Predictors of intentions and behavior: Can museums' festivals increase the popularity of museums?

Abstract

Research results reveal that visiting a museum is one of the least popular leisure activities. However, museums attract many visitors during festivals: there are people who visit museums exclusively during festivals (potential visitors of museums' regular programs), and those who come to museums both before and during festivals (visitors). This research was conducted during the festival Museums of Serbia ten days from 10am to 10pm (N = 2472). Following the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and previous results on the research of the audience of the Museum Night festival, when it was found that the visitors compared to potential visitors have more positive subjective norms, perceived control, and attitudes toward visiting museums - the first goal of this study was to examine whether those results replicate in the context of new museum festival. The second goal was to examine the possibility of further differentiation of potential visitors: whether attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control predict their intentions to visit museums after the festival. Results showed that visitors had more positive attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control than potential visitors, while regular museum visitors (who visited museums at least ten times during the previous year) had the most positive ones. Additionally, attitudes and perceived control differentiate subcategories of potential visitors with and without intention to visit museums after the festival. The results are discussed within the framework of TPB. In particular, the role that TBP variables have in explaining past behavior has been considered, with respect to identified predictors of the intentions to visit museums after the festival. Applicability of TBP model for the purpose of museum audience development has been discussed, as well as further implications on the concept of potential museum audience in a festival context.