Cultural Centers in the Knowledge Age : The Impact of Digital Presence on the Success of Cultural Centers in Germany

Sammanfattning: This study investigates the digital presence of cultural centers in three regions of Germany taking into account the theoretical framework of knowledge age. In order to find out if the adaption of online tools has a positive influence on visitor reach, i.e. on the success of the centers, the thesis attempts to gather information on online tool usage of individual institutions via questionnaires. Taking into consideration the overall context three factors referring to traditional economic concepts namely industry Size, institutions size and program diversity are proposed as additional success factors. The research results indicate that digital presence, together with the other measured factors, have a positive impact on the success of the centers. Moreover, the cultural infrastructure appears to have a direct positive impact on the industry size and, consequently, an indirect impact on the success of cultural centers.