Fusing Constructivism with Experience Economy Theory: A Framework for Understanding and Enhancing Millennial Visitors' Museum Experiences
Keywords:
Constructivism, Experience economy theory, Millennials, Museum visitor's experiencesAbstract
Understanding the experiences of Millennial museum visitors requires an interdisciplinary approach that considers the interplay of pedagogical, andragogical,
psychological, sociological, and cognitive processes. As a distinct generational cohort, Millennials exhibit unique characteristics, including a preference for
intellectual engagement, experiential sharing, active social media use, and a strong sense of diversity and social consciousness. These traits shape their educational and entertainment preferences, making their museum experiences particularly complex
to study. To address this complexity, this conceptual paper integrates constructivism and experience economy theory to develop a novel framework for analyzing Millennial museum visitor experiences. Drawing from a comprehensive literature review, we synthesize these two theoretical perspectives and identify key visitor-driven factors—such as visit duration, repetition, circulation patterns, and consumption trends—as well as museum-centric factors, including localism in learning, psychological and behavioral development, and heritage interpretation techniques. The resulting framework provides a holistic understanding of Millennial preferences and offers insights into how museums can enhance engagement, promote deeper content exploration, and improve heritage interpretation practices. This study advances theoretical understanding while offering practical recommendations for museums and cultural institutions aiming to cater to the evolving needs of Millennial audiences. Moreover, this theoretical synthesis contributes to the growing
discourse on generational differences in educative leisure behavior and cultural consumption, offering a foundation for future empirical research.
References
Ahmed, M. (2022). The Educational Function of Modern
Museums. IWNW, 1(1), 43-56.
Ambrose, T., & Paine, C. (2012). Museum basics. New york:
Routledge. Amineh, R. J., & Asl, H. D. (2015).
Review of constructivism and social constructivism.
Journal of social sciences, literature and languages,
(1), 9-16.
Ashworth, G. J. (2008). How do tourists consume heritage
places? In Cultural heritage and tourism: potential,
impact, partnership, and governance (pp. 8-52).
Vilnius: Ministry of Culture, Department of
Cultural Heritage.
Ashworth, G. J. (2010). Consuming heritage places: Revisiting established assumptions. Tourism Recreation Research, 35(3), 281-290.
Bada, S. O., & Olusegun, S. (2015). Constructivism learning
theory: A paradigm for teaching and learning. IOSR
Journal of Research and Method in Education, 5(6),
-70.
Bakker, F. T., Antonelli, A., Clarke, J. A., Cook, J. A., Edwards,
S. V., Ericson, P. G., ... & Källersjö, M. (2020). The
Global Museum: natural history collections and the
future of evolutionary science and public education.
PeerJ, 8, e8225.
Baradaran Rahimi, F., Boyd, J. E., Eiserman, J. R., Levy, R.
M., & Kim, B. (2022). Museum beyond physical walls:
An exploration of virtual reality-enhanced experience
in an exhibition-like space. Virtual Reality, 26(4),
-1488.
Bautista, S. S. (2013). Museums in the digital age: changing
meanings of place, community, and culture. Lanham,
MD: AltaMira Press.
Beeksma, A., & De Cesari, C. (2019). Participatory heritage
in a gentrifying neighbourhood: Amsterdam’s Van
Eesteren Museum as affective space of negotiations.
International Journal of Heritage Studies, 25(9), 974-
Beverland, M. B., & Farrelly, F. J. (2010). The quest for
authenticity in consumption: Consumers’ purposive
choice of authentic cues to shape experienced
outcomes. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(5), 838-
Bordeaux, S. (2015). A Place at the Table: The Role of Historic
Sites in Gentrifying Neighborhoods. Our Stories:
Shaw through the 1970s (Doctoral dissertation). The
George Washington University.
Brida, J. G., Statzu, V., Meleddu, M., & Pulina, M. (2012).
How much time do visitors spend on a cultural site?
An empirical investigation. Retrieved May 18, 2018,
from from https://ssrn.com/abstract=1998272
Burstein, D. D. (2013). Fast Future: How the Millennial
generation is shaping our world. MA: Beacon Press.
Caban, G., Scott, C., & Sweieca, R. (2000). Design learning in
museum settings: towards a strategy for enhancing
creative learning among design students. Unsavoury
Histories. Open Museum Journal, 2, 1-9.
Case, R. (1993). Theories of learning and theories of development.
Educational Psychologist, 28(3), 219-233.
Choudhary, P., & Walia, S. (2021). Role of gender difference
in travel decision-making style of Millennials.
International journal of hospitality and tourism systems,
(1), 79.
Cusripituck, P., & Yamabhai, J. (2023). Mobilizing the (im)
mobile museum through hybrid curation: A story
of hybrid curation of cultural practice during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Advances in Southeast Asian
Studies, 16(1), 145-155.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York:
Macmillan.
