Cultural institutions as knowledge-intensive public organisations (KIPOs) and their role: how digitalisation can change them providing sustainable and accessible public services

Abstract

Purpose This exploratory research seeks to clarify the role of cultural organisations as knowledge-intensive public organisations (KIPOs) and the trend of digital content creation in museum sectors and national strategies through a country case study. It aims to provide a deeper understanding and analysis of museums' roles as KIPOs, specifically focusing on their digitalisation and digital content development for service delivery. Digital technology utilisation in the museum sector has amplified the significance of digital content, not only because of the increasing use of digital technologies among the public but also because it provides attractive new content to appeal to customers, as well as more efficient knowledge management and knowledge reproduction tools for KIPOs. Thus, this paper analyses digital content creation in the museum sector and policy frameworks to provide insights into the role of museums as KIPOs by utilising digital technologies. Design/methodology/approach We conducted literature review on six keywords, combination of “cultural institution”, “museum”, “digitalization”, “digital content”, and “ICT” to understand the digitalisation of museums amongst academic papers, then used a case study to figure out the common issues as well as case-specific features of these digital offerings through analysis of the digital platforms of museums. Specifically, we choose the case of South Korea, its national strategies and budget allocations and the museum sectors in the country. Thus, the secondary data analysis was provided by the official channels, such as documents from government agencies, media sources, such as articles from newspapers and magazines and academic works of literature, such as papers in scientific journals. Findings This paper reveals the research trend in museums' digitalisation, especially through the case study, how the South Korean government has argued digital content development in museum sectors through their national strategies and budget allocations, and the trend of museums' digital offerings since 2021. This paper thus presents a novel contribution to the field by delving into the research trend in digitalisation and digital content development in the museum sector and analysing the South Korean government's national strategies and budget allocation in this context. The literature review shows that the digitalisation of museums has increased research interest in the last few years in limited areas. South Korea has allocated budgets and policies to encourage digital content creation in museums, and this study identifies an increase in digital content creation in the museum sector. Research limitations/implications The paper chose one-country case study, that of South Korea; thus, there are representative limitations and thus in terms of generalisation of the results. Further research with case studies from other countries and comparative studies are required. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of digitalisation and digital content development in the museum sector through government policies, strategies and financial investment. Social implications It highlights the importance of digitalisation and the introduction of digital contents amongst museums to gain new visitors and change the relationship between the institutions and the customers. Originality/value It deals with the digitalisation of museums as KIPOs and it is a new and relevant topic per se. This study enhances the understanding of the museum sector’s digital content development and national policies to support its activities. It provides insights into the utilisation of digital technologies in cultural institutions for digital service delivery in public organisations.

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