Exploring the Place of Museums in European Leisure Markets: An Approach Based on Consumer Values

Guergana Guintcheva, Juliette Passebois

Guergana Guintcheva (PhD, marketing) is an associate professor of marketing at EDHEC Business School, Lille campus, in France and a member of the InteraCT research centre. She conducts basic and applied research in marketing and consumer behaviour. Her current projects address consumer impressions of product combinations in terms of preferences, product categorization and competition among products in a given category.
Juliette Passebois (DEA, PhD, Management) is a professor in the marketing department at IAE Bordeaux, France. Her research interests are consumer behaviour and cultural marketing and she has published in this area (AIMAC, Décision Marketing, Revue Française de Marketing).

ABSTRACT 
This article focuses on museumgoing to illustrate the importance of indirect competition among leisure activities. The authors conduct an exploratory study to identify the reasons for choosing to visit a museum and the benefits and values that consumers associate with this activity. They use laddering to examine the benefits and values of leisure offerings as perceived by the consumer. This study positions museums in competition with a number of leisure activities – those responding to two end-state values: the need for passive consumption of heritage and the need for interactive involvement in the experience
KEYWORDS
Leisure activity market, museum visits, perceived benefits, values, laddering
RÉSUMÉ
Cet article étudie la concurrence indirecte entre différents types de loisirs en s’intéressant plus spécifiquement à la visite muséale. une étude exploratoire permet de saisir les raisons qui motivent une telle visite, ainsi que les avantages et les valeurs que les consommateurs y rattachent. l’étude positionne les musées en concurrence avec un nombre limité d’activités de loisir, celles qui répondent aux deux principales valeurs associées à la visite muséale, c’est-à-dire le besoin de cognition et d’éducation, d’une part, et des valeurs reflétant le désir de partager avec les autres une expérience, d’autre part.
MOTS CLÉS 
Marché des loisirs, visites de musées, avantages perçus, valeurs terminales
RESUMEN 
En este artículo se analiza la visita a los museos para destacar la importancia de la competencia indirecta entre distintos tipos de actividad recreativa. Mediante un estudio exploratorio se señalan las razones que impulsan la visita al museo, así como los beneficios y valores que el consumidor asocia con esta actividad. En el estudio, se examina la visita al museo en cuanto compite con otras actividades de placer que presentan dos valores principales en común con el museo: la necesidad de saber y conocer, por un lado, y el deseo de una experiencia compartida.
PALABRAS CLAVE 
Mercado recreativo, visita al museo, beneficios percibidos, valores perseguidos