The pursuit of economic sustainability for the creative and cultural industries

The purpose of this paper is to identify how it is possible to develop an innovative business model and to deal with sustainability issues by managing creative and cultural industries (CCIs) and related initiatives. The study presents a general theoretical framework for the notion of sustainability, provides insights into its economic aspects and investigates the social implications of its impact. It also analyses the evolution of CCIs across Europe and outlines the key concept of a ‘business model’. The study implements a qualitative research method, combining an exploratory case study with field-based action research. The empirical part focuses on an Italian social enterprise that fosters local tourism through the promotion of heritage and the dissemination of academic research. The aim of this paper is to show that an improvement in economic sustainability is necessary to develop a suitable business model to overcome the new challenges faced by CCI organisations.