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1 – 10 of over 9000With society’s growing environmental concern, developing a green brand identity provides cities with opportunities to enhance their competitiveness. Nevertheless, few studies have…
Abstract
Purpose
With society’s growing environmental concern, developing a green brand identity provides cities with opportunities to enhance their competitiveness. Nevertheless, few studies have explored green city branding and specifically considered the diverse perceptions of multiple stakeholders. Accordingly, this study aims to explore green city branding from the perceptions of multiple stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on associative network theory, the study uses brand concept maps and network analysis approaches to construct and analyze the content and structure of mental models among local residents and foreign tourists for a green city brand. This study further seeks empirical support for the findings via a survey, using the sample case of Yilan County in Taiwan.
Findings
The results of this study reveal that foreign tourists possess a more diverse and heterogeneous brand perception than local residents. Additionally, the study uncovers significant green city brand associations regarding their influences on the behavioral decisions of local residents and foreign tourists.
Originality/value
This research is the first attempt to advance the knowledge of green city branding by empirically exploring the green city brand perceptions of multiple stakeholders based on associative network theory. The results provide brand researchers with different analytical perspectives on the existing knowledge about city brand perceptions and offer strategic information for city managers.
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Chung Shing Chan and Wan Yan Tsun
This study aims to propose resident-based brand equity models on green, creative and smart development themes through a multi-sample telephone survey on Hong Kong residents (n …
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose resident-based brand equity models on green, creative and smart development themes through a multi-sample telephone survey on Hong Kong residents (n = 751).
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted a quantitative approach with a round of questionnaire-based survey carried out anonymously on adult citizens who have stayed in Hong Kong for more than one year. Telephone survey was performed by a professional survey research centre with trained interviewers between May and July 2022.
Findings
The study identifies the magnitude of these city brand equity attributes and reconfigured their composition under separate samples of Hong Kong residents. The results reveal the relatively stronger brand equity for developing Hong Kong as a smart city brand compared with green and creative branding.
Research limitations/implications
The research findings might carry a major limitation of varied interpretations and stereotypes of each city theme (green, creative and smart) by local residents. To minimize the expected bias, two core questions were added to provide respondents with information on each theme before the main survey questions. The questions’ wording was also simplified to ensure the constraint and inconsistency of layman effect.
Practical implications
The common attributes across the themes, including distinctiveness, uniqueness, confidence, positive image, liveability, long-term residence, feature familiarity and top-of-mind, indicate the most prominent aspects of brand equity formation and enhancement. Since urban sustainability does not follow a single path of strategies and infrastructure development, city brand process should also follow a selective approach, which clearly identifies a multiplicity of local interests that could create the best outcomes and the strongest brand equity for the city.
Originality/value
The factor allocation and regression analysis elucidate different configurations of the determining factors with a three-factor model for green city brand equity and two-factor models for the other ones. The findings encore some previous studies supporting the differentiation between common attributes and distinctive attributes, and the overlapping approach to unleash the strongest integration of attributes of brand equity.
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Laura Reynolds, Heike Doering, Nicole Koenig-Lewis and Ken Peattie
Drawing on the service-dominant logic and taking a multi-stakeholder brand value co-creation perspective, this paper aims to investigate whether positioning a place brand around…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the service-dominant logic and taking a multi-stakeholder brand value co-creation perspective, this paper aims to investigate whether positioning a place brand around sustainability helps or hinders stakeholders’ ability to co-create value for themselves and the brand.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a case study of Bristol’s city branding following its award of European Green Capital, drawing on 29 in-depth interviews with key informants from multiple stakeholder groups. These interviews are supported by secondary material and field observations.
Findings
The findings evidence a “tale of two cities”. When sustainability is used as a positioning device, tensions are identified across three elements of brand co-creation: brand meanings; extraordinary versus mundane brand performances; and empowerment and disempowerment in branding governance. These tensions create stakeholder experiences of both engagement and estrangement.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on one case study and evaluates face-to-face stakeholder interactions. Future research could access further stakeholders, across multiple cities and also examine their digital engagement.
Practical implications
Positioning a brand as sustainable (i.e. green) requires strong commitment to other ethical principles in practice. Brand practitioners and marketers may benefit from advancing stakeholders’ everyday brand performances to reduce disillusionment.
Originality/value
Rallying around virtuous associations, i.e. sustainability, does not in itself facilitate the generation of value for stakeholders and the brand, but instead can illuminate power imbalances and tensions in stakeholder interactions that result in a co-destruction of value.
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Chung-Shing Chan and Lawal M. Marafa
This paper aims to connect green spaces with city branding by introducing a proposed Green (Resource) Brand Hexagon (GBH).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to connect green spaces with city branding by introducing a proposed Green (Resource) Brand Hexagon (GBH).
