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Article

FinancialSustainabilityofDigitizingCulturalHeritage:TheInternationalPlatformEuropeana

ElenaBorin1,*andFabioDonato2

Citation:Borin,Elena,andFa-

bioDonato.2023.Financial

SustainabilityofDigitizingCul-turalHeritage:TheInternationalPlatformEuropeana.Journalof

RiskandFinancialManagement

16:421.

/10.3390/

jrfm16100421

AcademicEditors:Thanasis

StengosandSalvatoreAmmirato

Received:16May2023

Revised:14September2023

Accepted:14September2023

Published:22September2023

Copyright:©2023bytheau-thors.SubmittedforpossibleopenaccesspublicationunderthetermsandconditionsoftheCreativeCommonsAttribution(CCBY)license(https://crea-/li-

censes/by/4.0/).

1DepartmentofHealth,LifeSciencesandHealthProfessions,LinkCampusUniversity,00165Roma,Italy

2DepartmentofEconomicsandManagement,UniversityofFerrara,44121Ferrara,Italy;fabio.donato@unife.it*Correspondence:e.borin@unilink.it

Abstract:Inrecentyears,theincreasingdemandfordigitalculturalcontenthasintensifiedthedig-itizationchallengesforculturalorganizations.Amongthesedifficulties,culturalorganizationshavebeenstrugglingtofindthefinancialresourcesfordigitizingtheirculturalheritage,aswellasforstoringdata,developingdigitalskills,andimplementingenhancementandmanagementprocessesfortheirdigitizedmaterials.Thefinancialsustainabilityofdigitizationprojectshasthereforebeenproblematic,especiallyforsmallandmediumorganizations.Inthisframework,amongitsattemptstosolvetheseissues,theEuropeanUnionhaslaunchedtheprojectEuropeana,adigitalplatformunitingEuropeandigitizedheritageandempoweringculturalorganizationsthroughavarietyofservices.TheaimofourresearchwastoinvestigatetheEuropeanaprojecttounderstandhowiteasesthefinancialcostsofdigitizationforculturalorganizations,andhowtheEuropeanamodelcouldbringinsightsintohowtoimprovethefinancialsustainabilityofdigitizationofculturalher-itage.

Keywords:financialsustainability;digitizationofculturalheritage;managementmodelofinterna-tionaldigitalplatforms;financialmanagementofdigitizationprojects;co-creationofvalue

1.Introduction

Thedigitizationchallengeforculturalheritageorganizationshasintensifiedinrecentyears,duringwhichtherehasbeenagrowthindemandfordigitalculturalcontent(Cosi-matoetal.2021;Marras2020)exacerbatedbythepandemicperiod(KolokythaandRozgo-nyi2021;Radermecker2021;Vlassis2021;Zbucheaetal.2021).Culturalorganizationshavebeenstrugglingtofindthefinancialresourcesforcreatingdigitalandphysicalinfra-structures,developingdigitalskills,anddesigningenhancementandmanagementpro-cessestobothdigitizetheirheritageandpreserve,store,andenhancedigitizedmaterials(DeLaPorteandHiggs2019;PandeyandKumar2020;Preuss2016).TheEuropeanUnionhastriedtoactbothbyallocatingspecialfundsforthedigitaltransitionandbycreatingspecialinitiativesthatarebasedonunifiedcollaborativepartnershipsanddigitalplat-formsforstoring,managing,andenhancingdigitizedculturalheritage.

