Enhancing Place Reputation of Local Service Systems in the Performing Arts Perspective. An analysis of regional cases

Purpose – Humans have always told stories to each other about the places they have been. The significance of such stories for strengthening the value proposition and value co-creation for such places is becoming recognised. Through digital media, people can be encouraged to tell their stories and share their experiences in their beloved place. The performing arts and storytelling can enhance the reputation of a place, and make it more competitive for tourism and other commercial activities. Design/Methodology/approach – Our methodology integrates the Service Science Management Engineering and Design (SSME+D) and Viable Systems Approach (VSA) from a Performing Arts perspective. This integrated approach implies a new physiological worthiness to storytelling. Storytelling can be managed in a local service system for enhancing brand competitiveness. Important premises with Service-Dominant Logic (S-D logic) are shared: 1) operant resources are the relevant sources of competitive advantage; 2) customers are always co-creators of value; 3) service systems are customer and stakeholder oriented; 4) value, in service systems as well as in service art, is experiential, contextual, and relational. Findings – Place storytelling enables local stakeholders to identify themselves telling their personal stories about their beloved places. The way local governments understand and encourage place storytelling is decisive for the success of a place. Conceiving place storytelling as a process capable of influencing place communication encourages a strategic use of narration. This occurs especially in locations that are more structured than others and based on a service systems perspective. Research limitations/implications – Our analysis and cases demonstrate that place storytelling enables strategic communication supporting building sustainable competitive advantage. Further research could identify useful drivers in place storytelling to investigate visitor perception of place stories and their effect on intentions to visit a particular place. Future contributions could clarify the role of fictional stories in developing place awareness. Practical implications – By means of the analysis of “Umbria on the Blog”, an innovative project which joins place and web 2.0, and “Il Mangiastorie”, which tends to promote wine and food and tourism of some Campania internal area, we highlights the relevance of conceiving and managing place storytelling as a strategic communication that involves stakeholders in the place identity building process to enhance the reputation of the place. Originality/value – To explore new models of performing arts and storytelling for involving stakeholders in the multilevel process of local governance. Key words: Place storytelling, Governance, Service Science Management Engineering and Design & Viable Systems Approach, Performing Arts perspective Paper type – Conceptual paper