Francesco Capone

Do Creative Industries Cluster? Mapping Creative Local Production Systems in Italy and Spain

An important debate on the role of creativity and culture as factors in local economic development is distinctly emerging. Despite the emphasis put on the theoretical definition of these concepts, it is necessary to strengthen comparative research for the identification and analysis of the kind of creativity embedded in a given territory. Creative local production systems are identified, in Italy and Spain, that depart from local labour markets as territorial units and focus on two different kinds of creative industries: traditional cultural industries (publishing, music, architecture and engineering, performing arts) and technology‐related creative industries (R&D, ICT, advertising). The results show a concentration of creative industries in the largest urban systems, although different patterns of concentration of creative industries are revealed between the two countries.

The regional development platform and "related variety": some evidence from art and food in Tuscany.

A recent contribution to the regional/local development is the regional development platform (RDP), a tool of local policy and governance meant for the planning and implementation of a regional innovation system (RIS) with a sustainable and long-lasting competitive advantage. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on local economic development through platforms of regional development, offering some specific cases in which the RDP model is developed not only as a top-down policy tool in support of innovation, but also as a bottom-up governance tool for the relationships among cognitively related industries. We introduce the case of an art and food platform in Maremma (south of Tuscany, Italy), where the related-variety approach is mainly focused on cross-fertilization among related and unrelated resources and sectors and is specifically applied to a rural area.

Mapping and Analysing Local Tourism Systems in Italy, 1991–2001

Abstract The aim of this work is to identify and map tourist localities seen as concentrations of firms specialized in tourism services and to analyse their employment evolution over the last decade (1991–2001). The industrial districts approach is applied to the tourism industry by introducing the concept of the ‘tourist district’ in the literature relating to tourism research. In particular, the focus is on the identification and measuring of ‘tourist places’. The intention is to research Italian tourism systems by using the local labour system methodology typical of district analysis, thus contributing to the debate about whether specific tourism literature should consider ‘tourist districts’. Tourism supply, measured in terms of employees in the sector, is mapped. From the results of the analysis, the geographical distribution of tourism systems, according to the 1991 and 2001 censuses, is drawn, and the main dissimilarities between cities/regions and tourist specializations (such as seaside, mountain or lake tourism) are distinguished. Finally, a taxonomy of the identified tourism local systems is proposed in order to present some policy implications and reflections regarding the recent Italian law on ‘local tourism systems’.

Reasons for Clustering of Creative Industries in Italy and Spain

Creative industries and creative employment tend to concentrate around medium and large cities, forming creative local systems. We follow a multidisciplinary approach, based on cultural and creative economics, evolutionary geography and urban economics, in order to analyse the forces behind the clustering of employment in creative industries in a comparative analysis of Italy and Spain. The results show different patterns of clustering of creative employment in both countries. The historical and cultural endowments, the average size of creative industries, the size of the place, the productive diversity, and the concentration of human capital and creative class have been determined to be common factors leading to a concentration of creative firms and creative employment in both countries.

The geography of creative industries in Europe: Comparing France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain

The research tackles the lack of cross-country comparative studies on the geography of creative industries and provides their comparative geography in four European countries: France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. We use local labour markets as territorial units of analysis and divide creative industries in traditional and non- traditional. This allows to overcome the limitations of the region as unit of analysis and to better understand the type of creativity embedded in each country and territory. The results reveals differentiate national profiles regarding the type of creativity and its spatial distribution, and that the employment in creative industries is more concentrated than in the rest of sectors. Large creative hubs emerge around London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Barcelona and Roma.

Spatial Spillovers and Employment Dynamics in Local Tourist Systems in Italy (1991--2001)

Tourism has been an important main industry in the world economy for many decades. While its importance is recognized, the study of the reasons why some tourist destinations expand and grow faster than others as well as the main factors affecting these dynamics is underdeveloped. The aim of this paper is to analyse the factors affecting the long-period occupational dynamics of the Italian local tourist system, taking into consideration the existence of spatial spillovers. For instance, with other considerations being equal, tourist systems that are close to localities with a high growth rate in fact tend to be more developed. The opposite is true for localities with low-growth neighbouring systems. This paper therefore provides an interesting perspective on the development of tourism-dependent regions, in light of tourism being one of the most important economic sectors and yet the least explored within a regional development framework.

