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Il Cuore di Novi is an example of an innovative way of regenerating and revitalising a town centre in Italy in the face of intense competition from large out‐of‐town retail and residential developements. This has been achieved through a combination of research surveys linked to an organic approach to marketing strategy and effective engagement with the town's local authority and small‐ and medium‐sized retailers. The paper's aim is to discuss this development.

This case study provides an example of retailer‐led town centre management in the Novi Ligure (Italy) and builds on previous work by Molinillo Jiménez, Sánchez del Río, Vilariño et al. and Coca‐Stefaniak et al.

Southern European models of retailer‐led town centre management, known in Italy as centro commerciale naturale and discussed by Valente, Zanderighi, Moras et al. and Codato et al. can be effective in competing with large out‐of‐town shopping centres through innovative place management and marketing techniques in town centres based on local know‐how, differentiation and customer service.

The case of Novi Ligure's successful retailer‐led town centre management scheme is unique in Italy in terms of its ability to integrate retail revitalisation with urban regeneration in a town centre. This scheme is ground‐breaking in Italy and provides further evidence of the success of Southern European bottom‐up retailer‐led place management models. This study is of value to practitioners and policy makers in place management, town centre management, local authority planning officers, urban regeneration consultants, academics, small‐ and medium‐sized independent retailers, community leaders and town centre residents.

The purpose of this Editorial is to introduce the subject of place management and, more specifically, the Journal of Place Management and Development.

The approach is reflective, reflexive and indulgent. The Editorial examines the background to place management and summarises current practical and theoretical interpretations on the subject, that have been written by the JPMD Editorial Board.

The Editorial establishes the breadth of the topic of place management as well as making some tentative predictions about where research in the subject could or should go in the future.

The Editorial calls for more joint research between academics and practitioners, to ensure that research is academically grounded but practically relevant.

The Editorial is a good introduction to the subject of place management and should be read by academics or practitioners with an interest in the subject.

In recent years, tourists have been progressively increasing their interest in the natural environment and its enjoyment. The objective of this study was: (1) identify the underlying variables or motivational dimensions in ecotourism; and (2) analyze the demand segmentation in ecotourism.

The empirical analysis was carried out in “Puntilla de Santa Elena” Fauna Production Reserve in Ecuador. The sample consisted of 369 surveys obtained in situ. For the data analysis, a factor analysis and a nonhierarchical K-media segmentation were performed.

The results show six motivational dimensions in ecotourism: “Self-development and Interpersonal relationships,” “Building personal relationships,” “Escape and ego-defensive function,” “Marine nature,” “Terrestrial nature” and “Rewards.” Also, according to their motivations, three segments of ecotourists emerged: “Reward and escape,” “Marine nature” and “Multiple motives.”

The limitation is the temporality with which the study was carried out. Another limitation was the number of the samples used. As future lines of research, it is proposed to investigate the offer related to ecotourism products and services adapted to the demand segments found.

Among the practical implications, operators and companies linked to the tourism sector can plan more efficient strategies, adapted to the specific needs of each segment to improve the satisfaction of tourists and the intentions of returning to the destination, providing greater benefit to the tourists, to the sustainable development of the destination and the community.

The findings of this research can help public institutions and private companies to improve the tourism supply, create sustainable plans and potentially develop more efficient marketing planning. Protected areas will benefit from information about demand. The communities will be able to elaborate products according to the motivations and found segments. Administrators will be able to create sustainable management plans for ecotourism.

As ecotourism grows, it is vital to understand the ecotourists' motivations and segmentation to improve each segment service offering. This study presents original results of the motivations and segmentation of the demand for ecotourism based on a reserve area for the production of coastal marine fauna. To obtain valid results, a study was carried out in Ecuador, this being a country with a great variety of flora and fauna ideal for ecotourism.

This paper aims to examine how an innovative concept was introduced to a new market segment through varied marketing techniques.

Newspapers from 1958 were reviewed to assess the impact of a chocolate company advertising campaign targeting children. The paper examines the interpretation of the campaign message and the information contained in an album of collectable cards.

Parents leave the teaching role in the hands of companies when they do not clearly understand new technologies such as nuclear energy. Companies can take advantage of what governments introduce into the market to increase their sales.

