LUISS X.ITE, the University's new research center on behavior and technology has completed a study for the Italian Tennis Federation on the importance of Rome's Internazionali BNL d'Italia tennis tournament.
Directed by Professor Michele Costabile, the research center is presided over by Professor Paolo Legrenzi while its research board is made up of international scholars including Richard Bagozzi from the University of Michigan, Gregory Carpenter from the Kellogg School - Northwestern University and Werner Guth, Director of the Strategic Interaction Group at the Max Planck Institute of Economics in Germany.
The goal of the X.ITE Center (X.Insight Technology Enhanced) is to use new technology such as big data analysis, social media influencer analysis, applied neuroscience, and cognitive computing to understand new behaviors of individuals. “Over the past 25 years, technology has changed our lives at exponential rates, forcing us to study how they have changed our behaviors,” explains LUISS Professor Costabile, instructor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. “First of all, our economic behaviors as consumers and decision makers, but not only that. The X of LUISS X.ITE stands for this mutating and unfamiliar behavior of individuals: consumers, citizens, decision makers, policy makers or simple components of economic and institutional organizations. All these people are enormously and continually influenced by technology.”
The research for FIT, with the support of a team of financial experts from Ernst & Young, led by Mario Rocco, LUISS graduate and director of the company’s Valuation & Business Modeling sector, focuses on direct and indirect economic effects and reputational effects of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the City of Rome: an event that in the past 10 years has seen a radical change, causing it to become an exemplary example of large sporting event management.
Conducted by Professor Matteo De Angelis, instructor of Web Analytics and Marketing in the Department of Business and Management, the study shines light on the event’s importance. “The direct effects, based on earnings in and around the Foro Italico reached 30 million euro, with 10 million euro in profit for 2016,” comments Professor De Angelis. “Based on these evaluations from EY experts, considering absolute values and profitability compared to similar events held worldwide, these numbers allow us to reach the conclusion that the market value of the Internazionali are nearly 120 million euros.”
According to a prudent estimate by LUISS researchers, it is also interesting to evaluate indirect economic effects. Thanks to nearly 80,000 spectators, including 4,000 foreigners and 56,000 Italians from outside Rome (spending an average 2.5 days in the city), the event generates an additional 90 million euros.”
While the immaterial effects are yet to be examined for Rome, it seems that effects are quite positive in Professor Costabile’s opinion. “During the weeks of the Internazionali, nearly 100,000 tweets were associated with the event, two-thirds of which are re-tweets. Over 7,000 photos were posted on Instagram, and comments on social media (particularly Facebook) were largely positive (73%). Only a small amount (7.5%) were negative. This marks a good improvement in image for Rome, without considering the development of skills in the area, to be further utilized for large event management,” adds the director of LUISS X.ITE.
