Strong Ties within Cultural Organization Event Networks and Local Development in a Tale of three Festivals

"The purpose of this article is to provide a deeper understanding of successful event networks and. offer a conceptual framework which can be used to analyze their impact on local development. In. particular, this study addresses two research questions. First, how does network structure affect the. success of the event and its outcomes on local development, other than in economic terms? Second,. which main capabilities does the “network orchestrator” need to promote the effectiveness of the. event network? By analyzing three different Italian cultural festivals—“Festivaletteratura” (“Festival. of Literature”—Mantua), “Festival della Scienza” (“Festival of Science”—Genoa), and “Festivalfilosofia”. (“Festival of Philosophy”—Modena, Carpi, Sassuolo)—this article sheds light on: (a) the. features of successful event networks, (b) the dynamics linking network structure and the social. outcomes generated, and (c) the typical bundle of relational capabilities that network orchestrators. need. Then we draw some implications for management and offer some remarks to stimulate further. research in the field of special events"