Public value as a framework for reforming publicly funded museums

Purpose – In recent years, New Public Management (NPM) has been used as the major framework for administrative reforms to redesign the public museums in many countries. However, some scholars argue that this market-based transformation results in professional corrosion or shortcomings about the public museums’ capacity to fulfill their traditional missions. In this regard, this paper maintains that the concept of public value provides a useful way of thinking about the objectives of public services. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a new framework for administrative reforms in the sector to keep efficiency without falling into professional corrosion or inefficiency problem. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the data collected through 178 questionnaire surveys. Findings – The conclusion of the paper is that, for reforming publicly funded museums, public value offers a balance between efficiency and the primary roles of the museums. Research limitations/implications – In the paper, the analysis is based on the views of museum professionals. Thus, further researches based on different sources of data are required to further explain the administrative peculiarities of public museums. Originality/value – There is a scarcity of literature on the administrative issues in public museums. This paper fulfills an identified need to study on this issue.