Creating sustainable practice in a museum context: adopting service-centricity in non-profit museums

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is the identification of issues from a consumer perspective that can assist in the creation of sustainable museums. This work specifically focuses on customer research including the service encounter experience. It has been suggested museum sustainability is questionable in the long term, with a need for fundamental change in the mental modes and attitudes assumed in the management of the sector, in particular the need for more effective and appropriate marketing strategies. Adopting a qualitative research approach, twenty consultant customers kept a service encounter diary and were subsequently interviewed in-depth. These scripts were analyzed thematically until theoretical saturation was achieved. Findings indicate many issues focusing on the creation of reflective spaces, self-paced consumption, solitude versus social exchange, the need for supplementary service to be more effectively developed, improvement in non custodial servicescapes and the relationships of satisfaction to process and amenities. Implications for management and research have been highlighted.