Swot Analysis and Feasibility of Museum Cluster Development in Linyi City, China

Swot Analysis and Feasibility of Museum Cluster Development in Linyi City, China

Ying Guo¹, Ru Zhang², Ping Nie³

¹Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000, China

¹Research Center of Revolutionary Cultural Relics, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000, China

²School of History and Culture, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000, China

³School of foreign language, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000, China

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7922

Received: 06 August 2023; Revised: 19 August 2023; Accepted: 28 August 2023; Published: 22 September 2023

ABSTRACT

Based on the realistic background of the development of museums in Linyi City, Shandong Province, this paper makes a SWOT analysis of the development of the museum cluster in Linyi City. The development advantages of the museum cluster in Linyi City mainly include superior geographical location, the emergence of a red tourism brand, the promotion of resource sharing and complementation, and the realization of collaborative promotion and marketing. However, the development of the museum cluster may inevitably involve unfavourable factors and disadvantages in popularity and influence, construction and operation costs, competition and cooperation, and interest distribution. Even so, developing museum clusters in Linyi City is beneficial to realize opportunities such as resource sharing and complementarity, collaborative promotion and marketing, forming cultural tourism destinations, and promoting academic exchanges and cooperation. Meanwhile, it is necessary to coordinate the cooperative relationship among multiple museums, which may lead to challenges in the distribution of benefits, cultural differences and ideas, resource sharing and mutual assistance, and organization and management in promoting the museum clusters in Linyi City. In future development, Linyi City can improve the visibility and influence of the city through the development of museum clusters, attract more tourists and funds, and promote the innovation and development of cultural and tourism undertakings. The government should also increase its support for cultural undertakings and provide more policy support for developing museum clusters.

Keywords: museum cluster; SWOT; culture industry; development pattern; Linyi City

INTRODUCTION

Museum cluster is derived from the concept of cluster, and its connotation is explained in detail in the book Reconstruction and Development: A Study on the Operation of Museum Clusters [1, 2]. As early as the middle of the 19th century, the Smithsonian Institution in the United States started the road of museum clustering and established a considerable museum cluster in the District of Columbia, with dozens of museums, art galleries, libraries, national zoos and research centres [3].

According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China notice announcing the National Museum List in 2021 in March 2023, Linyi City (China) has 56 museums of various types, two more than in 2020. According to the nature of museums, there are 16 state-owned museums of cultural relic system, 6 state-owned museums of other industries and 34 non-state-owned museums in Linyi city. According to the quality of museums, Linyi City has 1 first-level museum, 3 second-level museums, 6 third-level museums and 46 ungraded museums. Of the 34 non-state museums, 33 are unrated. Overall, the development of museums in Linyi City has generally met the primary conditions for cluster development: a large number of museums, the emergence of a red tourism brand, the increasingly significant consumer demand in the cultural field, and the increasingly mature new forces of the cultural innovation industry.

Based on the realistic background of the development of museums in Linyi City (China), this paper uses the SWOT method to analyze the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and threats of the development of museum clusters (Table 1). Based on the principle of overall consideration and comprehensive balance, this paper aims to put forward methods and strategies for the future development of Linyi Museum based on the development status and preliminary research foundation of Linyi Museum.

SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT analysis is a strategic management tool to assess a project, organization, or individual’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. SWOT is an acronym for the English words Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, which stand for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges. By assessing these four aspects, SWOT analysis helps decision-makers better understand the current situation and potential of the project or organization and formulate corresponding strategies and action plans [4].

SWOT analysis consists of the following steps: (1) Collect information about the project or organization, including internal and external factors. (2) Evaluate the internal factors of the project or organization and identify its strengths and weaknesses. (3) Evaluate the external factors of the project or organization and identify its opportunities and challenges. (4) Put strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges into the SWOT matrix for comparison and analysis. (5) Formulate corresponding strategies and action plans according to the SWOT analysis results.

SWOT analysis is a method that comprehensively considers various factors of internal conditions and the external environment to select the best development strategy. Using this method, we can conduct a comprehensive, systematic and accurate study of the situation of the research object to formulate corresponding development strategies, plans and countermeasures according to the research results [5].

Advantageous factors for the development of museum clusters

• Superior geographical location

Linyi City is in the middle of Shandong Province, surrounded by beautiful natural scenery, rich cultural resources and historical sites. It provides rich display content and unique cultural background for the cluster development of museums, attracting tourists to understand and experience the local history and culture deeply. Linyi City has developed transportation, with expressways, railways, air and other modes of transportation. It is close to Jinan, Qingdao and other big cities and has close transportation links with the surrounding areas, which is convenient for tourists to visit the museum. Convenient transportation can attract more tourists and enhance the popularity and influence of the museum.

