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1 – 10 of 226Silvia Sacchetti and Alberto Ianes
This study aims to address the question of what coordination mechanism can be used for cultural production and, in particular, for the governance of music culture production. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to address the question of what coordination mechanism can be used for cultural production and, in particular, for the governance of music culture production. The authors locate their reflection within the specific institutional innovations introduced in Italy in 2017, focusing on the idea of shared administration and the public–private collaboration instituted in Trentino (a province located in northern Italy) in support of its cultural policy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focusses on the Trentino’s music school system. This includes 13 organisations (musicians’ cooperatives as well as associations of musicians and students, plus one municipal school which do not overlap with the public school system). To analyse shared administration features, the authors rely on selected information from 50 interviews with Trentino Music Schools (TMS) teachers and administrators, and on the proceedings of the 1994 music school conference organised by the schools at the time when this novel educational system was created.
Findings
To offer an innovative educational service, the public actor (Provincia Autonoma di Trento [PAT]) and the schools (TMS) have developed a strong interdependence at the different levels of decision-making: PAT needs organisations that are sufficiently structured and organised to respect requirements of transparency and accountability, as well as educational standards, whereas TMS need public funding to maintain their service accessible for users, good labour conditions and be financially sustainable. Likewise, the success of TMS in educating thousands of students every year, including additional teaching programmes funded by PAT within general public schools, has contributed to decrease the exclusion from music education, raise interest in young people for music and fed enrolment in TMS as well as in the public schools related to the conservatoire filière. Conclusions emphasise the existence of a polycentric system of music culture production which needs to acknowledge the risk of being trapped in a static disequilibrium, while recognising change and the need to support and promote a culture of cooperation among schools and across layered institutional levels over time.
Research limitations/implications
Further research can observe this system of cultural production over time, to appreciate changes and organisational tranformations, while introducing comparative analysis with other systems in different regions.
Practical implications
The relationship between the public and private sectors to design, organise and manage activities of collective interest (in the social, cultural, sporting and other fields) can increasingly become an effective and efficient alternative to the traditional bureaucratic as well as to the competitive method. For this to happen, however, all actors involved must be aware not only of areas of efficiency but also of inefficiency. To remedy the latter, corrective measures will have to be introduced. For example, fostering and improving “co-programmazione” and “co-progettazione” means giving all stakeholders involved the opportunity to actively participate. Should the number of participants increase, more discussion fora could be set up because one alone may not be sufficient to foster maximum involvement, to enhance different points of view, to allow for intersectoral and multidisciplinary interpretations and responses.
Social implications
The system governance based on co-programming and co-design has allowed – despite limitations – to pursue educational purposes and thus well-being for the users, as well as for the teachers and the community as a whole. The continuity of this educational and cultural action has been guaranteed by the economic and financial sustainability of the schools, which is highly dependent on the public actor funding personnel costs, and in turn tied to the number of students (demand) attending each school. Actors embedded in the system need to build awareness of industry and cultural changes and knowledge of how to introduce more adaptive capacity. This points towards the need for strengthening networking capacity and collaboration among schools and other relevant stakeholders.
Originality/value
The case presented is a unique system of music culture production in Italy, and its governance has never been addressed by previous studies. It provides an application of shared administration to which public administrations and communities can learn to improve access to music culture and education. For public and private organisations to take advantage of the method of “co-programmazione” and “co-progettazione”, to make the production of a meritorious good more efficient and to favour its maximum accessibility, this study considers the strengths and weaknesses of this approach, or the areas of efficiency and inefficiency, for which new measures will have to be introduced.
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La Regione Trentino‐Alto Adige è da tempo riconosciuta regione turistica oltre che per la posizione geografica, per il clima, la popolazione, i costumi, le tradizioni, la sua…
Abstract
La Regione Trentino‐Alto Adige è da tempo riconosciuta regione turistica oltre che per la posizione geografica, per il clima, la popolazione, i costumi, le tradizioni, la sua storia, l'accessibilità,l'attrezzature, ecc., anche per il fatto ancor più significativo dell'abbondanza di zone e centri turistici numerosi e vari che la caratterizzano; e per il rapporto che si è venuto determinando, in virtù del turismo, sul piano popolazione‐movimento forestieri e popolazione‐attrezzatura ricettiva.
Chiara Dalle Nogare and Raffaele Scuderi
The COVID-19 pandemic has induced tourism destinations to reconsider organisational aspects related to health safety measures, as perceptions of health safety may have become…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has induced tourism destinations to reconsider organisational aspects related to health safety measures, as perceptions of health safety may have become particularly important for tourists. Using data from summer 2020, the period immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic, we investigate the factors that affected tourist perceptions of health safety.