Drozda, S. G. (2021). Creating the experience: Engaging
Millennials in museums focusing on Jewish Millennials
and museums.
Ebitz, D. (2008). Sufficient foundation: Theory in the practice
of art museum education. Visual Arts Research, 34(2),
-24.
Echegoyen-Sanz, Y., & Martín-Ezpeleta, A. (2020). The
Exhibition is Just the Beginning. Qualitative Analysis
of Creative Educational Materials Prepared by Pre-
Service Teachers. Journal of Education, Culture and
Society, 11(2), 297-310.
Falk, J. H. (2016). Identity and the museum visitor experience.
New york: Routledge.
Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (1992). The Museum Experience.
New york: Routledge.
Farrell, B., & Medvedeva, M. (2010). Demographic
transformation and the future of museums.
Galdames, S., & Guihen, L. (2022). Millennials and leadership:
a systematic literature review. Total Quality Management
and Business Excellence, 33(1-2), 146-162.
Giannini, T., & Bowen, J. P. (2022). Museums and Digital
Culture: From reality to digitality in the age of
COVID-19. Heritage, 5(1), 192-214.
Goh, Y. S., & Teh, P. Y. (2022). Festivals and the theory of
inclusive development in Malaysia: Perspectives from
a festival organizer. ASEAS-Advances in Southeast
Asian Studies, 15(2), 295-307.
Graham, B., & Howard, P. (2016). Heritage and identity. In
The Routledge Research Companion to Heritage
and Identity (pp. 1-15). New york: Routledge.
Gupta, S. (2011). Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching
and learning. International Journal of Physical and
Social Sciences, 1(1), 23-47.
Gwarlann D. K., & Carlos M. Rodriguez (2019). Luxury brand
experiences and relationship quality for Millennials:
The role of self-expansion. Journal of Business
Research, 102, 250-262.
Haden, C. A., Cohen, T., Uttal, D., Marcus, M., Sobel, D.
M., & Jipson, J. J. (2016). Cognitive development
in museum settings: Relating research and practice.
Ham, S.H. (2013). Interpretation: Making a Difference
on Purpose. Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing.
Holtorf, C., & Fairclough, G. (2013). The New Heritage and
re-shapings of the past. In Reclaiming Archaeology
(pp. 197-210). New York: Routledge.
Hooper, G. (Ed.). (2018). Heritage at the interface: Interpretation
and identity. Florida: University Press of Florida.
Hornecker, E., & Ciolfi, L. (2022). Human-computer interactions
in museums. Switzerland: Springer Nature.
Hughes, K., & Moscardo, G. (2019). For me or not for me?
Exploring young adults’ museum representations.
Leisure Sciences, 41(6), 516-534.
Jaakkola, E. (2020). Designing conceptual articles: four
approaches. AMS review, 10(1), 18-26.
Kang, M., & Gretzel, U. (2012). Effects of podcast tours
on tourist experiences in a national park. Tourism
Management, 33(2), 440–455.
Kasperiuniene, J., & Tandzegolskiene, I. (2020). Smart
learning environments in a contemporary museum: a
case study. Journal of Education Culture and Society,
(2), 353-375.
Kelly, L. J. (2007). The Interrelationships between adult
museum visitors’ learning identities and their museum
experiences (Doctoral dissertation). The University
of Technology, Sydney, Australia
King, E., Smith, M. P., Wilson, P. F., Stott, J., & Williams, M.
A. (2023). Creating Meaningful Museums: A Model
for Museum Exhibition User Experience. Visitor
Studies, 26(1), 59-81.
King, L., Stark, J. F., & Cooke, P. (2016). Experiencing the
digital world: The cultural value of digital engagement
with heritage. Heritage and Society, 9(1), 76-101.
Komarac, T., & Ozretić Došen, Đ. (2022). Discovering the
determinants of museum visitors’ immersion into the
experience: The impact of interactivity, expectations,
and scepticism. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(22),
-3693.
Kozinets, R. V. (2022). Immersive ethnography: a novel
method for service experience research in virtual
reality, augmented reality and metaverse contexts.
Journal of Service Management, 34(1), 100-125.
Kytani, T. (2020). Audience Engagement in Contemporary
Museum Practices (Master's thesis). International
Hellenic University, Greece.
Latham, K. F. (2016). Psychological flow and the numinous museum experience. Ann Arbor, 1001, 48109-1354.
Ledford, A. K. (2015). Applying the experience economy
framework to better understand the visitor
experience at the Natural History Museum of Utah
(Master's thesis). The University of Utah, USA.
Lee, H., Jung, T. H., tom Dieck, M. C., & Chung, N. (2020).
Experiencing immersive virtual reality in museums.
