The weight of stakeholders on festival management. The case of music festivals in Italy

Abstract

Even if events can represent important drivers for local development, it is possible to have a genuine economic and social contribution only when the event is undertaken within a paradigm that emphasizes the importance of complex interactions between the event's proposer and its stake- holders. Inside the event sector, festivals represent a specifi c sub-fi eld that share time similarities and peculiarities as compared to other typologies. This paper analyzes the Italian context of music festivals and deepens the relationships between the festival organizer and public and private actors using stakeholder management approach. Findings suggest that Italian festivals have a reasonable level of entrepreneurship since the analysis reveals a good predisposition for the use of management practices.