Experience Design Management as Creation of Identity Economies. Reflections from Periphery on Entrepreneurial Designs in Tourism

In a previous paper a contextualized model for development of identity economy as a platform for design of experiences for SMTEs was proposed (Haahti 2003 Identity Economy as a Platform for Design of Tourism Experiences. 2nd International Symposium on Rural Tourism and Hospitality Cultures, University of Lapland, 21-23.11.2005). In the focus of this paper are entrepreneurs and entrepreneurially minded, self reliant individuals and social groups collaborating in search for viable economic presence in difficult conditions. My main proposition of this continuing research is that such a search is often successful if it becomes a search of individual’s, business and communities identities. The thematics related to eg. consumption constellations or image and brand marketing underline the importance of identity issues in marketing sphere. The proposed view from periphery implies a criticism of the overtly discontextualized, mainstream relationship marketing management theory in use. That is viewed as relevant in dynamic market economies of today. Given the conditions of marginalizing peripheries, and given Gilmore & Pine view that experience is marketing, I propose a model to cover design of tourism experiences also in difficult conditions. Two theoretical, interlinked constructs are suggested. These are the model of identity economy and relationship cultivation theory on which experience design is based on. Since I have discussed aspects of these before (see Haahti 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005) only the Exhibits 1 and 2 reflect the contents of the proposed construct discussion of the identity economy construct which we refer to only shortly in this paper. I also will skip the relationship cultivation discussion which integration of both views, however, form the platform for experience designs. I will focus on the case study based discussion of experience design. The case was published before (Haahti 2003), but it is the corrected and updated version that is presented here.