Management della comunicazione territoriale: tra place identity e crowdsourcing

Purpose. This paper is designed to develop a conceptual framework that emphasize the proactive role of territorial stakeholder in place communication management, especially thanks to crowdsourcing initiatives. Methodology. The study draws from the taxonomy of Parsons’ decisions (policy decisions, allocative decisions, and coordination decisions) and from the construct of place reputation in order to outline the architecture of strategic and operational decisions of place communication. The pervasiveness of social media, the progressive empowerment of consumers and growing crowdsourcing activities, enable to define a participatory and interactive approach in the management of communication. Findings. The proposed framework highlights the strategic role of stakeholder in contributing to the management of place communication. Ideas, comments, suggestions and experiences of different stakeholders can contribute to the re-definition of the resources of place identity and enable a “shared”, collaborative creation of thematic paths and “mapping” of the territory for the promotion of local goods and services. Limitations. The conceptual paper presents the typical limitations of the deductive approach based on literature review. Practical implications. The adoption of the framework can help the responsible of place communication to give sense to the various inputs generated from various stakeholders, to guide the vision and modify the place identity, and to define marketing strategies and place communication in line with the expectations of publics. Originality/value. The model takes into account the proactive role of stakeholders in creating and innovating place identity resources for the management of place communication.