From Analogue to Digital and Back Again: Institutional Dynamics of Heritage Innovation

This article traces the emergence of a digital imperative - the belief in the necessity of digitising cultural expressions - in a particular heritage project in the Dutch city of Maastricht. The main reason for doing so is to contribute to the growing body of literature on digital cultural heritage, a perspective that pays analytical attention to the organisational and institutional dynamics of heritage innovation. Such a perspective complicates the popular assumption that digitisation will be beneficial to participation and instead puts forward - by drawing on institutional theory and the sociology of expectations - a less technology-centric and more contextual understanding of digital heritage. The conclusion highlights the potential of institutional analysis and the sociology of expectations for digital heritage studies.