Abstract
Global cities are increasingly competing together in order to showcase themselves as the best destination for tourists, investors, and talented people. During the last four decades, there has been a growing interest in City branding. It takes place within a communication system that closely connects the overall city image and identity. Community leaders are more and more recognizing that there is a direct link between the city image and its attractiveness as a place to visit, live, invest, and study. Aimed at developing the theoretical framework of city branding, this research attempts to identify and explain the relationship between the variables affecting the city image as a paradigmatic model of city branding and sustainable urban development. Therefore, 35 peer-reviewed articles are initially selected from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), through purposive sampling. Then, the collected data is analyzed in four stages using grounded theory. The results of this study indicate that the boosting of city image is a complex process that continuously and dynamically requires a meaningful combination of planning, actions, and stakeholders at various organizational levels.
Highlights
A brand is not the product itself; it is what gives meaning and value to the product and defines its identity (Kapferer, 1992)
Findings of this study suggest that city image can be best interpreted at the intersection of city branding and city identity, it is influenced by a set of factors at higher levels that play a key role in its success or failure of city brand
This study is conducted with the aim of identifying and explaining the relationship between the variables affecting the city image as a paradigmatic model of city branding and sustainable urban development using grounded theory
Summary
A brand is not the product itself; it is what gives meaning and value to the product and defines its identity (Kapferer, 1992) It is a set of characteristics, mental images or feelings that consumers recall when they think of a specific symbol, product, service, organization or place (Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005; Simeon, 2006). It represents the steps taken towards customer satisfaction or different elements of customer relationship management He reminds us that “before knowing how we are perceived, we must know who we are” and he suggests that brand identity must be established before one considers what brand image is or ought to be (Kapferer, 1999). According to Ashworth (Ashworth, 2009), one of the objectives of city branding is to create uniqueness, which makes the city differentiable from others
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