Managing adaptive orientation systems for museum visitors from an IoT perspective

Purpose – Starting from the premises that Internet of Things (IoT) applications can be used in museums as an aid to visiting systems, the purpose of this paper is to see how recommendation systems can be developed to provide advanced services to museum visitors. Design/methodology/approach – The research methodology employs a qualitative exploratory multi-case study: the method used has consisted in crossing the information currently known on the most advanced communication technologies (ICT) with the requirements of enhancing museum services, in order to determine the possible trajectories of applying the former to the latter. Findings – The implementation of recommender system outlines the main implications and effects of an advanced market-driven digital orientation, as the system’s users are the starting point for innovation and the creation of value. For a museum, it will be possible to access to an additional system of knowledge alongside that of its scientific staff. This process has profound implications in the way in which a museum presents itself and how it is perceived by its visitors and, in a wider sense, by the potential demand. Research limitations/implications – The paper consists in an exploratory effort to introduce an analytical framework for an evolved adaptive museum orientation system; the empirical investigation can be structured in the inductive-predictive view of assessing this promising debate further. Originality/value – Implementing the IoT blueprint entails introducing a plethora of new products, services and business models, opening new routes to guide and direct cultural events. Now, more than ever, sustainable development involves an intrinsic balancing act between the pluralism of data and that of customer needs, which is achieved through the elaboration of digital data.