Analysing the factors influencing visitors? satisfaction at a museum: the role of socio-demographic characteristics, motivations and visit experience

In recent years museums have become interested in significant modernization efforts within their administration by updating their managerial elements and principles. Consumers? satisfaction in particular has been recognized as a key element in gaining an advantage over competitors. The objective of this paper is to use a representative sample of visitors to the G.A. Sanna National Museum of Archaeology in Sardinia, Italy, to identify the main determinants influencing their satisfaction. A probabilistic quantitative model is employed based on microeconomic foundations. The findings support the hypothesis that motivations, the actual experience at the museum and the length of the visit, as well as socio-demographic factors such as nationality, gender and education influence the overall level of satisfaction. This paper contributes to the literature on consumer satisfaction in museums and provides useful directions for museum management to explore.