The originality of the paper lies in the examination of collectable cards as a means of researching marketing history and contributes to the study of market segmentation, particularly in the case of children, focussing on nuclear energy.

In the context of resource scarcity, the affiliation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to strategic networks has emerged as a fruitful path towards knowledge sharing as a reaction to fierce competition and with a view to enhance their innovative performance. In this framework, this paper aims to investigate the influence exerted by a specific relational design (i.e. types of strategic networks) and methodology (i.e. channels and content) of knowledge sharing on SMEs innovative performance.

A questionnaire-based survey with 102 top managers of European SMEs in the industrial field was conducted from June to August 2019 and a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was used. The database was initially filtered to ensure the adequacy of the sample and data was analysed using the statistics software package SmartPLS 3.0.

The results concluded that the structural model explains 38.5% of the variance in SMEs innovative performance, indicating the positive effects exerted by offline and online and by competitive knowledge sharing on the dependent variable.

The study has both theoretical and practical implications in that it sets out a reference point for the key performance indicators for strategic networks structure, formation and development and, implicitly, for the selection of the most efficient relational design and methodology.

The pivotal originality elements reside in the advancement of a more comprehensive conceptual and structural model combining a two-fold operationalization of SMEs strategic networks (founded on business abilities or on the personality of the partner) and in the investigation of knowledge transfer processes at the inter-organizational levels within a context-centric approach.

The information technology (IT) sector is a powerful factor in present-day society, and its role in pro-sustainability policies is crucial. This study aims to gain insight into IT students' perspectives on the role of education for sustainable development (ESD) in their academic curriculum as well as to project their attitudes and actions to prospective employers.

This study used a cross-sectional survey design, involving 260 students majoring in IT at a public university in Bulgaria.

The majority of the students (67.30%) believed that their university education should promote students’ social and environmental skills. However, 55–65% thought that the current academic curriculum failed to connect subject matter with relevant environmental issues. The students held high expectations of prospective employers. There was a significant concordance between the participants' views on sustainability and their perceived workplace actions. The participants who believed that employers should reduce carbon emissions were significantly more likely to refuse to do any work that supports the fossil fuel industry [odds ratio (OR) = 4.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.04–11.37] or leave a job if the company provides products or services for the fossil fuel industry (OR = 3.10, 95% CI: 1.26–7.26). Such participants were more likely to opt for a lower salary in favor of environmental principles (OR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.32–4.28).

The IT sector is a powerful factor in present-day society, and its role in pro-sustainability policies is crucial. IT students’ perspectives on the gaps in current sustainability practices convey a message to the IT academic and employment communities that environmental issues matter and are important to this new generation of technologically savvy people.

There have been a few other studies in Bulgaria on the issue of ESD, but no other study has focused on the projection of students' attitudes toward the environment onto future employers. The study's results showed that the Bulgarian young people who were getting ready for jobs in the IT field had the same environmental values and concerns as their peers from different higher education areas in different parts of the world. They were interested in acquiring knowledge and competencies that would help propel pro-environmental actions in their academic institution and future workplace. Notwithstanding the overall low economic standards in their country, they tended to put carbon-free and environmentally friendly policies ahead of financial interests. Their critical perspectives on the gaps in current sustainability practices convey a message to the academic and job communities in IT that environmental issues matter to this new generation of technologically savvy people.

Understanding the antecedents of biomass heating adoption by domestic users is important for both public authorities and businesses because of the impact of this technology on energy consumption. The purpose of this study offers an overview of the predictors of biomass adoption based on the most relevant theories, gleaned from pro-environmental decision-making research.

The proposed model was tested using the partial least squares technique. The study was conducted with a sample of 528 owners of detached houses who did not use biomass technology.

The results showed that intention to adopt this type of heating system is determined by individual values, environmental concerns, attitudes, perceived control, personal and social norms, perceptions of the technology’s attributes, of the benefits of biomass and access to economic aid.

Companies in the biomass heating sector (manufacturers, installers, biomass producers and distributors) and public bodies should take a proactive approach toward the economic and environmental situations they currently face.

Economic aid or subsidies should be made available to influence the adoption intention of potential owners; and the availability of the aid and the requirements that must be met to access, it should be publicized through advertisement campaigns.

