Abstract

The digital transformation in the cultural sector, especially in Italy, reveals a significant challenge: the unstructured approach to the governance of digital innovation within museums, monuments, and archaeological sites. The data collected in its annual reports 2021, 2022 and 2023 by the Osservatorio Innovazione Digitale per la Cultura of the Politecnico di Milano confirm this kind of approach, as well as the need and the willingness for more structured and strategic governance models. This article aims to shed light on this issue by discussing the importance of governance in digital innovation and suggesting three potential organizational approaches that could inspire Italian cultural institutions to rethink their structures for better digital performance