On the Communication Value of the Company Museum and Archives

The study proposes to see whether companies that have set up company museums and archives realise the communication potential of this tool and in what terms such potential may have been actualised.The paper opted for an in-depth study in order to get an insight into the perception of the communication potential of the museum and archives. All of the 52 companies associated with the association “Museimpresa” were contacted, the members of which are the main companies in Italy that have set up their own museum and archives.Each company has been interviewed through a detailed and structured questionnaire carried out involving either the business owner or the marketing, communication or external relations manager or the curator of the museum/archives.A company museum-archives is used mainly to spread awareness of the heart, identity, values and history of the company.The investigation has moreover provided how its communication strengths impact on the image and the reputation of the company and on the sense of belonging between the enterprise and its community.