This study includes comprehensive academic and managerial implications crucial for the introduction of domestic biomass heating systems.

The main objective of this study is to identify some of the variables that affect the perception of Brazil country brand, as well as the knowledge of the relationships between them.

The proposed model aims to find out the influence of the affective image, the cognitive image, the identity and the reputation on the country brand. Partial Least Squares (PLS) is the method used to test the proposed model.

According to the results obtained, it seems that both identity and reputation have a positive and significant effect on the country brand. On the other hand, the cognitive image is positively related to identity and the affective image, while it is surprising that the affective image itself shows no significant influence on identity.

The study is of particular interest to the policy makers of territories, explaining the factors they must influence in order to successfully enhance the country brand. It also contributes to theoretical development by proposing a conceptual model that highlights the importance of the cognitive image in the country brand, due to its effect on the affective image and identity.

El principal objetivo de este estudio es identificar algunas de las variables que inciden en la percepción de la marca país Brasil, así como el conocimiento de las relaciones entre ellos.

El modelo propuesto tiene como objetivo conocer la influencia de la imagen afectiva, la imagen cognitiva, la identidad y reputación en la marca país. El PLS (Partial Least Squares) es el método utilizado para probar el modelo propuesto.

Según los resultados obtenidos, parece que tanto la identidad como la reputación tienen un efecto positivo y significativo en la marca país. Por otro lado, la imagen cognitiva se relaciona positivamente con la identidad y la imagen afectiva, mientras que sorprende que la imagen afectiva en sí misma no muestra una influencia significativa sobre la identidad.

El estudio es de especial interés para los responsables políticos, ya que explica los factores que debe influir para potenciar con éxito la marca país. También contribuye al desarrollo teórico proponiendo un modelo conceptual que resalte la importancia de la imagen cognitiva en la marca país, por su efecto sobre la imagen e identidad afectiva.

If the only viable future for tourism is sustainable tourism then ways should be sought to increase the demand for sustainable offers. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether sustainability values influence the travel needs of students. The aim is to discover cues in the present behaviour of young tourists that can enhance sustainable travel choices and therefore secure the future of the tourism industry. Moreover, the study provides a solid basis for predicting the future travel behaviour of young tourists.

Data were collected in The Netherlands in 2013 through a survey. A non‐probabilistic sample of 365 students (a sub‐group of young tourists) was reached. Multivariate analyses were used to test whether position in the social structure and value orientation influence the travel need. The logistic models allowed youth tourism behaviour to be predicted.

Respondents with a biospheric value orientation associate travel with being in contact with nature and chose rest as a motivation. This is highly interesting from a future perspective because biospheric values are considered the most stable antecedent of sustainable behaviour. Findings also highlight women's role as the sustainable tourists of the future: women harbour strong sustainability values and see travel as a growth opportunity.

This research focuses on travel needs because this is the most future‐oriented phase of the tourism experience, and on students because they tend to travel independently. Future research might include travel consumption and evaluation as well as non‐students in the sample to give a more balanced view on young tourists. Future research might also include values not related to sustainability to assess their relative strengths in influencing youth tourism.

Both policy makers and industry could capitalise on the sustainability values already present in young people's need for travel to nudge this group – who represents tourism's future – towards a sustainable tourism choice. For example, strengthening sustainability values through marketing and education will increase demand for a sustainable offer.

Values related to sustainability influence general tourism choices by young travellers, and not only choices related to a sustainability offer. This finding suggests a path to address the classic dilemma between individualism and sustainability and assure tourism's future by showing young travellers that they already harbour sustainability values.

To share an important national meeting in Italy that provided an international overview of the Open Access movement to date and how progressive the European commitments have been in mandating OA publishing profiles, and more comprehensively how OA is being practiced in Italy.

A summary of the main points of the meeting.

This Congress included the major themes that brought together the research communities, the libraries and librarians, the scholarly publishing enterprises and highlighted the technologies in place to make OA a viable solution to the scholarly communication problems that currently exist.

By reviewing OA strategies and initiatives in place around the world at different institutions in different countries it is clear that there are ways to lay this groundwork so that long‐term success can be achieved. Lessons learned and best practices in place lead to more articulate and comprehensive ways to approach the ongoing problems to ensure that widespread adoption is close in Italy.