Managing visitor experience in museums

This paper demonstrates the value of edutainment and authenticity when managing the visitor experience and satisfaction with a service. The study concentrates on the specific type of services that are provided by museums. Drawing on the social cognitive theory, the paper explores the relationship between edutainment (defined as the combination of education and entertainment provided through interactive content) and the three components of the perceived authenticity of museum visitor experience, 1) the museum, 2) the visitor, 3) the materials. Including edutainment and hedonic expectations as antecedents, with satisfaction as an outcome, the paper proposes a new model of perceived authenticity of visitor experience. The model was tested on a sample of 313 museum visitors (in Croatia). The results revealed that edutainment (as a second- order construct) positively influences perceived authenticity. Also, hedonic expectations positively influence one out of three components of perceived authenticity of museum visitor experience, i.e. self-authenticity of the visitor, but there was no influence on the other two components – museum and materials. Finally, perceived authenticity positively influences visitor satisfaction. Our research provides useful insights to museum managers and service managers in general who should consider using edutainment as a strategic approach to managing the visitor experience and satisfaction.