Despite the globalizing nature of contemporary cultural artefacts, in many cases creativity seems to be still very much grounded in local geographic, social and economic contexts. In particular, many authors have recently highlighted the increasing relevance of local cultural districts. This article tries to investigate how and why certain public policies could be more effective in developing an area into a cultural district. In doing so, we will analyse the case of Piedmont's music district, particularly focusing on the role of public policies in its development, and interpreting the evidences through the theoretical perspective of authenticity.

How do creative workers draw on their city context as they interpret their subjective career success over time? This article aims to answer this question with a qualitative study of 140 creative workers in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The results illuminate how subjective career success stems from a need for recognition that draws on a city’s identity. Mobilising Lotman’s concept of semiosphere, we propose that creative workers use city identity to understand what ‘soft’ factors they can harness from the city context. They filter city identity based on three recognition-related needs that are contingent on their level of work experience. Our contribution is threefold. First, we provide a nuanced view of the social and symbolic context in which careers are embedded, highlighting its multilayered, multivocal and multimodal nature. Second, we provide a fine-grained understanding of the interplay between an individual’s career need for recognition and their interpretation of city identity. Third, we shed light on recognition as a facet of subjective career success, which is particularly relevant to creative workers.

Locational choices of creative workers have been a matter of heated debate over the last decade. This study proposes a micro perspective aimed at disentangling how the individual decision-making process behind locational choices is activated and develops over time. To this aim, we combine previous geographic research on the issue with research on the role of organisational factors in workers’ attraction and retention. Empirically, we carried out an exploratory case study of dancers in a renowned contemporary ballet company based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. With this study, we highlight how matching professional quests and organisation-specific job opportunities activates locational choices, and we extend geographical approaches to embeddedness by considering the role of organisations as crucial mediating entities between the city context and creative workers.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavioural competencies of directors and managers working for cultural organizations and their relationship with organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an ESC competency modelling process and the technique of the Behavioural Event Interview as the primary source of data collection. In particular, the authors interviewed 14 directors and managers of six performing arts organizations operating in Emilia-Romagna, a region located in Northern Italy. Findings Findings show that directors and managers of cultural organizations are characterized by a specific set of social and emotional (e.g. persuasion and empathy), whereas cognitive competencies, such as quantitative analysis, are less frequent. Findings highlight also that a balanced portfolio of behavioural competencies emerges as importantly correlated with high organizational performance. Practical implications Findings offer relevant managerial implications for the design and implementation of a coherent set of human resource management practices, which allow cultural organizations to reach above-average performance. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between managerial competencies and the performance of cultural organizations, taking into account specific kinds of competencies – namely, behavioural competencies – which have been neglected by the previous literature.