Museums’ digital innovation. The role of digital communication strategies in Torino museums

The purpose of this chapter is to determine the role of digital communication strategies in Torino digi- tally active museums. It describes strengths and weakness of museum digital communication practices, giving evidence on the awareness that museum managers have on the power of technology, data and automation to drive innovative digital communications. While some conceptual studies have highlighted the impact that digital technologies have on museums, empirical evidence on communication strategies, according to museum managers, is still missing. This research aims to fill this gap. The results show that digital communication is weakly linked to strategic dimension in the Torino museums, since it is conceived as a short-term operative tool, and it is not yet managed as a key resource to engage in dia- logue with their publics. Results could provide new insight to directors and museum managers involved from the transformative and often disruptive power of digitization with the various spill-over effects on their business models.