| Abstract [eng] |
Over the past decade, surveys in America, the UK and Australia have clearly shown that museums are among the most trusted institutions. In 2022, the International Council of Museums adopted a new definition, which defines a museum as a not-for-profit, public service institution that explores, collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage; operates in an ethical and professional manner; engages with communities; and provides a range of experiences for learning, entertainment, reflection and knowledge sharing. This changing museum reality clearly points to new directions of museum activity relevant to contemporary society, based on traditional museum functions (collecting and preserving, research, communication) but oriented towards social action. At the same time, attention must be paid to the social impact of museums, which is often neglected in the evaluation of these cultural institutions. The thesis follows the social capital theories of P. Bordieu, J. S. Coleman and R. Putnam to develop a theoretical model of the social capital generated by museums and a metric for assessing the social capital based on this model. Metric is verified by using confirmatory factor analysis. The study takes an innovative approach by adapting social capital theory, commonly applied to individuals and communities, to the context of organisational activities. |
