Dynamic capabilities for medium-small museums: the case of MIC

Nowadays, museums are facing complex times of transformation due to continued changes in funding, technology, cultural consumption, and stakeholder expectations, all of which have urged museums to rethink their management models and vocations. Thus, museums are integrating their traditional functions with a growing set of activities through which they contribute in various ways to their communities of reference. However, transforming their role poses several challenges for museums. Our question is, thus: how can museums overcome contemporary challenges successfully and embrace a new, active role in their communities? Through the case of Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche (International Ceramics Museums) of Faenza, Italy, analyzed through a dynamic capabilities lens, we were able to identify three dynamic capabilities that can allow museums to do so: “Legacy actualization”, which relates to the museum’s ability to mobilize and update its own history and tradition to design new activities and reconcile different audiences and logics; “Engagement of the ecosystem”, which relates to the museum’s ability to build, nurture, and strengthen collaborations and partnerships with an expanded array of actors; “Capacity building”, which relates to the museum’s ability to develop new skills and foster cultural awareness and participation both internally and externally. With this study, we aim to contribute to the literature on museum management by detailing key dynamic capabilities and implications from medium-small museums in peripheral cities.