How universities institutionalize ‘good’ managerial practices? Some evidence from the Italian cultural sector

Purpose of the paper: This study aims to analyze the role of Italian universities in the ‘managerialization’ process of the cultural heritage sector, which is under a major process of change, merged in the recent reform of the Italian museums’ system. Methodology: This work adopts the new-institutionalism perspective to draw a quali-quantitative analysis of the offer of masters in Management (at both first and second level) of the Italian Universities. In particular, it presents a content analysis of the most recurrent profiles of masters activated by Italian Universities that are consistent with the issues of the cultural heritage sector. Findings: The main finding of the research is the presence of ‘window dressing’ in which the real contents of the master are not contextualized in the cultural sector. Research limits: This work gives only the results of a first step of analysis. The group wishes for an extended time of work aimed at developing a longitudinal analysis of processes of formation. Practical implications: This study, by bringing out the close interconnections between universities and the cultural heritage sector, reveals the necessity of a partnership that makes more coherent the educational path and the demands of the cultural sector. Originality of the paper: This study presents a content analysis on the most recurrent profiles of masters activated by Italian Universities that are consistent with the issues of the cultural heritage sector, in order to observe the presence of “normative isomorphism”.