Sustaining impact: Looking ahead in tourism, cultural and creative sectors

Sustainable Business Models in tourism, cultural and creative sectors within the Italian Northeastern innovation ecosystem offer an exploratory and practice-oriented pathway for rethinking business models in complex, place-based industries. The metaphor of a transformational journey reflects the evolving nature of these business models in contexts where economic value creation intersects with cultural preservation, community well-being, and environmental regeneration. This metaphor also underscores the need to sustain and scale impact across multiple levels. This chapter synthesizes recurring patterns emerging from the book’s four thematic sections and explores their implications for sustaining long-term impact from an ecosystem perspective. For regional innovation ecosystems to thrive, sustainable business models must act as cognitive and institutional vehicles that integrate digital technologies, data analytics, and narrative strategies to enable continuous learning, cross-sector experimentation, and the integration of diverse local knowledge. Fostering academic collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, cultivating long-term partnerships between universities and policy actors, and nurturing new forms of engagement between research and entrepreneurship are crucial for deeper ecosystemic engagement.