The Gadamerian hermeneutics for a mesoeconomic analysis of Cultural Heritage
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2044-1266
Article publication date: 4 March 2019
Issue publication date: 8 July 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of a hermeneutic-based approach as innovative way to study the Cultural Heritage management in a mesoeconomic space.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds a theoretical framework based on the analysis of relevant literature in the field of cultural economics, heritage economics and conservation and restoration techniques. Then, after having defined the conceptual hypothesis, a hermeneutical interpretative model is designed for the analysis of the processes of Cultural Heritage management with particular regard to the strategies of stakeholder engagement.
Findings
The research shows how the mesoeconomic space is that border area where it is possible to solve more easily the conflicts that arise as a result of the different expectations of stakeholders. Hermeneutical analysis, applied in iterative form, allows us to find common connections, points of contact and convergences between the interpretative horizons of the various stakeholders.
Practical implications
The application of the interpretative model allows the identification of the expectations of stakeholders, improving the knowledge of the tangible and intangible attributes of works of art, in order to design appropriate interventions of restoration, conservation and valorization.
Social implications
The new model of analysis, based on hermeneutic methodology, is designed to understand and describe the social and economic relations between the different stakeholders involved in the management of Cultural Heritage.
Originality/value
This paper examines for the first time the Cultural Heritage sector within the mesoeconomic area between the micro and the macroeconomy. In addition to this mesoeconomic analysis and conceptual approach, the authors introduce as methodology the economic hermeneutics that represents an innovative tool in the field of economic and business disciplines.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on this paper.
Citation
Settembre Blundo, D., Maramotti Politi, A.L., Fernández del Hoyo, A.P. and García Muiña, F.E. (2019), "The Gadamerian hermeneutics for a mesoeconomic analysis of Cultural Heritage", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 300-333. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-09-2017-0060
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited