Stakeholder theory posits that accountability systems depend on the strength and the number of their stakeholders. This paper aims to analyze the empirical validity of stakeholder theory, focusing on accountability systems in the museum sector. Based on Wikipedia resources, we have selected all of the ''National Museums'' (134 museums) in the major developed countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the US. After we control for type of activity (art or other), cost per visitor and country, the results of an OLS multivariate model show that size of the museum, which is assumed to represent the strength and number of stakeholders, and the amount of funds received, which represents the power of a particularly salient category of stakeholders (donors), are the two main determinants of the accountability level. We conclude that accountability, in the absence of shareholders, is driven by the number and the power of different stakeholders, validating the stakeholder theory.Résumé Le postulat de la théorie des parties prenantes est que les systèmes de responsabilité dépendent de la puissance et du nombre de leurs parties prenantes. Cet article a vocation à analyser la validité empirique de la théorie des parties prenantes, en s'intéressant aux systèmes de responsabilité dans le secteur des musées. Nous basant sur des ressources Wikipedia, nous avons sélectionné tous les « Musées nationaux » (134 musées) dans les principaux pays développés : Australie, Canada, France, Allemagne, Italie, le Royaume-Uni et les USA. Après un Resumen La teoría de las partes interesadas postula que los sistemas de responsabilidad dependen de la fortaleza y el número de sus partes interesadas. Este documento tiene como objetivo analizar la validez empírica de la teoría de las partes interesadas, centrándose en los sistemas de responsabilidad en el sector de los museos. Basándonos en recursos de Wikipedia, hemos seleccionado todos los ''Museos Nacionales'' (134 museos) en los principales países desarrollados: Australia, Canadá, Francia, Alemania, Italia, Reino Unido y los Estados Unidos de América. Después de controlar por tipo de actividad (arte u otro), coste por visitante y país, los resultados de un modelo multivariable OLS/MCO (mínimos cuadrados ordinarios) muestran que el tamaño del museo, que se asume que representa la fortaleza y el número de partes interesadas, y la cantidad de fondos recibidos, que representa el poder de una categoría particularmente sobresaliente de partes interesadas (donantes), son los dos principales determinantes del nivel de responsabilidad. Concluimos que la responsabilidad, en ausencia de accionistas, es impulsada por el número y el poder de las diferentes partes interesadas, validando la teoría de las partes interesadas. 650Voluntas (2013) 24:649-665

S. Maria degli Angiolini in Florence, founded as a monastery in 1507, became a conservatorio (a special type of girls’ school) in 1785 and thereafter carried out the education of young females. Between 1785 and 1859, it underwent various changes due to political, social, cultural, religious and economic events. These events, the result of the liberal enlightenment age, influenced the institution’s configuration, its formal organisation structure, teaching activity (pedagogic approach, methods, criteria and contents of the training offered), as well as its accounting system (system of book-keeping and method of registration). This article presents the analysis of rare documents, laws, regulations and account books to identify, in light of new institutionalism, the principal agents of transformation, in particular in accounting systems, within conservatori, with focus on S. Maria degli Angiolini.

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Il Progetto “PO.MA. Museo” si è posto come obiettivo quello di creare un modello di misurazione della performance e di comunicazione dei suoi esiti a numerosi stakeholder e di costruire una Piattaforma Tecnologica che accoglie il suddetto modello nella sua più semplice formulazione e lo esprime in un linguaggio informatico in modo da renderlo concretamente utilizzabile. In sintesi, la Piattaforma mira a “conoscere e far conoscere il museo”. Queste “Linee Guida” costituiscono uno strumento finalizzato ad agevolare la sua applicazione da parte dei musei e a diffondere fra di essi una cultura di accountability cercando di vincere gli atteggiamenti di diffidenza nei confronti dell’analisi della performance.