Inthisframework,oneofthemostsignificantprojectsisthelaunchoftheEuropeanainitiative:itaimedtocreateadigitalplatform,calledEuropeana,whichcouldbringto-getherEurope’shugedigitizedculturalheritage.Theobjectivewastocreateaunifiedmanagementsystemfordigitizedculturalheritagethatcanhelptopreserve,enhance,andmakeaccessibleEuropeandigitalculturaldata.Thecasehasbeenanalyzedindepthfromthepointofviewofdatadigitizationprotocolsanddatamanagement(Belhietal.2017;Meghinietal.2019;Siqueiraetal.2021);however,analysesofthebusinessmodeloftheproject,anditsimpactonreducingthedigitizationcostsforculturalorganizations,arestilllimited(MacrìandCristofaro2021).Itis,therefore,ofparticularinteresttotrytoun-derstandhowtheprojectisstructuredandwhatthemechanismsforeasingthefinancialburdenofthedigitizationofculturalheritageforculturalorganizationsare.

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Moreover,anewinitiativeoftheEuropeanUnion(namelytheECCCH—EuropeanCollaborativeCloudforCulturalHeritage)isaimingatcreatinganewplatformforem-poweringculturalheritageorganizationsintheirdigitizationjourney(source:https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_3855)(accessedon20June2023),questioningtheapproachproposedbyEuropeana(Brunetetal.2022)andpartiallyreplacingit.Itseemsrelevant,therefore,tofurtherreflectontheEuropeanaproject,focus-ingonanaspectthatwasratherneglectedintheacademicliteraturesofarbutthatcouldalsoberelevantinthenewly-launchedinitiative.Meanwhile,itisinterestingtoevaluatehowthereductionincostsiscreatingvalueforthedifferentstakeholdersinvolved.

Specifically,thiscontributionaimsatansweringthefollowingresearchquestions:

-HowistheEuropeanaprojectimpactingthereductioninthecostsofdigitizingandmanagingdigitizedculturalheritageinEuropeanculturalorganizations?

-Whatarethelessonsthatwearelearningfromtheprojectthatcanguidethefinanciallysustainablemanagementofdigitizedculturalheritageforculturalorganizations?

Theseresearchquestionsareinvestigatedusingaqualitativecasestudyanalysisac-cordingtothemodelproposedbyYin(2014)andthecodingofprimarydataaccordingtothemethodologyproposedbyGioiaetal.(2012).

Thiscontributionisdividedintofivemainsections.Afterthisintroduction,thesec-ondsectionpresentsthetheoreticalreferencesoftheresearch,whicharearticulatedinananalysisoftheevolutionofdigitizationintheculturalheritagesectorandtherelatedeco-nomicmanagementchallenges,alsoconcerningfinancialmanagementandfinancialsus-tainabilityininternationaldigitalplatformsandglobalvaluechains.Thethirdsectionbrieflypresentstheresearchmethodologyandtheuseofsecondaryandprimarydata,whilethefourthsectionpresentsthemainresultsoftheempiricalresearch,creatingacasestudyreportwhichalsoincludesacriticaldiscussionofthedatabasedonthepreviousfindingsintheliterature.Finally,someconclusionswillbepresentedthatlinkouranalysistothebroaderdebateonthefinancialsustainabilityofthedigitizationofculturalheritage:itishighlightedthatEuropeanahelpedtoeasesomeofthecostsrelatedtotheenhance-mentandmanagementofthedatabutprovidedotheressentialbenefitstotheorganiza-tions.Intheconclusions,theauthorsdiscusshowthecasestudycouldprovideinsightintotheacademicandpracticaldebate,andwhatthepotentialfuturedevelopmentoftheresearchmightbe.

2.LiteratureReview

Ausefultheoreticalframeworkforourresearchshouldtakeintoconsiderationthereflectiononthreemainaspects:thedebateonthedigitizationofculturalheritage,pre-sentingitsevolutionandtheissuesrelatedtomanagerialandcostissues;thedebateondigitalplatformsandtheissuesrelatedtothem,giventhenatureoftheEuropeanainitia-tive;andthereflectiononinternationalandglobalvaluechains,giventhattheprojectinvolvesinternationalactorsoperatinginanonlineframework.

