Search

This paper examines the role of marketing strategies in a perspective of stronger customers involvements highlighting its evolution according to both theoretical and empirical contents. Starting from the assumption that customers are not merely targets of strategic activities, the paper underlines the active role of customer as well as the community in design and implementation of marketing policies both at induced and organic level. This statement comes from the higher consumer confidence in the use of web 2.0 tools and their value-added services. Particularly, the current research analyzes how firm’s relations with other can create value through crowdsourcing activities.

The paper evaluates the potential development of a territory’s productions of excellence, which have to express territory’s identity and have to represent a call for luxury’s tourism. Enterprises of luxury’s products seem not to be affected by the global crisis as they keep having niche consumers and they invest in quality and innovation. The research intends: to analyze the concept of luxury from a request and offer’s point of view; to verify the operative proposals to realize specific luxury tourism chain; to evaluate this kind of productions as attractive factors to increase territory tourism’s flows in the areas where companies are placed, considering consumers as co-producers. The draft starts from the literature of the luxury’s concept, considered either in the S-D Logic (Vargo, Della Corte, Mele) and in the RBT. This method brings to a complex overview of a more difficult value creation process, produced by the link of several actors who cooperate to have a systemic offer of a territory productions of excellence. The potential researches intend to verify: hp1) Which is the running and perspective role of the luxury customer? hp2) which is the luxury production’s configuration? hp3) are there systemic features to evaluate/enforce territorial productions of excellence? The empiric research has been made through the analysis of the main production field of excellence in Naples area, elaborating several companies examples and territory study.

In front of globalization, in countries characterized by a variety of heritage resources, it is necessary to attract visitors flows through innovative solutions and formulas, able to relay sensations, emotions and experiences to add to cultural content. The aim of this article is to study innovation in cultural service, with specific attention to archeological sites. The chosen methodology regards the application of the main issues of strategic management, with particular reference to resource-based theory, to cultural heritage (more specifically archaeological) sites’ management. The adopted method consists of a longitudinal case studies’ analysis, based on data searching, analysis of the different marketing tools, interviews to managers, in order to verify the type and efficiency of the organization and the degree of innovation in its different aspects. The analysis is conducted on some cases in Mediterranean area and more specifically in Italy (Hercolaneum), Giordania (Petra) and Israel (Masada). These sites have been chosen for several reasons: - they are notorious at an International level; - they have significant visitors’ flows; - they are interesting examples of different offer’s proposals. Moreover, the theme of cultural heritage management, tools and cutting edge techniques applicable to organizations and territory evaluation through cultural activities is proposed. In fact, territory is the first partner, a source of event management for client who, taking part to it, becomes him/herself a value creator. Starting from archaeological ruins for example, virtual museums located near ruins aim at enriching local offer, at making visitors able to travel in the past, passing through homes, landscapes and history before visiting the real ruins themselves. Technological and innovative offer must be able to match the demand of specific advanced services, a demand which is interested in both functionalities and imaginary, creativity, and contents. Archeological sites have been examined in their International context, in order to evaluate the innovative process in cultural and tourist offer, with reference not only to visitor’s decision process but mainly to the phase of service delivery (in terms of quality and consequent customer satisfaction). The paper provides the first results of a wider research project. However, it gives some first relevant hints on the possible directions to follow in order to innovate cultural service, with specific attention to archeological sites. It does not represent a simple attempt to apply a managerial optic in service construction and delivery but is rather expression of an interdisciplinary approach, also consulting scholars in culture and archeology, trying to enrich the contents of managerial approach.

The article examines new strategic paths for tourism ports according to a managerial approach. In particular, the topic is analyzed basing on strategic management theory. The specificity of tourist ports as units of analysis refers to the fact that they are not simple firms but complex entities, towards which different enterprises operating in cruising sector interact. Some important theoretical results are reached, applying resource-based theory and there is also empirical evidence through a longitudinal approach case study, according to which three cases are examined: Naples, Venice and Barcelona.

The aim of this article is to analyze cultural firms’ evolution, in terms of strategic management, in a global era. As regards the methods, we propose a methodological approach based on the combination of Resource Based Theory and Service Dominant Logic, according to which “customers do not buy goods or services: they buy offerings which render services which create value”. According to this perspective, cultural firms need to manage the strategic interaction between internal/external resources (territorial factors and firm specific resources) and internal/external networks (including customers and trade actors). In this process, the customer becomes a strategic resource: he/she is involved in cultural activities (i.e. edu-tainment) and becomes value co-producer and co-creator. In this optic, cultural activities have to be connected to the territory, in order to be real attractive factors, connected with local identity. This can be the new horizon for cultural firms to become competitive on the global market.

The aim of this article is to analyze the cultural firms evolution, in terms of strategic management, in a global era. As regards the methods, we propose a methodological approach based on the combination of Resource Based Theory and Service Dominant Logic, according to which “customers do not buy goods or services: they buy offerings which render services which create value” (Gummeson, 1995, 250). According to this perspective, cultural firms have to favour interaction of internal/external resources (territorial factors and firm specific resources) with the internal/external network (including customers and trade actors). In this process, customer becomes a strategic resource: he/she is involved in cultural activities (i.e. edu-tainment) and becomes value co-producer and co-creator. Those cultural activities have to be connected to territory, here conceived as important instruments of competitive advantage in international competition.

In front of globalization, in countries characterized by a variety of heritage resources, it is necessary to attract visitors flows through innovative solutions and formulas, able to relay sensations, emotions and experiences to add to cultural content. The aim of this article is to study innovation in cultural service, with specific attention to archeological sites. The chosen methodology regards the application of the main issues of strategic management, with particular reference to resource-based theory, to cultural heritage (more specifically archaeological) sites’ management. The adopted method consists of a longitudinal case studies’ analysis, based on data searching, analysis of the different marketing tools, interviews to managers, in order to verify the type and efficiency of the organization and the degree of innovation in its different aspects. The analysis is conducted on some cases in Mediterranean area and more specifically in Italy (Hercolaneum), Giordania (Petra) and Israel (Masada). These sites have been chosen for several reasons: - they are notorious at an International level; - they have significant visitors’ flows; - they are interesting examples of different offer’s proposals. Moreover, the theme of cultural heritage management, tools and cutting edge techniques applicable to organizations and territory evaluation through cultural activities is proposed. In fact, territory is the first partner, a source of event management for client who, taking part to it, becomes him/herself a value creator. Starting from archaeological ruins for example, virtual museums located near ruins aim at enriching local offer, at making visitors able to travel in the past, passing through homes, landscapes and history before visiting the real ruins themselves. Technological and innovative offer must be able to match the demand of specific advanced services, a demand which is interested in both functionalities and imaginary, creativity, and contents. Archeological sites have been examined in their International context, in order to evaluate the innovative process in cultural and tourist offer, with reference not only to visitor’s decision process but mainly to the phase of service delivery (in terms of quality and consequent customer satisfaction). The paper provides the first results of a wider research project. However, it gives some first relevant hints on the possible directions to follow in order to innovate cultural service, with specific attention to archeological sites. It does not represent a simple attempt to apply a managerial optic in service construction and delivery but is rather expression of an interdisciplinary approach, also consulting scholars in culture and archeology, trying to enrich the contents of managerial approach.