Information and Management, 57(5), 103229.
Liu, C. H., & Matthews, R. (2005). Vygotsky's Philosophy:
Constructivism and Its Criticisms Examined.
International education journal, 6(3), 386-399.
Madara, S. R., Maheshwari, P., & Selvan, C. P. (2018, February). Future of millennial generations: A review. In 2018 Advances in Science and Engineering Technology
International Conferences (ASET) (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
Mehmetoglu, M., & Engen, M. (2011). Pine and Gilmore’s
concept of the experience economy and its dimensions
: An empirical examination in tourism. Journal
of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism,
(4), 237-255.
Miller, D. C., & Salkind, N. J. (2002). Handbook of research
design and social measurement. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Mohammed, S., & Kinyó, L. (2020). Constructivist theory is
a foundation for the utilization of digital technology in
the lifelong learning process. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 21(4), 90-109.
Morton I. (2018). Engaging millennials in the historic house museum. Retrieved May 18, 2018, from https://
scholar.harvard.edu/files/ilianamorton/files/muse_102-
_iliana_morton-_final_paper-_copy.pdf
Morton, L.P. (2002). Targeting Generation Y. Public Relations Quarterly, 47(2), 46–48.
Mosher, A. (2015). Redesigning the Museum: Participatory Art and the Importance of Millennial Engagement (Doctoral dissertation). The George Washington University, USA.
Nigatu, T. F., Trupp, A., & Teh, P. Y. (2024). A Bibliometric
Analysis of Museum Visitors’ Experiences Research.
Heritage, 7(10), 5495-5520.
Nowacki, M., & Kruczek, Z. (2021). Experience marketing at Polish museums and visitor attractions: The co-creation of visitor experiences, emotions and satisfaction.
Museum Management and Curatorship, 36(1), 62-81.
Olinsky, E.F. (2016). Olinsky's hierarchy of visitor's need.
Retrieved July 30, 2024 from leolinsky.com/maslowin-
museums
Pallud, J. (2017). Impact of interactive technologies on
stimulating learning experiences in a museum.
Information and Management, 54(4), 465-478.
Parker D. (2024). How to write a synthesis essay: your guide from start to finish. Retrieved July 30, 2024, from
essaypro.com/blog/synthesis-essay
Pekarik, A. J., & Mogel, B. (2010). Ideas, Objects, or People? A Smithsonian Exhibition Team Views Visitors Anew. Curator: The Museum Journal, 53(4), 465–482.
Pekarik, A. J., Schreiber, J. B., Hanemann, N., Richmond, K.
A., & Mogel, B. (2014). IPOP: A Theory of Experience
Preference. Curator: The Museum Journal, 57(1),
–27.
Pencarelli, T., Gabbianelli, L., & Savelli, E. (2020). The
tourist experience in the digital era: the case of Italian
Millennials. Sinergie Italian Journal of Management,
(3), 165-190.
Phillips, A. B. (2007). Constructivism. In International
Relations Theory for the twenty-first century (pp.
-74). New York: Routledge.
Piaget, J. (1971). The construction of reality in the child.
New York: Ballantine Books.
Pierdicca, R., Marques-Pita, M., Paolanti, M., & Malinverni,
E. S. (2019). IoT and engagement in the ubiquitous
museum. Sensors, 19(6), 1387.
Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (2011). The experience economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press.
Polus, R., & Carr, N. (2021). From Gen Xers to Millennials:
Transformation of self through tourism. In Millennials,
spirituality, and tourism (pp. 201-215). New York:
Routledge.
Prajabti, A., Kien, X. H. D., & Ridho, M. R. (2022). Hedonism
in the young generation: The challenge of Pancasila
moral education. Jurnal Panjar: Pengabdian Bidang
Pembelajaran, 4(2), 141-158.
Quadri F., D., & Fiore, A. M. (2012). Experience economy
constructs as a framework for understanding wine
tourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 18(1), 3-15.
Radder, L., & Han, X. (2015). An examination of the museum experience based on Pine and Gilmore’s experience economy realms. Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR), 31(2), 455-470.
Rennie, L. J., & Johnston, D. J. (2004). The nature of learning and its implications for research on learning from museums. Science Education, 88(S1), S4-S16.
Rodney, S. (2019). The personalization of the museum visit: Art museums, discourse, and visitors. New York:
Routledge.
Sabljić, J., & Oswald, T. V. (2013). Genre differentiation in A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism by
Slavenka Drakulić. Journal of Education, Culture and
Society, 4(1), 243-256.
Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. H. (Eds.). (2010). New approaches
to qualitative research: Wisdom and uncertainty.
New York: Routledge.
Schuch, J. C., Harden, S. B., Bostick, K., & Smith, H. A. (2018).
