An Exploratory Study of State-Owned Museum Performance in Italy

Abstract State-owned museums are complex organizations that have traditionally focused on research and conservation, on the one hand, and cultural diplomacy and national identity enhancement, on the other. In recent years, their role has evolved around valorization activities such as tourist attraction, education, and inclusion. This chapter explores the evolution of governance for this specific type of organization, which in Italy remains under strict government control, while necessarily opening up to a broader set of stakeholders. In this context, the interplay between the director and the board affects the museum’s performance. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the role of directors’ gender, nationality, and human capital characteristics (represented by their international experience and curatorial experience with Italian heritage) and on how directors interact with a board that has diverse (as opposed to homogeneous) competencies and experiences. In an exploratory analysis of the first thirty Italian autonomous museums created by law between 2014 and 2016, the chapter shows that the effects of directors’ human capital and gender are enhanced by the presence of a board with a complementary set of competencies. From a policy perspective, the results suggest that paying attention during the appointment and selection phases both to the director’s effective autonomy and characteristics and to the ways in which the board members’ profiles complement those factors helps foster a more effective valorization.