Tobeginwith,thehistoricalperspectivesservetobetterframetheevolutionarypro-cessofculturalheritagedigitizationinitsprofilesofincreasingcomplexity,uptotheis-suesthatledtooutsourcingorinternationalpartnershipstrategies,whichareatthecoreoftheEuropeanacasestudymodelwhichisunderinvestigation.Thelensofbusinessanalysisprovidesthekeytointerpretingthedynamicsbehindthefinancialsustainabilityofdigitizationprocessesofculturalheritage,aswellasthemanagementandenhancementofdigitizedculturaldata.Furthermore,itintersectswithreflectionsoncostmanagementandfinancialsustainabilitywiththereflectiononthecreationofvalue(alsointerpretedaseconomicandfinancialvalue)inthistypeoflargecollaborativeinternationalproject.

Startingfromahistoricalperspective,itmustbepointedoutthatinrecentdecades,thetopicofdigitaltransformationhasbeenaddressedbytheculturalsectorbothatthelevelofpoliticaldiscussion(Khanetal.2018;Valtysson2017)andatthelevelofanalysis

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ofthedigitizationprocessanditseconomic–managerial(Sotirovaetal.2012),ethical(Manžuch2017),andlegalimplications(Borissova2018;HorvatandZivkovic2010).

Digitizationhasofferedculturalinstitutionsinterestingopportunitiesnotonlytoreachdifferentaudiences(Camuñas-Garcíaetal.2023),butalsotofacilitateaccesstoarti-factsandcollectionsforresearchpurposes(EvensandHauttekeete2011;Moraitouetal.2023).Optimizingdigitalaccessibilitylaysthefoundationforrealizingtheeconomicandsocialpotentialofheritagecollections(Müller2021;Cameron2021).

Thedigitizationofculturalheritagereliesontheincreasingqualityoftechnicalequipmentandtherapidimprovementofcomputerprocessingandstoragecapacitiestoacquire,preserve,archive,anddistributetechnicallyaccuratereproductionsofculturalartifacts.Itstartedinthe1970swiththefirstdigitalcatalogs(AffleckandKvan2008;VanHorik2005)andcontinuedinthe1980s,whenseveralmuseumsconvertedprintedmate-rialintodigitalfiles(Kiernan1981;NARA1991).Inthe1990s,computerdevicesweremorereadilyavailabletousers,whoshowedagrowinginterestindigitalcontent(Prescott1997).Thisacceleratedexperimentationbyculturalorganizations,libraries,archives,andmuseumsledtotheadoptionofdigitaltechnologiesforlearning,teaching,andresearchpurposestosupportpreservationandincreaseaccessibility(KenneyandRieger2000;Naughton2000).Inthe1990s,severalculturalorganizationsintroduceddigitizationonawiderscale,alsoasaresponsetopoliticalinitiativespushingforthedigitizationofcul-turalheritage,suchasthe“InternetLibraryofEarlyJournals”initiative1.Furthermore,digitizedmaterialstartedtobeplacedalongside“born-digital”materialtosupplementandenrichexistinginformationanddata.Theorganizationofculturalheritagestartedusinginteractivevisualization,resortingtoreconstructive3DmodelingtechniquesandexploitingthepotentialofWEB1.0.atthebeginningofthe2000s(Doolanetal.2004).Recently,theystartedtousemobileapplications,3Dinterpretativemodels,andthese-manticweb,implementedthroughinternationalprogramsaimedatencouraginginstitu-tionstodigitizetheirculturalheritage(Rossato2020).

