Despite the growing interest towards stakeholder marketing, research aimed at understanding how the marketing function may engage with the different company’s stakeholders (beyond the customers) for value creation is still scant. Therefore, new horizons need to be explored in search for research avenues and effective practices that may entrust a concrete role for stakeholders in marketing. Among the strategic assets that may be used to strengthen relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, corporate heritage emerges as potentially one of the most interesting. Indeed, scholars and practitioners have widely acknowledged the strategic value of heritage, a multifacets construct considered as a specific attribute of corporate identity able to connect past, present and future and inspiring solidity and credibility in different audiences. Thus, heritage has become the core of a specific marketing literature stream. However, the possibility of using corporate heritage (at strategic and operational level) to engage different stakeholders seems to have been little explored to date. This study aims at investigating corporate heritage as a vehicle of multi-stakeholder engagement, through an in-depth analysis of 20 long-lived Italian firms that stand out for the wise use of heritage marketing strategies. Specifically, we adopted an inductive approach to uncover the process of heritage marketing followed by the investigated companies. Thus, the study helps to interpret and deepen the role of corporate heritage as a platform for stakeholder engagement, according to an integrated, strategic and multi-stakeholder perspective that has been to a large extent neglected by previous literature; furthermore, it presents an ideal decomposition of the strategic process of heritage marketing in key stages, with a precise indication of the stakeholder engagement opportunities referred to each stage; finally, it presents a categorization of the main tools and activities that companies may use to convey their historical and cultural heritage to the different stakeholders, both in and out of the business domain.
The aim of this exploratory research is to investigate whether luxury brands social media activities (Kim & Ko, 2012) – which are online activities that could potentially engage customers in digital environment (Sashi, 2012) – are capable of transmitting the sense of heritage of such brands to the customers. Moreover, the authors will observe whether the aforementioned activities are capable of transmitting the sense of exclusivity, which will be measured through the customers’ perceptions of the brand prestige (Hwang & Hyun, 2012), to the latter. In order to explore such a phenomenon, the authors have selected structural eqation modeling (SEM) as the main methodology of the research (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988).
The theoretical foundations of the present research are related with three streams of marketing literature, namely (1) luxury brands social media marketing activities (Kim & Ko, 2010; Kim & Ko, 2012), (2) luxury brands heritage (Ciappei, Zollo, Boccardi, & Rialti, 2016; Hudson, 2011; Rialti, Zollo, Boccardi, & Marzi, 2016) and, finally, (3) luxury brands customer-based prestige (Napoli, Dickinson, Beverland, & Farrelly, 2014). In particular, building on the concept of social media marketing activities (Kim & Ko, 2010), we aimed at observing how the latter could influence customers’ perceptions of the brand by engaging them in online activities and conversations (Sashi, 2012; Zaglia, 2013). Specifically, we investigated if engagement in online activities or in online communities is related with a positive perception of luxury brands’ heritage and prestige. Hence, customers’ online engagement deriving from social media activities has been considered as an antecedent of customer perceived heritage and prestige (Phan, Thomas, & Heine, 2011; Hamzah, Alwi, & Othman, 2014; Riviezzo Garofano, & Napolitano, 2016). Luxury brands have been selected as the context of research since heritage and prestige have emerged as relevant strategic marketing levers for luxury brands’ brand strategist. As a proof of that, recently, luxury brands’ strategist and product managers are increasingly focusing brands’ strategies on the history of the brands in order to transmit customers a feeling of exclusivity and elitism (Hudson, 2010; Balmer, 2011). Thus, luxury brands heritage perceived by costumers emerged as a fundamental component of brand identity and, in addition, it may be considered as a form of competitive advantage increasing brand equity (Van Riel & Balmer, 1997). The main findings of the present research are related with the fact that social media marketing activities may engage customers online (Sashi, 2012). Moreover, it emerged how social media strategies are capable to engage customers and transmit them the sense of heritage and prestige. Hence, social media marketing strategies focused on developing a relationship with customers
emerged as crucial in order to enhance customers’ perceptions of a brand heritage and
prestige. Finally, the development of such a kind of social media marketing strategies
is the principal implication for marketing managers.
