| 1. |
- Björner, Emma
(author)
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International positioning through online city branding: the case of Chengdu
- 2013
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In: Journal of Place Management and Development. - 1753-8335 .- 1753-8343. ; 6:3, s. 203-226
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The aim of the present study is to add to the existing research on online city branding by studying how metropolitan cities are internationally positioned using the Internet and online branding. The focus is on objectives and strategies, method and expression (including five illustrations), and challenges in online city branding.Design/methodology/approach: The article relies on a single-case study approach, using the Chinese city of Chengdu as a case and illustration. Methods used are interviews, observations and documentation (including online material).Findings: The study illustrates how Chengdu uses online city branding in its international positioning. Chengdu’s online branding is influenced by certain imagery, as well as challenges. Collaboration and endorsement crystalize as central elements in Chengdu’s online city branding.Implications: This article and study can be seen as an important element in broadening the understanding for online city branding to international audiences. The study offers insights to practitioners on how online city branding is carried out in a Chinese context and in the city of Chengdu.Originality/value: The study can be regarded as an important contribution to an area of practice and research which still is fairly new and unexplored, and an area that hitherto has not been well covered in the international literature.
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| 2. |
- Lucarelli, Andrea
(author)
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Unraveling the complexity of "city brand equity" : a three-dimensional framework
- 2012
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In: Journal of Place Management and Development. - : Emerald. - 1753-8335 .- 1753-8343. ; 5:3, s. 231-252
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a framework for the analysis and evaluation of city brands equity that is firmly anchored to the interdisciplinary characteristics of the city branding research domain.Design/methodology/approach – The study builds upon a database of 217 articles dealing with the phenomena of city branding retrieved from Lucarelli and Berg.Findings – City brands are understood by different scholars as being characterized by both intangible and tangible elements, properly researched adopting a mixture of different methods and endowing certain type of outcomes that concern both the more directly related image and identity of the city as well, to a larger extent, the socio-political and economical aspects.Research limitations/implications – The study is based only on published English articles in the last 20 years.Originality/value – The present paper suggests a framework that is based on the individualization of diverse city brand elements and the relations those have with the reported impact and the methodologies applied to reach this purpose. The framework can be used for both analyzing city brand equity research and practices. The paper contributes to the emerging field of city branding by offering a city brand equity framework that goes beyond the previous attempt in its interdisciplinary breath.
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| 3. |
- Niedomysl, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Towards a theory of place marketing
- 2012
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In: Journal of Place Management and Development. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1753-8335 .- 1753-8343. ; 5:3, s. 223-230
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Place marketing approaches are increasingly employed by public authorities competing to attract capital. While a growing number of studies have provided valuable insights, scholars appear to be struggling to advance their theoretical understanding. This is arguably the result of failure to produce evidence-based research, excessive focus on small-scale case studies, difficulties bridging disciplinary boundaries, and reluctance to advance generalizations. To overcome these problems, we present a framework that can be used to generate empirically testable hypotheses and thereby provide a structure for research.Design/methodology/approach: A brief literature review first identifies obstacles that prevent place marketing research from making significant progress. Second, to overcome these obstacles, we identify the need to consider spatial competition for capital, which has, remarkably, been overlooked. Third, drawing on these insights, a conceptual framework is presented. Fourth, from this framework, six propositions are deduced that may enable the development of a theory of place marketing.Findings: This work first identifies the need for a more rigorous approach to the scientific study of place marketing. Second, a conceptual framework is suggested, based on spatial competition for capital. Third, we demonstrate that testable hypotheses can be deduced from the framework to provide a structure for research. Arguably, empirically testing such hypotheses would significantly advance our understanding of place marketing.Originality/value: This paper identifies a feasible way to structure future research that should interest place marketing researchers seeking a more rigorous approach to theoretical advancement.© Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
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| 4. |
- Lucarelli, Andrea, et al.
(author)
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City branding : a state-of-the-art review of the research domain
- 2011
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In: Journal of place management and development. - : Emerald Group. - 1753-8335. ; 4:1, s. 9-27
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – The aim of the paper is to carry out a contemporary and concise “state-of-the-art” review of the city branding research domain, in particular how scholars have approached this field of study, what aspects of city branding have been studied, what cities have been chosen, and how the studies are designed. Design/methodology/approach – Through an iterative search in multiple literature databases, 217 qualified research studies on city branding were identified and retrieved. Those studies were examined, analyzed and categorized according to six categories: bibliographical data, methodologies used, empirical foundation, conceptual frameworks, branding elements, and reported outcomes of branding efforts. Findings – City branding is emerging as an internationally recognized research domain characterized by a high degree of multi-disciplinary, rapid proliferation in and between disciplines, and a somewhat fragmented theoretical foundation. On the basis of research interests, three perspectives were identified (producing, consuming, and criticizing city branding) emerging across academic disciplines Research limitations/implications – The study is based on research articles in English, published in academic journals, which limits the international and professional scope of the study. Another limitation is the selected time period, which does not include studies prior to 1988 or later than 2009. Originality/value – As a state-of-the-art review, the main contribution of this paper is a contemporary and comprehensive overview of the field as such. A methodological contribution is the attempt to run a multi-variate analysis of the branding elements in relation to the output and performance data reported in the studies. Another contribution is the identification of three cross-disciplinary research perspectives in the field today.
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| 5. |
- Lundgren, Berndt
(author)
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Measuring the perceived performance of a residential development
- 2010
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In: Journal of Place Management and Development. - : Emerald. - 1753-8335. ; 3:1, s. 38-56
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether residential buyers' beliefs about the built environment in a specific place influence their willingness to buy in a large-scale real-estate development (RED) by developing and testing a new attitude scale.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical study is carried out in two phases. The first phase is a qualitative laddering study to capture the beliefs of potential buyers visiting open sales of apartments on sale in the RED of Frösunda, Sweden. In the second phase, a multivariate analysis is carried out to identify and measure factors that have an influence on their willingness to buy.Findings – Five factors are found that describe buyers' beliefs about the built environment: urban environment, architecture, relaxation, safety and liveliness. Buyers' and non-buyers' attitudes towards these factors vary depending on the characteristics of the built environment. The means-end chain model and laddering technique proves useful in eliciting beliefs that describe how a particular place is perceived by potential buyers.Research limitations/implications – These findings stem from one case study and a retest should be made using an independent sample to assess the generalisation of the scale.Originality/value – This paper demonstrates novel research using the laddering technique, how real-estate buyers' attitudes and their evaluation of performance of the built environment vary depending on location. Practitioners will have a new tool for RED, if the RED scale proves to be broadly applicable to access real-estate buyers' evaluation of the performance of a residential development.
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