Overthelasttwodecades,digitizationhasattractedincreasinginterestnotonlyinmuseology,digitaltechnologies,andcomputerscience,butalsointheliteratureonbusi-nessandmanagement(LazzerettiandSartori2016;Minghettietal.2001;VomLehnandHeath2005),includingareflectiononitsfinancialsustainabilityandbusinessmodels.Adecadeago,apioneeringsurveysuchasthatpublishedintheframeworkoftheEnumer-ateproject(StroekerandVogels2012)exposedsomeofthemostcommonchallengesre-latedtodigitization,suchastheneedforspecificallytrainedstaff,technologies,andthelong-termfinancialsustainabilityofdigitizationprocesses.Additionalcostsleadingtodif-ficultfinancialsustainabilityhaveoftenbeenperceivedasoneofthemainobstaclestodigitizationprocesses(Navarrete2013;EvensandHauttekeete2011),resultingintheneedtorethinkbusinessmodelsanddevelopnewstrategiesregardingstakeholders(BishoffandAllen2004).Inparticular,heritageorganizationshaveprogressivelyembracedtheideaofoutsourcingorcreatingstrategicpartnershipstoimplementactivitiesthatarenotpartoftheircorecompetencies,suchasdigitizationandthemanagementandvalorizationoftheirdigital/digitizedculturalheritage(Borinetal.2020).Indigitizationprojects,suchpartnershipsaredevelopedtogeneratemanagementefficiency,economiesofscale,andsharingofknowledgeandinnovations.However,thesepartnershipshaveoftenbeentem-porarilylimitedbasedonoverlyspecificprojects,thushinderingthepossibilityofevolv-ingintostructuralcooperation(BishoffandAllen2004).Moreover,theyposeissuesre-latedtogovernance(Espositoetal.2023;EvensandHauttekeete2011)anddesigningthebestsystemsofinteractionamongtheinvolvedparties(Capurro2021).

TheEuropeanUnionhasattemptedtotakeactiontofosterandsupportthesepro-cesses,startingwiththe“DigitalAgendaforEurope”,whichwasdevelopedaftertheeco-nomiccrisisof2008–2009andservedasaninitialframeworkforculturalandcreativein-dustriesanddigitization,aswellasforstimulatingtheEuropeaneconomyandsustaina-blegrowthmoregenerallythroughthedigitaltransition(Cruz-Jesusetal.2012;Manikow-ska2019;Mansell2014).Aspartofthisfirstexperience,theEuropeanCommission’s

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eContentplusprogramlaunchedtheEuropeanadigitalportal,facilitatingthesharingofmillionsofdigitizedculturalresourcesfrommorethan2000Europeanculturalorganiza-tions(museums,archives,libraries,andaudiovisualcollections)inthefirstphase.Thefirstresultsoftheprojecthighlightedtheneedforfurthereffortsbyindividualculturalorganizationsandaredefinitionoftheoverallprojectmanagementmodel,especiallycon-sideringitsinternationalnature.Indeed,itrequiredthedevelopmentofspecificstand-ards,tools,andtechnologiesthatwouldguaranteetheuseofdigitaldatabythediverseusersandpartnersofEuropeana.Furthermore,itwasbasedonprotocolsformanagingcollaborationsbetweenorganizationsofdifferenttypes,whicharegeographicallydistantandoftenhavedifferentlevelsoftechnologicaladvancementandobjectives.Recently,theEuropeanUnionhaslaunchedanewinitiative,calledECCCH—EuropeanCollaborativeCloudforCulturalHeritage,aimingatbringingforwardtheEuropeanaexperience(Brunetetal.2022)andaddressingthemostrecentchallengesofculturalheritagedigiti-zation(Brunetetal.2022)

Indeed,thedigitizationchallengeforculturalheritageorganizationshasfurtherin-tensifiedduetothegrowthindemandfordigitalculturalcontent,especiallyduringthepandemicperiod(Agostinoetal.2020;Cosimatoetal.2021;KolokythaandRozgonyi2021;Marras2020;Vlassis2021).Onceagain,thesechallengeshaveoftenappearedtoodauntingtobeaddressedbyindividualculturalheritageinstitutions,consideringthatthemajorityoftheseorganizationsaresmall-andmedium-sized(Eurostat2019)andoftendonothavethenecessaryfinancialmeanstoinvesteitherintechnologiesandhumanre-sourcesupskillingorinthestorage,management,andenhancementofdigitaldata(Borinetal.2020).