Mapping shipbuilding clusters in Tuscany: main features and policy implications

The subject of cluster identification takes on a new value today: it is no more only a methodological question, but a point of tactical importance, since both firms and regional administrations are founding their present policies on cluster-based localization strategies. The shipbuilding industry constitutes an interesting case study, being generally clustered and having a peculiar localization near harbour infrastructures. The Italian peninsula has a very active traditional shipbuilding industry, which developed in industrial districts and represents a leading made-in-Italy sector. Using the methodology of local labour systems, we identify, in particular, the clusters of pleasure and sporting boat building in Tuscany – a major player in this industry – and offer support to policy-makers and economic actors to develop the most appropriate policies and strategies for this sector. After the introduction, in Section 2, we briefly illustrate the competitive advantages of clustering and recall the attention to the need of a suitable methodology of cluster identification. In Section 3 we illustrate the method used and the widened notion of nautical filière adopted, while in Section 4 we present and discuss the main results obtained both for Italy and Tuscany. Finally, we offer some conclusive remarks and regional policy implications.

Comparing creative industries in Europe

Creative industries are increasingly understood to contribute to localised innovation and dynamism. This paper provides a methodologically consistent comparison of creative industries across France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. We map spatial agglomerations of creative activities showing evidence of urban concentration, which for Britain and France coincides with the dominance of capital cities, whilst for Spain and Italy, significant concentrations can also be found in secondary cities. The four countries also differ in the specialisation profiles and in the role played by policy makers. A lack of dove-tailing with the European Union smart agenda is argued to be a cause of concern.

Museums as Societal Engines for Urban Renewal. The Event Strategy of the Museum of Natural History in Florence

Abstract The paper aims to contribute to the debate on urban renewal, departing from the so-called Bilbao effect. Focusing on the resurgence of a societal function of cultural heritage, we discuss the idea of the museum as a societal engine through a case study. Although the literature has been mainly dedicated to assessing the economic impact of large art museums in former industrial regions, the paper focuses on a small scientific museum, the Museum of Natural History in Florence, and on its strategy of social enhancement through the organization of small- and medium-sized cultural events in the historical city centre. Through the application of social network analysis to 17 temporary exhibitions between 2000 and 2012 and the analysis of 790 events divided into three macro-areas (relations with territory, educational networks and scientific networks), the role played by the museum, the density and variety of events will be investigated. The resulting picture is that of a proactive museum located at the centre of a network of—mostly local—institutional actors that have effectively contributed to the re-vitalization of scientific knowledge and education as well as relations with the citizenship and the territory, therefore representing a valuable example of a societal enhancement of culture.

Fashion and city branding: An analysis of the perception of Florence as a fashion city

Abstract The aim of the present work is to investigate the role of fashion in branding a city as a fashion city, through an analysis of tourists’ and fashion consumers’ perceptions of Florence, Italy. The analysis was based on how the city’s fashion industry and image were perceived by tourists and how such perceptions influenced their decisions to visit Florence. The data were gathered from a field survey carried out during the months of March and April 2015. A questionnaire was created and administered in person to tourists and fashion consumers around the via Tornabuoni, a famous luxury street in the historic city centre of Florence. Tourists’ and fashion consumers’ perceptions of the city’s image and its shopping opportunities were subsequently analysed. The results demonstrate the significant role that fashion plays in the global attractiveness of Florence as a fashion city by improving its image, promoting positive tourist perceptions and strengthening the competitiveness of local fashion brands and shops. Some interesting implications for managers of fashion brands and city marketers were also found, as both the branding and the status of Florence as a fashion city can influence the future success of the fashion industry.