Curators or creators: Role configurations of digital innovation strategy in museum tourism destination and the principles underlying their attractiveness

Abstract

Digital innovation has emerged as a pivotal strategy for enhancing museum tourism attractiveness, yet its enablers and complex mechanisms are still underexplored. Should museums enhance existing experiences through exploitative innovation or create novel ones through exploratory innovation? This research selects 31 provincial representative museums in China as samples and undertakes a comprehensive case analysis employing interviews, official documents, public records, and other relevant materials. The analysis combines case analysis with fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Our findings reveal: (1) Critical enablers include cultural relics data assets, smart tourism systems, dynamic capabilities, innovation alliances, public demand, and financial backing. (2) Through various configurations of enablers, we reveal three approaches: Extroverted Creator (exogenous-oriented exploratory), Responsive Curator (exploitative), and Introverted Creator (endogenous-oriented exploratory). Results deepen theoretical insights into digital innovation in museum tourism and equip destinations with a strategic positioning map to assess their own innovation ecosystem and develop context-specific strategies.