TheproblemhasbeenpartiallysolvedthroughtheallocationofsomeEuropeanfundsdedicatedtodigitizationprocesses(Manikowska2019).Anothersolutionhasbeentheestablishmentofcooperationatlocal,meso,national,andinternationallevelsthatcouldguaranteeajointinvestmentininfrastructureandintegrateskills,knowledge,andstrategies,thusreducingthecostsofdigitization,preservation,andenhancementofdig-itizedculturalheritage(Borin2017).Regardingthefirstpoint,thegoalofdigitalandeco-logicaltransitionhasalsobeenconfirmedasapriorityinthemostrecentEUprogrammingperiod,ascanbeseenintheMultiannualFinancialFramework2021–2027andintheNextGenerationEUinstrument,wherethegoalofaninclusiveandparticipatorytransi-tiontowardsa“greenanddigitalfuture”isrepeatedlystressed(DelaPorteandJensen2021).Thesupportandencouragementinitiatives(alsothroughsubstantialfinancialallo-cations)areinadditiontothevariousprogramsandmultifacetedspecificinitiativespro-motedbyvariouspublicandprivateactorsoperatingintheculturalsectorthroughoutEurope(SonkolyandVahtikari2018;Sotirovaetal.2012).Regardingthesecondpoint,thereisanongoingscientific,theoretical,andpracticalreflectiononhowbesttomanagesuchinternationalpartnershipsfordigitizationanddigitaldatamanagementtocreatebenefitsforculturalheritageorganizationsandensurethelong-termeconomicsustaina-bilityofthedigitizationprojects:thisdiscussionhasalsoaddressedtheeconomicandfi-nancialsustainabilityofdigitizationprojects,reflectingonpartnershipsforthedigitiza-tionofculturalheritageaswellasondigitalplatformsforculturalheritageenhancement(Borin2017).

Forthisstudy,asinthevastbodyofresearchmentionedabove,itisrelevanttoad-dressthescientificdebateontheeconomicandfinancialsustainabilityofthedigitizationofculturalheritage,aswellastheliteratureondigitalplatformsforthemanagementofdigitizeddata.ThiswouldindeedhelpustoplaceourresearchquestionsontheEuro-peanaprojectintothecorrectresearchframework.Inparticular,interestinginsightsintheliteratureforourinvestigationcanbeidentifiedinresearchonvaluecreationmechanismsandpowerrelationsinsituationswhereinternationalpartnershipsarecomposedofcom-paniesofvarioussizesandwithdifferentlevelsofbargainingpower.

Astrongbodyofliteratureonthedigitizationofculturalheritagehasemphasizeditsbenefitsintermsofthepreservation,enhancement,andaccessibilityofculturalheritage

