Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Hispanic Studies

Supervisor

Juan Luis Suárez

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the strategic integration of digital transformation and cultural analytics frameworks in public sector cultural institutions. This research focuses on how digital transformation, and cultural analytics as a component of it, can support public value creation at BanRepCultural, the cultural arm of Banco de la República, Colombia´s central bank. BanRepCultural offers a range of physical and digital services, and encompasses a network of public libraries, museums, and cultural centers.

Chapter 1 starts by outlining the thesis and the research context. Chapter 2 proposes an analytical lens for analyzing digital transformation institutional strategies to support public value creation. Chapter 3 applies this analytical lens to examine BanRepCultural's latest strategic plans and related documents. Chapters 4 and 5 propose new cultural analytics frameworks that would support Banco de la República’s strategic priorities, particularly in measuring diversity and digital reach across some of its programs. Chapter 4 examines the review network in BanRepCultural's publication, the Boletín Bibliográfico y Cultural (BCB), and proposes a methodology to assess curatorial diversity in this context. Chapter 5 analyzes the institution's Twitter activity (@BanRepCultural) up to September 2022, evaluating its digital engagement strategies. These analyses on BanRepCultural’s curatorial diversity and outreach account two ways the organization creates public value through its cultural activities and refines them to align with institutional goals and public interest.

The study presents examples of how cultural analytics can inform decision-making and drive organizational change in response to digital developments and shifting cultural behaviors both inside and outside a public cultural institution. It illustrates the process of drawing insights from data and translating them into strategies to strengthen public value creation. From a public value theory approach, this thesis explores how cultural analytics can measure progress regarding different dimensions of the public good generated by cultural institutions. These dimensions include reaching a wider audience, broadening access to curated content, and increasing curatorial diversity. This work contributes to understanding of how cultural institutions can use data analytics as part of their digital transformation to inform their approaches to fulfilling their public mandate concerning the dissemination of cultural heritage and access to knowledge.

Summary for Lay Audience

This research focuses on a specific Colombian cultural institution, BanRepCultural, to explore how it can use data to improve the way it manages its cultural services. It explores how these insights can help them better plan and adapt to digital changes, ensuring they provide value to the public. BanRepCultural, the network of cultural activities managed by the Office for Cultural Affairs of the Central Bank of Colombia, plays a key role in the country’s cultural scene, offering both in-person and online services, and encompassing various libraries, museums, and cultural centers.

This research explores how digital transformation, and cultural analytics can support public value creation, specifically within cultural public institutions. Digital transformation is understood as a comprehensive organizational change process that integrates digital technologies, fundamentally altering how these institutions operate and deliver value in the digital age. Cultural analytics, approached as a specific component of digital transformations in cultural organizations, applies data science and computational methods to analyze and interpret cultural data. Both digital transformation and cultural analytics are considered means to support public value, defined as collective benefits and positive societal impacts.

The first part of this study provides an overview of BanRepCultural’s strategic approach to digital transformation and cultural analytics in terms of public value theory. The second part analyzes the book reviews published in the Boletín Bibliográfico y Cultural (BCB), a cultural magazine published by BanRepCultural, to see how diverse and representative it is. The third part examines the office's Twitter activity (@BanRepCultural) from 2009 to September 2022, examining how it engages with the public and uses it to grow its reach. This thesis serves as a research-based practice aimed at formulating recommendations for BanRepCultural decision-making processes and adapting to evolving cultural needs.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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Available for download on Wednesday, April 21, 2027

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