Design/methodology/approach
This study empirically tested the principles of the GBH with samples of Hong Kong residents (n = 301) and visitors (n = 395). Surveys were carried out to investigate the perceptions of the 23 elements in the GBH by both respondent groups.
Findings
A comparison of the results via factor analysis identified two green brand structures preferred by local residents (a brand pentagon) and by visitors (a brand square). The findings suggest different associations of green resource elements in their brand perceptions, which were partly reflected in the governmental Brand Review exercise in Hong Kong in 2008. Inter-group differences in the ranking of GBH’s elements also indicate a knowledge gap between visitors and residents.
Research limitations/implications
The modification process of the GBH from Anholt’s City Brand Hexagon framework involved researchers’ interpretations and understanding of green resources in Hong Kong; it inevitably produced some degree of subjectivity. The working definition of “green resources” in this study perceptually excluded certain features in public parks, such as the geological landscapes and beaches that are, in principle, part of the Hong Kong Geopark.
Originality/value
The findings of this paper offer an indicative green brand framework for destination marketers and brand managers whose cities enjoy attractive green resources. The ratings of GBH’s elements provide useful references for local brand management through an understanding of strong green brand attributes and structures by local residents and visitors. The inter-group comparison of the green brand structures also informs policymakers and city marketers about the divergent associations of brand elements for possible brand extension. Finally, the results are also very beneficial because they provide an opportunity for regional green brand development.
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Chung-Shing Chan and Lawal M. Marafa
This chapter explores the concept of branding in a contemporary competitive arena of places. The multi-dimensional interpretations of places offer a variety of possibilities to…
Abstract
This chapter explores the concept of branding in a contemporary competitive arena of places. The multi-dimensional interpretations of places offer a variety of possibilities to better understand the true essence of destination branding. One of the common interpretations of places is through the study of their images, as destination branding requires a thorough understanding of destination image. The important foundation and relation of destination image are specified and explained. The notion of destination branding has evolved from the fields of marketing and urban studies and has become a cross-disciplinary research area. Thus, the researchers explain that destination branding as well as ‘place branding’ are dynamic concepts that are being continuously being explored in academia for the benefit of practitioners in travel and tourism. This chapter suggests that the use of brand equity is also one of the frontier areas of study in ‘place branding’ as it emphasises the need to thematise destinations (e.g. for their historical heritage, cultural value, natural attractions, etc.) and places for residence (e.g. as green cities, creative cities, smart cities, etc.).
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Laura Ripoll Gonzalez and Fred Gale
This study aims to explore whether adopting a sustainability narrative in city branding and urban development strategies results in more inclusive governance arrangements…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore whether adopting a sustainability narrative in city branding and urban development strategies results in more inclusive governance arrangements (process) and a more pluralistic approach to generating sustainability value (outcome), in line with the triple bottom line approach advocated by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors argue that a necessary step to enable meaningful sustainable urban development is to rethink the way in which “value” and “value creation” are being interpreted in urban development policies and city branding narratives.
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed-methods case study of New York City’s (NYC) urban development and city branding strategies (2007–2019) combining analysis of academic and grey literature on NYC’s urban development and city branding, value hierarchies in NYC urban development strategic plans and local media reports covering NYC’s development and branding processes.
Findings
Despite claiming commitment to urban sustainability, NYC’s urban development and branding narratives reveal a clear dominance of interpreting “value” primarily as “exchange value”, thus prioritising economic growth.
Research limitations/implications
In the authors’ view, a systemic, systematic and structured approach to generating “sustainability value” is necessary if city branding is to become a governance tool to support sustainable urban development. A “tetravaluation” approach is recommended as a practical, structured framework that can bridge across the ideas of “sustainability value” and “pluralistic governance”, ensuring effective implementation. Further investigation in additional urban contexts is required.
Originality/value
The research contributes to current scholarly debates towards more balanced and pluralistic conceptions of “value” and place branding as a more holistic, participatory and democratic governance model for sustainable urban development.
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Chung Shing Chan, Mike Peters and Birgit Pikkemaat
The purpose of this paper is to understand the perceptions of visitors in terms of multiple aspects of smart cities to allow wise decisions to be made about smart tourist…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the perceptions of visitors in terms of multiple aspects of smart cities to allow wise decisions to be made about smart tourist destinations by municipal governments and tourism authorities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes a sample of inbound visitors (n=205) from Hong Kong as an empirical questionnaire-based survey on visitors’ perceptions of these smart city attributes, which are collected from literature, and framed in Cohen’s Smart City Wheel.
Findings
This paper identifies the distinctive factors for branding Hong Kong as a smart city. The results from the factor analysis identify four factors for determining what a smart city is from the perspective of visitors, namely, the quality of a smart society: energy consumption in an urban environment, smart city governance and smart city livelihood. The first two factors further become the determinants of a successful smart city brand considered by visitors, which contribute to their locational decisions and thus the strategies and policies of smart destination branding.