• Emerged a red tourism brand.

Linyi City is an old revolutionary base area with rich red resources. As an important place to display and inherit red culture, the Red Museum fully uses local red resources to create exhibitions and cultural products with local characteristics and historical value, attracting many audiences and tourists. In future development, the museum can further tap the local red resources, build a red museum cluster, and strengthen cooperation with other cultural tourism institutions to jointly promote the development of the local cultural tourism industry.

• Promote resource sharing and complementarity.

The development of museum clusters can promote resource sharing and complementarity among museums. Different museums in Linyi City have characteristics and advantages regarding exhibits, exhibitions, and research. Visitors can visit multiple museums in one area simultaneously, enjoying more diversified cultural content and improving visitor satisfaction and experience.

• Realize collaborative promotion and marketing.

The development of museum clusters can realize collaborative promotion and marketing. Museums can jointly publicize, promote, and improve overall popularity and influence by holding exhibitions, activities, and academic seminars. At the same time, the cluster development can also realize the joint marketing of resources and attract more tourists to visit through the joint launch of ticket packages and cultural and creative products. In this way, museums can jointly share marketing costs, improve marketing effectiveness, and attract more visitors and funds.

Table 1. Swot Matrix Analysis Of The Development Of Museum Cluster In Linyi City

Disadvantages of the development of museum clusters

• Lack of popularity and influence.

Compared with other well-known museum clusters, the popularity and influence of the Linyi Museum cluster are relatively low. That may lead to a poor understanding of cultural tourism resources in the region among tourists and scholars, affecting the development and attractiveness of museum clusters.

• Construction costs and operating costs will increase.

Museum cluster development may require new construction or reconstruction of museum buildings to meet the needs of cluster development [6]. That involves the cost of land purchase, building design and construction. In addition, it is necessary to purchase exhibits, display equipment and cultural relic protection facilities to ensure the exhibition and conservation work of the museum. The development of museum clusters requires daily operation and management, including the costs of staff salaries, equipment maintenance, exhibition planning, education activities and so on. At the same time, funds need to be invested in marketing and publicity to increase the visibility and attractiveness of the museum cluster.

• Pressure for competition and cooperation will rise.

There is competition and cooperation among museums in the development of museum clustering. There may be problems such as resource competition and overlapping exhibition themes among museums, so it is necessary to balance the relationship between competition and cooperation through reasonable resource allocation and exhibition planning. However, there is a lack of effective cooperation mechanisms and resource-sharing platforms in the museums in Linyi, which leads to insufficient cooperation and resource complementarity among museums. The above may limit the museum cluster’s comprehensive competitiveness and development potential.

• The distribution of benefits needs to be addressed.

Developing a museum cluster involves the distribution of interests of multiple museums. Different museums may have different sources of income and financial support.

Opportunity factors for the development of museum clusters

• Resource sharing and complementarity

The development of museum clusters can promote resource sharing and complementarity among museums. Different museums have their characteristics and advantages regarding exhibits, exhibitions, and research. These resources can be integrated and shared through cluster development to form a more diversified cultural experience. Visitors can visit multiple museums in one area simultaneously, enjoying more diversified cultural content and improving visitor satisfaction and experience.

• Collaborative promotion and marketing

The development of museum clusters can realize collaborative promotion and marketing. Museums can jointly publicize, promote, and improve overall popularity and influence by holding exhibitions, activities, and academic seminars. At the same time, the cluster development can also realize the joint marketing of resources and attract more tourists to visit through the joint launch of ticket packages and cultural and creative products. In this way, museums can jointly share marketing costs, improve marketing effectiveness, and attract more visitors and funds.

• Forming cultural tourism destinations

The development of museum clusters can form cultural tourism destinations. When there are multiple museums in a region, tourists can experience rich and diverse cultural content in the same region, which improves the length of stay and consumption level of tourists. This way, the area can become a unique cultural tourism destination, attracting more tourists and driving local tourism development.

• Promote academic exchanges and cooperation

The development of museum clusters can promote academic exchanges and cooperation. Different museums can conduct academic discussions, exhibition cooperation, and personnel exchanges to improve the overall professional level and ability. Through academic exchanges and cooperation, museums can introduce more excellent exhibitions and academic resources and improve their display level and research ability. At the same time, academic exchanges and cooperation can also attract more scholars and experts to participate and further enhance the popularity and influence of the museum.

