The changing role of convention bureaus: An analysis of business models currently adopted by privately owned CBS

This study aims to describe how Italian Convention Bureau (CB) organisations faced the uncertainty about their future existence and role caused by government funding cuts and increased pressure from stakeholders to demonstrate market effectiveness and organisational efficiency. Firstly, it uses the business model concept to describe actors, activities and value creation processes of today’s CBs that largely rely on private funds. Secondly, it investigates the degree of concern of CB’s Board on measuring and monitoring the value created for the stakeholders that provide financial resources. Selected case studies relative to Italian CBs are analysed through in-depth interviews and document analysis. Findings point out that the profit model of the investigated CBs strongly relies on fees from partners and members or revenues from the sale of services to local operators. This implies that CBs make efforts to monitor the value created for these specific groups of stakeholders while less attention is given to the measurement of customers’ (i.e. event planners) satisfaction and impact of CB’s activities on the quality of life of local communities.