Museums engaging diverse Millennials in community
dialogue. Museums and Social Issues, 13(2), 58-77.
Selçuk, O., & Kozak, M. A. (2020). Capturing Museum
Experience with Emotional Transfer Theory. Advances
in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), 8(1),
-124.
Seredko, A. (2020). Moving Between Levels of Engagement
with Interactive Digital Exhibits. Case study: Human
Nature Exhibition at the Museum of World
Culture (master’s Thesis, University of Gothenburg,
Sweden.
Serena, C., Ottavia, D. A., Angelica, M., Martina, F., Raimondo, V., Stefano, M., ... & Del Viva, M. M. (2023).
Psychophysiological and behavioural responses to
descriptive labels in modern art museums. PLOS ONE,
-17.
Serrell, B. (1996). The question of visitor styles. Visitor studies: Theory, research, and practice, 7(1), 48-53.
Serrell, B. (2010). Paying attention: The duration and allocation of visitors' time in museum exhibitions. Curator: The Museum Journal, 40(2), 108-125.
Shalaginova, I. (2012). Understanding heritage: A constructivist approach to heritage interpretation as a
mechanism for understanding heritage sites (Doctoral
dissertation). BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany.
Singh, A., & Kumar, A. (2021). Designing the marketspace for millennials: fun, functionality, or risk? Journal of
Marketing Analytics, 9(4), 311-327.
Skinner, H., Sarpong, D., & White, G. R. (2018). Meeting the needs of the Millennials and Generation Z: gamification in tourism through geocaching. Journal of Tourism Futures, 4(1), 93-104.
Solanki V., Madison E. & Brooks A. (2023). Synthesis writing overview, purpose and examples. Retrieved July 30, 2024 from https://study.com/academy/lesson/
how-to-synthesize-written-information.html.
Song, H. J., Lee, C. K., Park, J. A., Hwang, Y. H., & Reisinger,
Y. (2015). The influence of tourist experience on
perceived value and satisfaction with temple stays: The
experience economy theory. Journal of Travel and
Tourism Marketing, 32(4), 401-415.
Spainhour, J. (2019). Museums and millennials: Engaging the coveted patron generation. Lanham, MD: Rowman
and Littlefield.
Terzić, A., Bjeljac, Ž., & Ćurčić, N. (2015). Common histories constructed identities: Intangible cultural heritage and the rebranding of Serbia. International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 10, 102-120.
Trunfio, M., Campana, S., & Magnelli, A. (2020). Measuring the impact of functional and experiential mixed reality elements on a museum visit. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(16), 1990-2008.
Umiker-Sebeok, J. (1994). Behavior in a museum: A semiocognitive approach to museum consumption
experiences. Signifying Behavior, 1(1), 52-100.
Valecha, P., & Jaggi, R. K (2023). How Do Indian Millennials
Perceive Advertising on Ott Platforms–Measuring Ad
Value and Effectiveness Through Structural Equation
Modelling. Journal of Content, Community &
Communication, 18, 234-249.
Vrettakis, E., Katifori, A., Kyriakidi, M., Koukouli, M., Boile,
M., Glenis, A., Petousi, D., Vayanou, M., & Ioannidis,
Y. (2023). Personalization in Digital Ecomuseums: The
Case of Pros-Eleusis. Applied Sciences (Switzerland),
(6), 1-26.
Vu, H. Q., Luo, J. M., Ye, B. H., Li, G., & Law, R. (2018).
Evaluating museum visitor experiences based on
user-generated travel photos. Journal of Travel and
Tourism Marketing, 35(4), 493-506.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: Development of
higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L., & Cole, M. (2018). Lev Vygotsky: Learning and
social constructivism. Learning Theories for Early
Years Practice. UK: SAGE Publications Inc, 68-73.
Wang, Y. (2022). Intangible cultural heritage as a catalyst for constructing private museums. Museum International, 74(1-2), 144-157.
Weber, J. (2017). Designing engaging experiences with
location-based augmented reality games for
urban tourism environments (Doctoral dissertation). Bournemouth University, UK.
Wortham, S. (1998). The Collected Works of L.S. Vygotsky,
vols. 3-4. American Scientist, 86(3), 296.
Ying, T., Tan, X., Ye, S., Ka, X., & Zhou, Y. (2020). Examining
tourist mindfulness in museums: The roles of familiarity
and motivation. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism
Research, 25(9), 981-996.
Yousaf, A., Amin, I., & C Santos, J. A. (2018). Tourist’s motivations
to travel: A theoretical perspective on the
existing literature. Tourism and hospitality management,
(1), 197-211.
Zhang, R., & Abd Rahman, A. (2022). Dive into the flow
experience: millennials are tech-savvy, satisfied, and
loyal to the smart museum. Current Issues in
Tourism, 25(22), 3694-3708.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
