Trade fair business development: the role of partnerships in Fiera Milano

Trade fair is an industry which attracts attention not only to exhibitors, visitors, organizers, but also to the local and central government of hosting area. Trade fair has functions in business, economic and social effect. Partnering is a concept highly debated in construction industry and supply chain for more than 50 years. However, according to literature review, there are few published papers on the effect of partnership in trade fair management. The aim of this research is to investigate the role of partnership in trade fair business development. The Fiera Milano case is analyzed by qualitative methodology with the support of partnership model proposed by the researcher.