To adopt or not to adopt? A co-evolutionary framework and paradox of technology adoption by small museums

Technology is changing the traditional approach to museums, i.e. ‘looking and no touching’, encouraging visitors to adopt the new ‘playing and interacting’ notion. However, previous qualitative literature has focused attention on this phenomenon for large museums, without: providing insights on small museums (SMs), which form the majority worldwide; identifying whether technology adoption differences exist according to SM ownership; and, identifying enablers and inhibitors of technology adoption. To fill these gaps, directors/curators of 194 Italian SMs took part in a survey that was analysed through a mixed quantitative (Chi- squared tests and t-test) and qualitative (mixed thematic analysis) approach. Results show that: (i) the most used technologies by SMs are the website, online presence on non-proprietary channels, and social media; and (ii) public and private SMs have an equal level of technology adoption. Moreover, the co-evolutionary interpretation of enablers and inhibitors provides a framework for technology adoption in SMs, also substantiating the existence of a co-evolving technology paradox.