Due to the aforementioned results, this exploratory research contributes to online
luxury brand management literature (Kim & Ko, 2010). In particular, due to our
results it is possible to assess that social media activities, which are capable to engage
customers online, are able to transmit the sense of heritage and of prestige. Future
researches should explore better this phenomenon. In particular, on the one hand we
suggest scholars to investigate through qualitative methodologies which kind of
communications are capable to transmit sense of heritage and prestige. On the other
hand, we suggest scholars to compare traditional form of communications with online
form in order to understand which one is more capable to influence customers’
perceptions. The principal limitation of this research is related with its exploratory
nature and with the traditional limitations of SEM methodology.
This research aims at analyzing the role of digital technologies for communication in
the personalization of cultural heritage visitors’ experience and the potential of such
technologies in valorizing cultural heritage sites. In order to explore such a
phenomenon through a pilot study, a conceptual framework has been developed in the
attempt to better conceptualize the modern notion of digital cultural heritage. The
theoretical foundations are experiential marketing (Schmitt, 1999), authenticity in
visitors’ experience (Neuhofer et al., 2014), and engineering studies on successful
application of technologies in cultural heritage sites (Sparacino, 2004). From the
proposed conceptual framework some relevant insights have emerged. In particular,
main findings deal with digital technologies being characterized by three particular
kinds of artificial intelligence, namely (a) perceptive intelligence, (b) interactive
intelligence, and (c) narrative intelligence. Specifically, perceptive intelligence allows
a digital technology to seize visitors’ movements inside the museum (Barrera et al.,
2013). Interactive intelligence is the kind of intelligence that permits a digital
technology to elaborate visitors’ preferences (Sparacino, 2004). Narrative intelligence,
finally, enables a digital technology to communicate with visitors (Karaman et al.,
2014). Technologies with such features, then, may potentially stimulate positive
feelings and emotions in visitors. Particularly, the storytelling of digital
personalization of cultural heritage sites can effectively personalize visitors’
experience and uplifts the visit toward an authentic and unique experience (Frow and
Payne, 2007; Sani, 2011). Since these technologies could help visitors in fully
understanding their personal interests towards arts and cultural heritage, they can also
act as instruments of cultural heritage sites promotion. Specifically, these technologies
can suggest visitors’ successive cultural heritage sites and also stimulate visitors to
suggests others to visit particular sites due to their positive experience (Sweeney et al.,
2012).Finally, this study stresses the importance of digital technologies as instruments of experiential marketing by improving visitors’ experience. Moreover, digital technologies for cultural heritage may be interpreted as a key competitive advantage for cultural heritage sites. In particular, digital technologies may be interpreted as strategic levers in order to stimulate the diffusion of word-of-mouth marketing in cultural heritage.Finally, this study stresses the importance of digital technologies as instruments of experiential marketing by improving visitors’ experience. Moreover, digital technologies for cultural heritage may be interpreted as a key competitive advantage for cultural heritage sites. In particular, digital technologies may be interpreted as strategic levers in order to stimulate the diffusion of word-of-mouth marketing in cultural heritage.
This research was conducted in order to examine the socio-economic conditions and the problems of marketing of the PUGUR Hand embroidery of the Toda tribal women in the Nilgiris Hills towards marketing their embroider woven on garments, that being a famous unique work represented as a heritage art and has received the award of GI status (Geographical Indication) by the Government, on the Queen of the Hills, (Nilgiri Hills) Tamilnadu, South India. The results indicate that sample respondents being tribal women who live inside the forest area on the top elevation of the Nilgiri hills are illiterate and also suffer due to the family conditions. In India tribal area economic opportunities for women are scarce while hardships are plentiful and Indian women often see little hope for themselves or their children to improve their future. Since 70% of the affected people are women, it is women that have found a way to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. They were driven to make a decision of survival. I ndia is a nation where its women are both glorified as well as suppressed. The majority of women in the lower strata have to depend on a male member for financial support. Due to the practice of liquor addiction, smoking, drugs etc., women and families suffer. This is one of the main reasons for poverty in India and why children have been deprived of education and other basic necessities of life. If women could become financially self-sufficient, then families would get at least the basic benefits of food, clothes, medical attention, and nourishment, above all, children could go to school. This study focuses on the marketing problems faced by the Toda tribal women to support their family as men do not help them in their art work completely. A sample of 150 Toda tribal women embroiders was selected to study their marketing problems faced in every day to day of their life. For the purpose of the study the researcher has used convenience sampling, and Friedman test were done to find out their rankings of the various variables taken for the study.