Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop an original six-phase model describing entrepreneurial learning in the transition of place-based enterprises toward a sustainable exploitation of natural common resources (commons). Design/methodology/approach The six-phase model proposed by this study explains the learning processes involving place-based enterprises through two important existing theories: adaptive co-management and Lachmann’s evolutionary, embedded theory of entrepreneurship. The proposed model integrates these two theories on the basis of a longitudinal case study on the fishing enterprises in an Italian marine protected area (MPA). Findings In the case study, the success factors identified by the adaptive co-management literature proved important in enabling an embedded entrepreneurial learning process consistent with Lachmann’s view. The case analysis allowed the authors to cluster these learning processes around six phases. Further, even if traditional fishing is not knowledge-intensive, this case shows the transition to a sustainable business model required intense efforts of educated institutional work and scientific research. Interestingly, the key learning processes were enabled by the emergence of a larger, networked social entity (a network form of organization) including the community of fishermen, the MPA management and a network of scientists studying the marine area ecosystem. Research limitations/implications This study is explorative and relies on a single case study. Despite this limitation, it opens up new research paths in the fields of entrepreneurship, institutional work, network organizations and adaptive management of the commons. Originality/value This study is strongly interdisciplinary; it proposes an original model based on a theoretical view that is highly innovative for organization and management studies; and addresses a relevant but overlooked issue with important societal implications.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how sustainability is crucial in maintaining and assigning value to a common good. In particular, the paper identifies several characteristics of a business model that could be adopted to manage sustainable innovation strategies that respect the balance among environmental, social and commercial goals. Design/methodology/approach This case study involves Fontanafredda, an internationally recognised historical Italian wine company characterised by its highly innovative business approach and sustainable business model. Findings Fontanafredda’s approach is connected to the broader concept of the common good the winery has internalised to become an element of its competitive advantage and differentiation. The preservation of traditional values – primarily the respect and valuing of one’s own territory – is a key asset of the winery, which attaches great symbolic and concrete importance to these values. Research limitations/implications The study uses a single case study approach and a qualitative method without quantifying the impact of every business choice. For theoretical implications, the study emphasises the strong connection between sustainability and innovation in the management of the common good. Practical implications Numerous practical implications are identified regarding several stakeholder groups, such as the management, owners, investors and the various entities linked to the regional promotion and tourism sectors. Originality/value This research explores how and why Fontanafredda amounts to more than simply wine production by focusing on the characteristics of its business model, which efficiently handles the link between innovation and heritage for common-good development.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to link empowerment to the engagement of low-power stakeholders in the context of marine protected areas (MPAs) to suggest how empowerment-based engagement can be strategised to prevent and overcome management crises within a natural common good and ultimately achieve effective co-management. Design/methodology/approach This research employs a longitudinal case study methodology. The subject of the study is Torre Guaceto MPA, a natural common good, internationally recognised as a best practice of co-management. Findings The case study illustrates specific empowerment areas and actions that help move low-power stakeholders to higher levels of engagement to achieve effective co-management. It also suggests that the main strategic implication of empowerment-based engagement is the creation of empowered stakeholders who can serve as catalysts for sustaining the common through the development of entrepreneurial skills that satisfy joint interests. Research limitations/implications The applied methodology of a single case and the peculiar conditions intrinsic to this case can be overcome via the inclusion and comparison of other similar commons. Practical implications The study provides a stakeholder management model of empowerment-based engagement that offers concrete evidence of empowerment strategies that can be adopted and adapted by the management of similar natural common goods. Originality/value The research fills the literature gaps related to understanding the antecedents of engagement and its strategic implications within natural common pool resources.

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Innovation within the tourism industry is crucial to respond to tourists' changing needs and to thereby guarantee the economic sustainability of tourist destinations. From this perspective, a network approach is increasingly adopted because of its capacity to orchestrate economic actors and their resources in a way that reaps large benefits for all parties. Knowledge is a pivotal resource for creating innovation through a network approach in the tourism sector, and the implementation of ICT-based tools is a key support for collecting information and obtaining further understanding of the tourism market. This paper analyzes factors that disrupt the implementation of a system of data collection in tourist destinations by examining a longitudinal case study of ski resorts that shows which barriers and difficulties impeded the creation of a network of local stakeholders despite their sharing of common goals.