Frictions of the Digital: Rethinking Expertise and Innovation in Museums
Frictions of the Digital: Rethinking Expertise and Innovation in Museums

Summary/Abstract: The terms ‘digital transformation’ and ‘digital innovation’ are increasingly prevalent in policy discourse and institutional practice, yet remain conceptually fragmented. Often framed as technological progress or digitisation of collections, such linear technooptimistic narratives overlook the daily complexities of museums. Drawing on interviews with heritage professionals, we analyse how digital change is shaped by four frictions: mediatisation, temporal acceleration, translation, and institutional change, each enabling and sometimes resisting innovation. Digital change appears not as a singular process, but as a negotiation of institutional identity, professional values, and time pressures. Frictions are not obstacles; they prompt reflection on the meaning and direction of innovation, exposing the limits of top-down strategies and product-driven thinking. Digital change in museums emerges through daily practice, shaped by structural misalignments, fragmented expertise, and adaptation.

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