Unlocking Digital Maturity in Museums: Empirical Insights from Italy's Cultural Sector

This study examines what drives digitisation in museums and cultural institutions using the Technological, Organisational, Environmental (TOE) framework. Drawing on data from the 2023 nationwide ISTAT survey of Italian museums, it analyses how internal capabilities and external conditions influence digital adoption. Two logistic regression models identify key determinants of digitisation for both displayed and stored collections. Results show that technological readiness, especially Wi-Fi availability, social media use, and the uptake of digital tools, strongly promotes digitisation. Organisational enablers such as public funding, staff training, institutional type, and visitor volume also play important roles, while partnerships and networks support digital engagement through cooperation and resource sharing. The findings additionally underscore the importance of sustained staff training and collaborative funding schemes, which help build digital competencies and support larger-scale projects across institutions. Overall, digitisation emerges as a systemic process shaped by infrastructure, human resources, and institutional relationships.