Italian corporate museums as industrial tourism destinations: А segmentation study based on strategic orientation

Angelo Riviezzo,Michela Mason,Antonella Garofano,Maria Napolitano

doi:10.54055/ejtr.v29i.2425

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to propose a segmentation of Italian corporate museums, based on their strategic orientation and their actual willingness to cooperate with other local stakeholders in order to enhance industrial tourism in the area. The study is based on empirical data collected from 88 Italian museums belonging to private firms. A cluster analysis was used to identify three different groups of corporate museums, shedding light on the diverse role played as platforms from which firms may directly communicate with tourists and other stakeholders. The results of the study demonstrate the high heterogeneity of corporate museums, whose strategic priorities and orientation may vary significantly. Such variety has relevant implications for their potential role in the enhancement of the tourist attractiveness of the area.

Highlights

In the last decades industrial heritage sites emerged as alternative tourist destinations and their recovery was the key of revitalization processes aimed at giving new opportunities to de-industrialized cities and regions (Boros et al, 2013)
Otgaar (2012) defined industrial tourism as “visits to sites that enable residents and tourists to get acquainted with a region’s operational firms” (p. 87). In this relatively broad definition of industrial tourism, industrial heritage sites are only included if they require the participation of operational firms, but the core attractions are company tours, aimed at providing direct knowledge of production processes
Based on the above-mentioned circumstances, the main aim of this study is precisely to fill this gap in the literature and to propose a segmentation of corporate museums, based on empirical data collected in Italy, assessing their strategic orientation and their contribution to the development of industrial tourism in the country

Summary

Introduction

In the last decades industrial heritage sites emerged as alternative tourist destinations and their recovery was the key of revitalization processes aimed at giving new opportunities to de-industrialized cities and regions (Boros et al, 2013). In a growing number of cities and regions strongly affected by deindustrialization processes, industrial landscapes have been transformed in consumption places, and testimonies of industrial past have become attractive for tourists (Xie, 2006). In this perspective, former industrial sites represent the core attraction of industrial heritage tourism, which Frew (2008) distinguished from industrial tourism, focused on the visit to operational industrial sites. In this relatively broad definition of industrial tourism, industrial heritage sites are only included if they require the participation of operational firms, but the core attractions are company tours, aimed at providing direct knowledge of production processes

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Results