Design/methodology/approach
Data come from a survey of tourist-card holders in Trentino, an Italian mountain destination. Through regressions, we assess the conditional correlation between health safety measure evaluations following a holiday and a set of covariates related to the features of the tourist area and the tourists themselves, as well as COVID-19 incidence in their province of residence in the months before the holiday.
Findings
Tourist-related features seem not to impact on perceived health safety, whereas some destination- and accommodation-related elements do. In particular, the number of tourist beds affects it negatively, and staying at a hotel does it in a positive way. COVID-19 incidence in one’s home province does not affect perceptions of health safety measures, which suggests a possible sample selection effect and/or the need for more fine-grained data.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few on the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic using data from a large sample of actual tourists. Our findings point out the importance of the intrinsic features of some places and accommodation in influencing perceptions of safety. We discuss implications for scholars and destination managers.
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Michael Volgger, Harald Pechlaner, Anna Scuttari and Elisa Innerhofer
The entirety of a region’s architectural expressions, that is, its building culture, has a strong impact on a region’s atmosphere. Being a collective and networked endeavour…
Abstract
The entirety of a region’s architectural expressions, that is, its building culture, has a strong impact on a region’s atmosphere. Being a collective and networked endeavour, building culture is difficult to coordinate. Against this background, this chapter presents an empirically informed reflection on architectural governance. The chapter is based on a multiple case study which compares five regions in the European Alps in terms of their coordination mechanisms in the areas of architecture and spatial planning, that is, architectural governance. The analysed regions include Grisons (Switzerland), Vorarlberg, Tyrol (both Austria), South Tyrol and Trentino (both in Italy). By combining conceptual considerations with empirical evidence, the chapter concludes with hypothesised relationships between architectural governance, building culture, socio-economic development dynamics and tourism.
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Antonio Frattari and David Lawrence
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the innovative concept of “envelope within an envelope” as a tool to give redundant timber farm barns (which may be perceived as…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the innovative concept of “envelope within an envelope” as a tool to give redundant timber farm barns (which may be perceived as uneconomic for adaptation) new life for residential purposes. It aims to outline research that is proposed in order to provide guidelines for conservation/preservation professionals, potential user/occupants, investors and developers. It is based upon current problems existing in the Trentino region of Italy and the state of Michigan in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
After explaining the new concept and its potential for solving current conservation/preservation problems, the paper introduces technical and facilities management (FM) goals for research and development. Within the FM goal a series of objectives are outlined giving a broad methodology to consider user needs, costings, and communication needs for raising awareness.
Findings
The concept recognizes traditional conservation/preservation interventions capable of extending the life of a structure while at the same time permitting innovative technology to be introduced to provide modern and sustainable accommodation that will be perceived as economically viable.
Originality/value
The concept of “envelope within an envelope” incorporates not only technical elements of conservation/preservation but also behavioural and economic elements arising from the user‐orientated emphasis given by the introduction of an FM framework. This improves on the technocratic solutions that are offered by the “structure within a structure” concept.
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Maria Giovanna Brandano, Linda Osti and Manuela Pulina
The purpose of this paper is to assess the “motivation-satisfaction-loyalty” framework. Through a structural equation model (SEM), it is possible to disentangle attitudinal and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the “motivation-satisfaction-loyalty” framework. Through a structural equation model (SEM), it is possible to disentangle attitudinal and behavioral loyalty as a multifaceted latent variable.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is based on data collected in wineries located in two important wine destinations: Trentino and South Tyrol (Italy). Notably, the motivation–satisfaction relationship is confirmed, and the SEM has also assessed the importance of winery services in affecting loyalty, expressed in terms of “visit other cellars,” “repeat a wine vacation” and “recommend wine routes.”
Findings
Destination managers should consider the wine-related “relaxation” as the main push motivation, while the interactions experience are important pull motivations to drive wine tourists’ satisfaction. Nevertheless, the findings reveal that more proactive policies are needed to enhance local wines loyalty.
Originality/value
The novelty of this study is to explore loyalty. In this respect, a multifaceted latent variable is expressed as follows: “buy local wines,” “visit other cellars,” “repeat a wine vacation” as behavioral attitudinal stated loyalty and “recommend wine routes” as attitudinal stated loyalty.
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Antonella Cugini, Giovanna Michelon and Silvia Pilonato
– The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss an accounting innovation in the cost measurement system of rail transport companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss an accounting innovation in the cost measurement system of rail transport companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors identify the distinctive features that cost accounting systems should have in order to capture the particular structure of the production process of rail transport companies and develop an innovative accounting practice that addresses the specific features of railway services, particularly the high fixed costs associated with the infrastructure. This accounting innovation is applied to Trentino Trasporti, a medium-sized, privately owned passenger railway company operating in the Trentino Alto Adige region of Italy.
