Digital transformation is increasingly significant in modern museums. While the process of museum digital transformation cannot yet be evaluated based on a unified standard. This study establishes and applies a measurement system to assess digitisation performance in museums.
A measurement system was established using content analysis of policy texts. The Delphi survey was conducted with experts, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to determine indicator weights. Finally, an empirical study was performed, and the digital transformation performance was ranked using the technique for order of preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS).
Chinese museums performed well in digital management, infrastructure, services and communication. However, technology, resources, external operations, and products require improvement. Museums demonstrated a stronger focus on internal digital transformation, highlighting opportunities for advancement in external operations.
This study applied a digital transformation evaluation system to Chinese museums using a limited sample size. To test the generalisability of the system, future applications are planned in museums in other countries and regions and in cultural sectors such as libraries and cultural tourism enterprises.
The evaluation system was tested on 13 Chinese museums. The study ranked their transformation performances and analysed key challenges. Museum professionals could identify and overcome these limitations. Studies should extend the system to other cultural heritage sectors.
This study establishes an evaluation system for the digital transformation of museums from a policy perspective, a methodology currently lacking in the literature.
