Arts and cultural organisations and Creative Industries (GIOCA)

The Department is active in the field of management and innovation of arts and cultural organizations and the creative economy. The Center aims to add a critical management view to debates in the cultural and creative fields, which are usually dominated by macroeconomic, sociological, juridical, and strictly professional approaches.

Cultural heritage management

In the past 20 years, the GIOCA Research Centre has been actively involved in the study of the management and organization of arts and heritage institutions in different countries (Italy, China, Turkey, Peru, France). The aim is to investigate how similar trends in terms of reduction of public resources, differentiation of revenue streams, and the introduction of visitor-oriented logics unfold in institutional contexts that differ from the more often analyzed Anglo-Saxon ones.

Creative industries

Some faculty members are investigating such industries as comics, advertising, motion pictures, fashion, and wine-making to contribute to broader conversations in management studies, particularly interested in the social structure of creativity, network management, and interfirm relationships.

Researchers who have been focusing on the social structure of creativity have developed a combination of experimental designs and network analytic methods to examine the network and cognitive bases of recognition and creativity in cultural fields. Likewise, some researchers have used both qualitative and social network analysis to understand how network relationships develop and coevolve in relation to management actions to cope with uncertainty and creativity.

Lastly, researchers have investigated the role of interfirm relationships in developing creative projects (e.g., brand extensions via licensing in the fashion industry), and the determinants of the expansion of mature relationships.

Teaching and training

Most faculty members interested in cultural and creative industries are actively involved in the GIOCA programme (Graduate degree in Innovation and Organization of Culture and the Arts). The innovative programme is designed to help students attain the management skills they need to work in cultural organizations, focusing on extensive managerial knowledge and using a strong interdisciplinary and international approach.