Findings
Evidence suggests that the new accounting practice facilitates the operational connection between the company's resources and their consumption during the provision of transport services.
Practical implications
This connection enables companies to identify new opportunities for improvement and cost optimisation by finding the real origins of cost consumption in the provision of rail transport services.
Originality/value
The case analysed also shows the necessity of integrating activity-based costing (ABC) with an accounting innovation that can represent the resources consumed by the various elements of the infrastructure that support the provision of services. This innovation has important managerial outcomes for all service companies that operate with an infrastructure network, including transport, service, and utility companies, and useful implications for the accounting profession that deals with cost systems in networked-based companies.
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Massimo Contrafatto, Ericka Costa and Caterina Pesci
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretically informed analysis of social and environmental reporting (SER) evolution, i.e. how and why the SER evolved over time in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretically informed analysis of social and environmental reporting (SER) evolution, i.e. how and why the SER evolved over time in a cooperative bank in Italy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a qualitative fieldwork case study conducted from 2011 to 2015. Information and data were collected through several methods including: interviews with managers involved in the SER’s process; analysis of the SER-related documents; analysis of the website; and observations in the field. The analysis of the empirical evidence draws on the institutional logic (IL) perspective, which provides theoretical insights to interpret the role of the contrasting institutional forces in the evolution of SER.
Findings
The empirical analysis unveils three different stages in the evolution of SER: the “birth” whereby a new form of social reporting was initiated; the “development” through which SER was implemented to become a formal component of the organizational management; and the “de-structuring” when the SER was gradually de-composed. This gradual de-structuring, as well as the initiation and implementation processes, was influenced by different institutionally infused rationalities and logics. These institutionally infused rationalities and logics, along with the specific organizational and contextual events, provided the resources, and created the space and opportunity, for the SER-related changes to occur.
Originality/value
The analysis offers theoretical insights to understand “how” (i.e. processes) and “why” (i.e. the conditions under which) SER gradually evolved, i.e. emerged, was constructed and developed during the phases of implementation and post-implementation. Furthermore, it is shown that SER is multifunctional in nature and unveils how and why these multiple functions change over time. Finally, the analysis provides a theoretical contribution by illuminating the role that different and contrasting ILs play in driving the adoption of organizational practices.
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Umberto Martini, Karin Malacarne, Silvia Pederzolli Giovanazzi and Federica Buffa
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of female entrepreneurs in the development of sustainable tourism in marginal rural mountain areas. This role is studied with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of female entrepreneurs in the development of sustainable tourism in marginal rural mountain areas. This role is studied with reference to two focal points: female entrepreneurs’ involvement in the creation and management of tourism/hospitality services characterized by elements of authenticity, experientiality and innovation (Focus 1) and their willingness to create or participate in local stakeholder networks (Focus 2).
Design/methodology/approach
Exploratory research was conducted in mountain areas where tourism development is still marginal. In depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 11 businesswomen in Trentino (Italy), who agreed to take part in this study.
Findings
Female entrepreneurs play a very important role in the development of sustainable mountain tourism. Elements of authenticity, experientiality and innovation are shown to be characteristic of female entrepreneurship, as is women’s propensity to create and foster local stakeholder networks (directly or indirectly) linked to their own businesses.
Research limitations/implications
In the light of the exploratory nature of this study, a small convenience sample was used.
Originality/value
This research highlights specific features of female entrepreneurship related to the sustainable development of marginal rural areas and contributes to the academic debate on the topic. This topic is under-researched with regard to developed countries.
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Alessandro Sancino, James Rees and Irene Schindele
This book chapter uses structuration theory and aims to study cross-sectoral collaborations for co-creating public value and their implications in terms of the role and the…
Abstract
This book chapter uses structuration theory and aims to study cross-sectoral collaborations for co-creating public value and their implications in terms of the role and the relationships of the public sector with the private and third sector.
Our research is exploratory and our main research question is: What are the modalities of structuration of cross-sectoral collaborations for co-creating public value? Our analysis is based on a multiple case study analyses conducted in the region of Trentino – South Tyrol (Italy), and it draws on primary and secondary data collected through six extensive semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis on about fifty organizations participating in six cross-sectoral collaborations. We found that the co-creation of public value led public organizations to structure cross-sectoral collaborations involving private and third-sector organizations, but preexistent structures of signification, domination, and legitimation hampered the public sector as a whole to fully democratically meta-govern the modalities of structuration.
The chapter provides insights for practice by highlighting the elements of structuration theory as a useful framework of analysis for decision-making of public managers involved in cross-sectoral collaborations. Research implications deal with using structuration theory and critical approaches at a macrolevel (e.g., the role of the public sector as a whole) within public management studies.
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