Research limitations/implications
The results obtained can serve as insights for tourism policy makers and destination marketers when considering significant information and communication technology, or other smart and sustainable attributes for city branding (e.g. Buhalis and Amaranggana, 2014; Marine-Roig and Anton Clavé, 2015), as well as common investment and resource allocation for shared benefits in similar metropolises.
Practical implications
The smartness factors represent important dimensions of urban smartness as prioritized areas for further development, innovation and marketing of tourism industries and enterprises in Hong Kong, as a mature urban destination incorporating the branding of a proposed smart district as a strategy of urban development.
Originality/value
Smart urban development and tourism development have increasingly become inseparable, especially when visitors utilize cities as tourist destinations but share other urban resources and spaces with local citizens. Unlike the development of smart tourist attractions, smart tourist destinations should have a wider scope of smartness. A smart tourist destination may carry similar and overlapping characteristics of smart cities, which may be interpreted by visitors and may eventually affect their perceived image of a city.
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Saalem Sadeque, Mohammad Shahidul Hasan Swapan, Sanjit K. Roy and MD Ashikuzzaman
This study aims to investigate how city dependence and city social bonding determine city brand love. In addition, the study examines whether there are different resident segments…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how city dependence and city social bonding determine city brand love. In addition, the study examines whether there are different resident segments that exhibit distinct behaviour in relation to city brand formation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on primary responses collected from 595 residents from Khulna city in Bangladesh. The research model is tested using partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling. The resident segments were identified using PLS prediction-oriented segmentation method.
Findings
Results show that city dependence (i.e. dependence on urban facilities and services provided by the city) and city social bonding (i.e. social interactions amongst residents in the city) lead to city brand love through city satisfaction and city identification. In addition, the study finds that city social bonding and city satisfaction are important for the relationship-reliant residents, whereas city dependence and city identification are important for the resource-reliant residents.
Research limitations/implications
Future research can investigate the relationship between the length of residence and native vs non-native residents’ influence on city brand love formation.
Practical implications
The city brand managers and planners should adopt a resident-inclusive approach that considers the different needs of the residents to engender city brand love.
Originality/value
The study contributes to city branding literature by empirically investigating the under-researched topic of city brand love by identifying the key constructs and their role in determining city brand love. Further, it shows that the route to city brand love formation is different based on residents’ needs.
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Chung-Shing Chan, Mike Peters and Lawal M. Marafa
This paper aims to present an approach by which to assess the potential of branding a particular type of place resource or feature.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present an approach by which to assess the potential of branding a particular type of place resource or feature.
Design/methodology/approach
A review was conducted to analyse three key periodicals (Journal of Brand Management, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and Journal of Place Management and Development) in the field of branding and place branding between 2000 and 2011. These three periodicals are recognized as the three leading periodicals of place branding, and they followed the clear establishment and development of the field of place branding.
Findings
Familiarity, favourability and uniqueness are the three dimensions that give a quick indication of the level of place brand equity, and in turn they represent the level of place brand potential.
Research limitations/implications
In the literature, brand potential is not well conceptualized. This paper identifies this knowledge gap through a review of place branding studies, and it closes the gap by connecting brand potential with place brand equity.
Originality/value
This paper suggests practical and research directions by which to study these three dimensions to generate valuable brands for places.
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Keith Kay Hin Tan and Camelia May Li Kusumo
Existing tourism studies focusing on Southeast Asia often emphasize the culture, history and heritage of the region or its natural beauty and cuisine, most of which are often…
Abstract
Purpose
Existing tourism studies focusing on Southeast Asia often emphasize the culture, history and heritage of the region or its natural beauty and cuisine, most of which are often viewed as exotic through a Western lens. By contrast, this interdisciplinary study looks at the untapped potential for modern architectural tourism in Singapore as a fascinating and increasingly authentic way of understanding how the next generation of Singaporean residents will live in their land-scarce city-state. This study aims to highlight the importance of modern architecture as a tourism product in a globalized Asian city.
Design/methodology/approach
It engages with visiting architects and their local facilitator to examine the touristic potential energy of cutting-edge residential buildings in Singapore from an intra-Asian viewpoint. By also identifying practical design solutions to promote modern architectural tourism that will have a positive impact on city branding, this study opens the door for future research regarding Southeast Asia’s rapidly changing modern architecture and urban landscape, and how these can be made attractive for its important tourism industry.
Findings
The findings suggest that just as Singapore’s cultural diversity has long been viewed as a touristic asset, its authentic, escapist, exotic and spectacular contemporary residential architecture, if well managed, presented and designed, can provide a unique place for sustainable community interactions between locals and visitors, which will help Singapore develop a unique city brand attractive to architectural tourists and even repeat visitors, through a new concept for authenticity in a global city.
Originality/value
This cross-disciplinary study linking tourism and architecture explores modern architectural tourism in Singapore, specifically in relation to residential buildings where locals and visitors can interact.
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