Nineteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Cultural sustainability is increasingly being perceived as a fourth dimension of sustainable development. So far, some studies have debated the way in which cultural sustainability can lead to economic, social, and environmental benefits, while others have highlighted how the classic pillars of sustainability can help museums to achieve their core cultural mission. Sustainable development depends on measures taken by public and private organizations within which museums play a key role given their role in society. Museums use resources in order to provide public goods and services, being budgetary subsidies their main sources of income. Unfortunately, those are limited and shrinking. In order to function, museums were forced to find ways to increase their own income and keep their costs under control, thus starting to use management strategies similar to those of private companies, such as internationalisation. To achieve these goals, an in-depth analysis of case studies has been developed in order to assess how international expansion has helped satellite museums to increase their sustainability. Methodologically, it is based on the triangulation of qualitative techniques (bibliographic and documentary analysis, interviews, etc) and quantitative techniques (virtual ethnography and social network analysis), taking into account the need to approach the subject from an interdisciplinary approach that reflects the multi-dimensional reality of museology. The aim of this research is to create an integrated frame that explains the interconnections between different variables that help satellite museums become sustainable, as well as the place and role of cultural sustainability within the overall framework of sustainable development.