Co-producing services to enhance cultural heritage. The role of co-production in improving the quality of tourism services

Objectives. This paper is aimed at discussing the role played by co-production in enhancing the value of cultural heritage and improving the quality of tourism services offered in highly visited tourist destinations. Methods. The article critically depicts the findings of an exploratory case-study, which concerned one of the most visited tourist destination in the Southern of Italy: the Royal Palace of Caserta. Drawing from the theoretical framework suggested by Bovaird (2007), the Authors arranged a matrix to discuss the engagement of community members and tourists as co-producers of services. Several insights about the reliability of this conceptual matrix to explore the effects of service coproduction dealing with cultural heritage protection and promotion are discussed. Findings. Patterns of service co-production to enhance cultural heritage are presented. Moreover, the limitations of current approaches to co-production are argued with the purpose of fostering further theoretical and empirical developments. Limitations. The qualitative approach used for the purpose of this study did not allow to generalize the findings of the research; as well, the adoption of a cross-sectional perspective influenced the consistency of this study. Implications. This paper provides some food for thought to both scholars and practitioners. On the one hand, it advances the research in the field of service co-production, applying this concept in an innovative way to tourism management. On the other hand, it points out the role of co-production in enhancing the quality of tourism services. Originality of the study. Service co-production and value co-creation are two buzzwords in the field of tourism management. However, user engagement in improving the cultural heritage is still poorly acknowledged by both the scientific and professional literatures.