A framework for analysing convergence between online brand identity and online brand image. The case of the British Museum

Purpose of the paper: The aim of the paper is to analyze the level of convergence between online brand identity and online brand image in the museum sector. Methodology: This paper proposes an operative framework - called Assessing Web Convergence (AWC) - for extracting information from the web, processing it with text mining techniques and interpreting it in order to monitor the level of convergence between identity and image on the web for the British Museum (BM). Results: Empirical testing of the framework has shown that in the case of the British Museum, the museum’s communication and the users’ perception share four thematic areas: Aim and Organisation, Prospects, Art and Collections and Visit Experience. It is possible to observe that the effectiveness of such communication does not depend on the apparent homogeneity of the themes but on the convergence between identity and image with reference to three qualitative dimensions - Functional, Holistic and Experiential. Research limitations: The framework is limited by its purely qualitative approach. Practical implications: The proposed operative framework can be used by museums for self-diagnosis. Specifically, the interpretative phase enables management to identify and exemplify those elements that enable museums to transform data into knowledge that is useful for developing and enhancing their competitive strategies with regard to the co-evolution of web content. Originality of the paper: The operative framework’s originality lies in the possibility of extraction and analysis of non-structured information which, if interpreted from the perspective of convergence between identity and image, can be transformed into knowledge, useful for decision-making.