Stakeholders’ perceptions of place branding and the role of the public sector: An exploratory analysis

Abstract

Place brands are supported by public, private and civil society sectors, and governments play a key role in championing place branding initiatives. To guarantee success, representatives from the various sectors (stakeholders) should be aligned as much as possible. However, in reality, this alignment proves to be challenging. The present study analyses two possible sources of misalignment: diverse perceptions about place brand concept and its objectives, and lack of shared perception of the public sector role in place branding initiatives. An online questionnaire targeted politicians, public managers, researchers and business consultants who are (or have been) representatives of the three stakeholder groups in Spain and Latin America. Using consensus and multiple correspondence analyses, the basic finding is that there is no consensus among stakeholders. Instead, there appear to be two different visions of the place brand concept. Moreover, politicians and public managers assign the public sector with a leadership role, whereas business consultants are indifferent and academics reject this role for the public sector. These findings may help our understanding of the reality in which place branding stakeholders operate. They also show a source of conflict that has to be taken into account to improve the strategic place branding process.