New technologies for value co-creation within museums

Purpose – The study aims at explaining how museums as educational institutions, information-based, knowledge and learning oriented organizations are embracing Internet and interactive technologies in order to promote value co-creation and drive service innovation by opening up to participation of the audience in defining cultural heritage contents. Design/methodology/approach – Museums embracing new technologies promote value co-creation as an organizational capability to support service experience and innovation by encouraging interactive participation by enhancing the learning experience promoting user-generated content. The study is based on archival and qualitative data drawn by literature review on the potential offered by the use of Internet and virtual-interactive technologies within museums. Originality/value – Technology is driving museums to sustain value co-creation in cultural heritage by rediscovering the virtual museum as means for managing information and sharing knowledge, valuing the role of museum professionals by employing skills to meet changing needs of users, and opening up to participation of audience to construct cultural meanings and contribute to knowledge creation sustaining education and learning. Practical implications – Museums becoming social spaces for sustaining innovation and managing information and knowledge sharing tend to select a different path for sustaining value co-creation by developing interactive and virtual technologies for valuing the user as active participant and museum professional as user-centered mediators.