Culture 4.0. The role of digital innovation in cultural and Creative industries development

Industry 4.0 is increasingly at the centre of managers' agendas but despite efforts, it still represents a chimera for many areas, curbed by the lack of a culture of innovation, operational vision and digital leadership, very confused about actual return on digital investments. The main development procedures of such stage are for smart manufacturing, i.e. the total digitization of industrial processes, integration and interconnection between different aspects of production and between departments and functions. Focusing on the cultural industry, three are the main impacts emerging from the application of industry 4.0 processes could have on the cultural and tourist industry: 1. The first concerns the smart management of cultural industries, i.e. the digitization of engineering processes. The Conservation - both the preservation of tangible heritage through digital technologies and the preservation of digital cultural content - is perceived as a matter of paramount importance throughout the world, being so closely linked to the true essence of human culture. 2. The second, linked to Smart Conversation and Creative Enabling Technologies. In fact, the creative sphere applies cultural contents to areas of experience where other important goals exist: a design object can be very original, but at the same time, if it is a chair or laptop, it must be possible for the user to sit comfortably or process data quickly, ergonomically and effectively. From one hand, if it is true that the machines will replace most of the current work and tasks because they can do it better, faster and less resources (McKensey, 2017), on the other hand creativity is a singularity character of uniqueness for the value proposition that will take not only social and educational value but also economic value. 3. The third, relating to the close correlation between culture, creativity and the development of soft skills, which most of the professional figures in the future cannot do without (WEF, 2016). The World Economic Forum estimates that within a five-year period the most sought-after soft skills can change concretely. The first position will remain unchanged: to make it a master, even in 2020, will be the problem solving capability. In a scenario dominated by new technologies, new products and new working methods, therefore, the entrepreneurial creativity seems to be a much appreciated benefit from the companies and HRM companies. Finally, it not be overlooked that Italy is mainly composed by SMEs under a family control. For this reason, we do not have to be satisfied with some best practices, but we must act in a systematic way in Italy.