., Marques, R, and Ferreira, A. Handbook of Research on Modernization and Accountability in Public Sector Management, IGI Global, pp. 254-275.
- Agostino, D., Arnaboldi, M., and Carloni, E. (2018), “Analytics and Cultural Institutions: balancing between contradictions and praxis”, 10th EIASM Public Sector Conference; Lund, 4-6 September 2018
- Agostino, D., Arnaboldi, M., and Carloni, E. (2018), “Towards analytics reporting in cultural institutions: balancing between contradictions and praxis”, XXIX Riunione Scientifica Annuale – RSA AiIG 2018; Castellanza, 11-12 October 2018
Agostino, D., Arnaboldi, M. (2018), The role of big data analytics in museums: balancing between contradictions and praxis, 6th Workshop on Managing Arts and Cultural Organizations, Oxford (UK), 30th November – 1st December
