Chapter 8: Do Museums’ Websites Boost Visitors’ Intentions? A PLS Multigroup Comparison

Today, museums spend a large amount of financial resources on websites to promote visitors’ arrivals and as an additional service that complements the physical visit (Marty, 2007, 2008, 2011). With the introduction of websites in this industry, its effects have expanded exponentially; while these digital platforms were initially designed to offer basic information, such as location, prices, and opening hours, Nowadays superstar museum websites offer a universe of visual, interactive, and e-learning tools, (Capriotti, Carretón, & Castillo, 2016; Capriotti & González-Herrero, 2013; Lagrosen, 2003; López, Margapoti, Maragliano, & Bove, 2010; Pallud, 2017).

In the specific case of museums, websites are important sources of information, as these are experiential services, which are now subject to a customer journey that begins in the digital sphere (Muskat, Muskat, Zehrer, & Johns, 2013). Digital platforms most strongly affect the tourism sector, as it has revolutionized the way visitors plan, enjoy, perceive, and share their experiences. Given the speedy growth of the different edutainment options these websites offer, museums are constantly re-designing the experience to delight visitors with enjoyable moments that enhance their loyalty (Lin, Fernandez, & Gregor, 2012). The recognition of the importance of all these flourishing innovations that superstar museums attempt to adopt in their websites to improve their service differentiation (Pallud & Straub, 2014) leads to their increased popularity among users. These technological innovations provoke users’ fascination and emotions (Capriotti & Kuklinski, 2012; Hassenzahl & Tractinsky, 2013; López et al., 2010).