Paola Dubini is associated with the ASK Research Center, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, and is an associate professor at the Strategic Management and Business Administration De- partment, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy; e-mail: paola.dubini@unibocconi.it. Ludovica Leone is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Management, University of Bologna, Italy, and is also associated with the ASK Research Center, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy; e-mail: ludovica.leone@unibo.it. Laura Forti is associated with the ASK Research Center, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy; e-mail: laura.forti@unibocconi.it. The authors thank Federica Armi- raglio (FAI); Guido Reggio, Arianna Zucchi, Giulia Fiori, and Leopoldo Santini (Fondazione Carife); Jane Thompson and Sarah Court (HCP); and Christian Biggi (International Centre for the Study of Herculaneum) for their invaluable help and support. 57 Int. Studies of Mgt. & Org., vol. 42, no. 2, Summer 2012, pp. 57–75. © 2012 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved. Permissions: www.copyright.com ISSN 0020–8825 (print)/ISSN 1558–0911 (online) DOI: 10.2753/IMO0020-8825420204 PAOLA DUBINI, LUDOVICA LEONE, AND LAURA FORTI Role Distribution in Public–Private Partnerships The Case of Heritage Management in Italy Abstract: In this article we analyze how private partners can be actively involved in preservation-related activities without mining the overarching logic of unitary heritage preservation at the national level, so that public–private partnerships may become effective instruments of cultural policy. We use three Italian cases in which private actors are charged with activities typically under the domain of the public to demonstrate how tasks can be distributed among public and private stakeholders to cooperatively handle projects requiring a high level of coordination, intense competencies, sharing, and integration between partners of different natures. A clear definition of individual players’ responsibility, timing and resource allocation criteria, shared commitment, and bottom-up approaches are important elements in fostering success in the public–private partnerships. In the past few years, governments have gradually reduced their span of control over an increasing number of sectors (Megginson and Netter 2001). Privately owned enterprises have been allowed to operate or to set up partnerships with governments in industries previously belonging to the public sector. The main