Sustainable Place Marketing and Management: an holistic approach. Two Italian Cases

Purpose We aim to contribute to the debate on sustainability, proposing a theoretical framework which contextualizes place management and marketing studies in a holistic framework. Our interdisciplinary approach embraces: general systems theory, the second law of thermodynamics, complexity theory, bioeconomics and place marketing and management. Design/methodology/approach On this scientific basis, we propose our view of the place as an adaptive system that constantly receives multiple environmental, societal and economic inputs from generic stakeholders. We consider these external stimuli coming from the context as variety amplificators, ultimately creating a chaotic condition. Management aims to reduce chaos through strategies and tactics, this resulting into efforts towards the dynamic steady state and order condition, achieved through dyadic relationships with the relevant stakeholders. We consider the place as a system undergoing dynamic transformations. These transformations ultimately cause the loss of energy and entropy that are the antecedents of a dissipative system. Findings Our framework represents the lense through which we observe place management as a whole. This allows us to consider the contextual inputs, marketing and communication behaviours and to plan and take decisions accordingly. Research limitations/implications The model suggests a paradigm that needs to be further exploited. The entropy measures and contextual structure maps may shed light on the emergent character of such systems and facilitate aggregate structural comparison over time and space. Practical implications The paper illustrates, towards two Italian cases, how marketing and communication politics can be integrated into more sustainable place marketing strategies. Originality/value The literature considers the place according to a holistic view, showing it as the result of auto-organizational dynamics. This paper considers the place or territory as a relatively isolated system where management creates and maintains relationships with the relevant stakeholders, identifies the significant inputs and consequently re-elaborates its competencies, by means of auto-organizational work.