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aspreviouslydescribed,butithasalsohighlightedthehighcostsofdigitizationforcul-turalorganizationsandthepotentialthreatstotheirfinancialunsustainability.Digitiza-tioncostscouldberelatedtoequipmentandtechnology,sinceculturalorganizationsneedtoinvestinspecializedequipmentandtechnologyfordigitization,suchashigh-resolutionscanners,cameras,digitizationsoftware,storagedevices,andcomputersystemscapableofhandlinglargeamountsofdata(PandeyandKumar2020;Adaneetal.2019).Thesetechnologicalinvestmentscanbequitesignificantandnotfeasibleforsmall-andmedium-sizedculturalorganizations,especiallythoserelyingonpublicfunding.Anothersignifi-cantcostcouldberelatedtothefactthatdigitizingculturalheritagerequiresaskilledworkforcewithexpertiseinhandlinganddigitizingdelicateartifacts,operatingspecial-izedequipment,andmanagingdigitalassets.Hiringandtrainingstafforoutsourcingtheseservicescanincurcosts(CoriandFraticelli2018).Digitizedculturalheritage,more-over,impliesmetadatacreationandcataloging.Indeed,digitizedculturalheritageneedstobeproperlyorganized,described,andcatalogedtoensureeasyaccessandretrieval.Thisinvolvescreatingmetadata,whichrequirestrainedprofessionalswhoarefamiliarwithcatalogingstandardsandpractices(Giannoulakisetal.2018).Moreover,digitizedcontentrequiresadequatestorageinfrastructureanddatamanagementsystemstoensureitslong-termpreservationandaccessibility.Thecostsmayincludecloudstoragesolu-tions,backupsystems,andongoingmaintenanceofdigitalrepositories.Italsorequiresgoodprocessesofqualitycontrolandassurance:culturalorganizationsneedtoallocateresourcesforqualitycontrolprocesses,includingimageverification,metadataaccuracychecks,andregularsystemaudits,tomaintainhigh-qualitydigitizedmaterials(Nguyenetal.2022).Ensuringthelong-termsustainabilityofdigitizedculturalheritageinvolvesongoingmaintenance,systemupgrades,periodicdatamigration,andregulartechnologyupdates.Budgetingfortheserecurringcostsisessentialtopreservedigitalassetseffec-tively(GireeshKumarandNair2022;ThekkumKara2021).Finally,makingdigitizedcul-turalheritageaccessibletothepublicoftenrequiresadditionalinvestments.Thismayin-volvecreatinguser-friendlyinterfaces,developinginteractiveexhibitsorwebsites,andimplementingoutreachprogramstopromoteawarenessandengagement(Bontchev2015).

Afurthercostcategoryisidentifiedforcopyright,licensing,anddigitalrightsman-agement(Borissova2018).Culturalorganizationsmustconsidercopyrightandlicensingissueswhendigitizingculturalheritage.Acquiringpermissions,licenses,orrightstore-produceanddisplaycertainmaterialscaninvolvelegalandfinancialconsiderations.Cul-turalorganizationsmayalsoneedtoinvestindigitalrightsmanagementsystemstopro-tecttheirdigitizedcontentfromunauthorizeduse,reproduction,ordistribution.Thesesystemsofteninvolvelicensingfeesortechnologicalsolutionsthatincurcosts.

Tocomplementtheinsightsprovidedbytheliteratureonthefinancialsustainabilityofinternationaldigitizationprojects,andconcerningourselectedcasestudy,itseemsin-terestingtomakesomeconsiderationsbasedonthestudiesondigitalbusinessanddigitalplatforms.Inthisliterature,aninterestingstreamofresearchfocusesontherolesthatcanbeidentifiedintheimplementationofdigitalplatformsandhowtheyrelatetothesus-tainabilityoftheprojectandvaluecreation/co-creation(Kapoor2018;Heinetal.2020;Tiwana2018).Thekeyrolesofplatformsponsors,users,andcomplementorsarehigh-lighted,anditispointedoutthatacontinuousinteraction,fromanecosystemperspectivebasedontheproactivityofthepartiesincontinuousvalueco-creationprocesses,isneces-sary(Dattéeetal.2018).Platformsponsorsareoftenthekeyfiguresindeterminingthesustainabilityofprojects;theyalsoshapethemechanismsbywhichinnovationoropeninnovationispromoted,evenincontextsofhighuncertaintysuchasdigitalones.Itmustbenotedthatindigitalplatforms,valuecreationisalsomulti-directional,totallydifferentfromthelinearvaluecreationmodelofatraditionalcompany,forwhichsharedandpar-ticipatorygovernancesystemsareoftenmoreappropriate(BanerjeeandMajumdar2020;Chenetal.2021;KenneyandZysman2019;MoschandObermaier2022;Pagani2013;Trabucchietal.2022;WulfandBlohm2020).Theseinsightsalsoresonatewiththe

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literatureondigitalplatformsanddigitalprojectsinculturalheritage(KéfiandPallud2011;Benardouetal.2018;MusasaandModiba2021;Salvadoretal.2019;Pesceetal.2019).