Challenge factors for the development of museum clusters

The development of museum clusters needs to coordinate the cooperative relationship among multiple museums, which may lead to challenges in interest distribution, cultural differences and ideas, resource sharing and mutual assistance, and organization and management.

• Benefit distribution

Each museum may have different interest demands and development goals in the museum cluster. In the process of cooperation, how to distribute resources and benefits fairly and meet the needs of all parties is a complex problem to be solved. There may be a competitive relationship between different museums, and it is necessary to balance the interests of all parties when cooperating to ensure the stable and sustainable development of the cooperative relationship.

• Cultural differences and different ideas

Different museums may have different cultural backgrounds, areas of expertise and ideas [6]. In the process of cooperation, differences of opinion and conflicts may occur. For example, museums may have different ideas and practices regarding exhibition planning, cultural relic protection and educational activities. Therefore, finding common ground and building consensus through communication and consultation is necessary to achieve cooperation goals.

• Resource sharing and mutual assistance

Resource sharing and mutual assistance: The development of museum clusters needs to realize resource sharing and mutual assistance, but the resource differences between different museums may lead to the difficulty of cooperation. Some museums may have more exhibits, professional talent, and financial support, while others may be relatively weak. In the process of cooperation, how to balance and share resources to ensure that each museum can obtain reasonable support and development opportunities is a problem that needs to be solved.

• Organizational and management issues

The development of museum clusters requires establishing effective organizational and management mechanisms to ensure the smooth development of cooperative relations. However, there may be differences in management systems, decision-making mechanisms and communication styles between different museums, which may lead to difficulties in cooperation. In cooperation, flexible and efficient organizational structures and management mechanisms must be established to facilitate information sharing, coordinated decision-making and problem-solving.

CONCLUSION

The development of museum clusters has advantages and opportunities such as resource sharing and complementarity, collaborative promotion and marketing, forming cultural tourism destinations, and promoting academic exchanges and cooperation. Through cluster development, museums can improve their visibility and influence, attract more tourists and funds, and promote the innovation and development of the museum cause. However, museums must also face challenges such as exhibition renewal and sustainability. Museum managers need to focus on innovative and sustainable development strategies to enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of museums.

In addition, the government’s increasing support for cultural understudies can provide more policy support for developing museum clusters. Through financial support and policy guidance, the construction and development of museum clusters can be promoted. However, the development of museum clusters also needs to face challenges such as competitive Pressure and management difficulty. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on differentiated development and establish effective management mechanisms to ensure the sustainable development of museum clusters.

By making full use of the advantages of geographical location and rich red resources, strengthening cooperation with other cultural tourism institutions, improving government support, seizing the opportunity of increasing market demand, and solving challenges such as cooperative relationships, benefit distribution, cultural differences and ideas, Linyi Museum cluster can further improve its comprehensive competitiveness and influence. The innovation and development in the culture and tourism of Linyi City will be furtherly promoted.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This work was supported by the Key Project of Art Science of Shandong Province, China (L2022Z06170452), the Project from Rizhao Society of Folk Culture Research, China (HX220052), and the College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Linyi University (古城镇类旅游景区语言景观构建模式研究——以山东省临沂市兰山区为例; the project number has not been generated yet ).

REFERENCES

1. Wang X., Song X., (2015). Reconstruction and development: Research on museum cluster operation. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Education Press. (In Chinese)
2. Wang S., (2019). A preliminary study on the development of museum cluster in our country taking Jianchuan Museum settlement as an example. Nanjing Normal University, 2019. (In Chinese with English abstract)
3. Lin S., (2023). Research on the Clustering of German Museums Taking the Distribution of Museums in Berlin as an Example. Science Education and Museums, 9 (3): 63-69. (In Chinese with English abstract)
4. Huang Y., (2014). Research on the development strategy of bakery industry based on SWOT analysis. Oriental Enterprise Culture, 15: 244-245. (In Chinese)
5. Ma J., Zhang B., Tian C., Liu Y., Huang J., (2018). Research on the development strategy of renewable energy in Henan Province based on SWOT analysis. Energy and Environment, 3: 99-100,104. (In Chinese)
6. Tong Y., (2020). Research on museum cluster development model and collaborative innovation Multi-cloud Architecture. Science Education and Museums, 6 (1/2): 116-121. (In Chinese with English abstract)
7. Yang K., (2017). Brief introduction of social education about the beijing Xizhouyandu site museum. Research on Heritages and Preservation, 2(7): 49-54. (In Chinese with English abstract)