Theliteratureonglobalvaluechainsandvaluecreationaddsotherinterestingin-sightstoouranalysis(LeeandLee2019).Partofthereflectiononthemechanismsofvaluecreationinglobalvaluechainsfocusesonpartnershipsbetweensmallandmedium-sizedenterprisesasdependentsuppliers,whichoperateinancillarypositionsinvaluechainsinnetworksledbylarge,oftenmultinational,entities(BuckleyandPrashantham2016;Strangeetal.2022).Ontheonehand,theliteraturehasemphasizedhowsuchsmallandmedium-sizedenterprisesdependonrelationshipswithlargecorporationsandprojectleaderstoobtainthecomplementaryfinancial,technological,andhumanresourcesthatcouldenabletheirdigitizationprocessesanduseofdigitaldata,alsofromapositiveper-spective(Buckley2009;MurphreeandAnderson2018;Soontornthumetal.2020).Leaderscanprovideastrongstimulusfortechnologicalupgradingtosmallenterprisesthroughthedemandfortheadaptationofapplicationprofilesandthesupplyofspecificdigitalmaterialsanddata(Magnanietal.2019;MurphreeandAnderson2018).Studiesonthedynamicsofvaluecreationwithinglobalvaluechainsconcerningtheadventofthedigitalageindicatethatdigitizationinfluencessmallindustries(alsointheculturalandcreativesector,inparticular,thevideogamessector)inanameliorativeway,stimulatingtechno-logicalupgradingandinvestmentbyplayersinteractingininternationalpartnerships,thuschangingtheirroleandpowerataninternationallevelandstimulatingtheupgrad-ingofskills,competencies,andtechnologicalinvestment.

Theresearchparadigmshighlightedabovethusshowustheframeworkforastudyofhowaninternationalcentralplatformfordigitizedculturalheritagecouldprovidepo-tentialbenefitsregardingthechallengesofdigitizationintheculturalsector.Asmen-tionedabove,thisresearchaimstoprovideinitialreflectionsontheseaspectsthroughtheresultsthatwillbeillustratedinthefollowingsectionsofthisarticle.

3.ResearchDesignandMethodology

ThispaperaimstoachieveitsresearchobjectivesthroughaqualitativeanalysisofthecasestudyoftheEuropeanaproject,withaparticularfocusonthemanagementprocessesandbusinessmodeloftheproject,andonitsimpactintermsofensuringthelong-termeconomicandfinancialsustainabilityoftheproject.Thecasewaschosenaccordingtothecriteriaofrelevanceandappropriatenesstotheresearchareaandresearchquestions(Pat-ton2014).Aspreviouslyillustrated,EuropeanahasoftenbeenreferredtointheliteratureastheemblematicprojectoftheEuropeanUnionintermsofdigitizationpolicies,repre-sentativenotonlyoftheEuropeanstrategytowardsdigitization,butalsooftheproblemsand,inacertainsense,theuncertaintiesthathaveledtoapartialimplementationofthepotentialofsuchalarge-scaleproject.Furthermore,theprojectseemedparticularlysuita-bleforthisresearchduetoitsscale,governance,andmanagementprofiles,whichmakesitpossibletorelateittothereflectionsonhowtoaddressthecostchallengesinvolvedinthedigitizationofculturalheritage.Theproject’speriod(launchedabout15yearsago)makesita“mature”project,acharacteristicthatseemedparticularlyrelevantbecauseitwaspossibletoanalyzethecurrentconfigurationsastheresultofanevolutionovertime.Lastly,thecasewaschosenbecausearesearchgapwasidentifiedintheliteraturethatneededtobefilledconcerningthecostbenefitsthatthemodelisbringingtoculturalor-ganizations,tocomplementthevariousstudiesonthissubjectalreadypublishedrelatingtootherfieldsofstudy(e.g.,t