Country Brand Research Articles

The Role of City Brands in National Branding

The perception of a country as a brand is influenced by various factors, including the global economy, political structure, and location. However, the literature lacks sufficient information on identifying the items that can strengthen these variables. This research argues that it is crucial to identify the distinguishing features of each city and use them to create a country brand model from the collective city brands. The study employed a survey method, collecting 1,637 questionnaires from three distinct cities in Türkiye. The brand identities of these cities, as perceived by their citizens, were then analyzed. The obtained data was used to propose a model enabling Türkiye to establish a brand identity from local to general. The research revealed that although the three cities share similarities, their citizens perceive different sub-dimensions of their respective city brands, which are interrelated in various ways. The sub-dimensions of city identity as perceived by the citizens of the three cities form the basis of the proposed country branding model. In future research, it is recommended that the model be re-examined for different target groups and different countries.

Book Review: I. Theodoropoulou and J. Tovar (eds), Research Companion to Language and Country Branding

Book Review: I. Theodoropoulou and J. Tovar (eds), <i>Research Companion to Language and Country Branding</i>

Countries’ green brands within the context of sustainable development goals

This study aims to fill the gap in estimating the Green Country Brand Strength Index and its convergence among EU countries and Ukraine (as a potential EU candidate) from 2006 to 2020. Drawing upon data from the World Data Bank, Eurostat, and The Food and Agriculture Organization, the study employs various analytical tools including principal component analysis, the global Malmquist‒Luenberger productivity index, the entropy method, and σ- and β-convergence theories. The findings suggest a notable increase in the green brand values of the analyzed countries from 2006 to 2020, with a significant expansion of the measurement scale. Notably, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden emerged as leaders in the Green Country Brand Strength Index by 2020. Furthermore, the study uncovers convergent policies among EU countries aimed at fostering green brands aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, as evidenced by a decline in σ- and β-convergences. This research provides valuable insights into the dynamics of green branding and policy convergence within the EU and prospective candidate countries. It introduces a distinctive approach to assessing and analyzing green brand strength, emphasizing its critical importance to the formulation of sustainable development policies and strategies.

Approaching the concept of country branding through systematic review

Approaching the concept of country branding through systematic review

The Role of Digitalisation in Shaping a Country's Image

The objective of this study is to examine the complex role played by digital technologies in shaping a country's image on the global stage. In recent times, with the rapid evolution of digital communication platforms, developing nations have increasingly turned to digital technologies to project their cultural, economic, and political narratives to an international audience. This paper examines the relevant literature relating to how digital technologies contribute to the creation and dissemination of a country's image, impacting the opinions and views of global stakeholders. It so doing, the paper reviews the challenges and opportunities arising from the integration of digital tools in country branding efforts, including misinformation concerns, digital diplomacy, cybersecurity, and the democratization of narrative-building. The paper then puts forward a provisional conceptual framework for primary research in Nigeria that will examine the interplay of digitalisation and country image. The paper concludes that digitalisation has a significant influence on a country's image, affecting perceptions of technological advancement, economic development, access to information, social transformation, and global competitiveness, and suggests that the framework put forward here may act as a model for cross-country comparisons in subsequent studies.

Country Brand as an Important Phenomenon of Modern Society

Abstract The county brand in terms of valuing consumer well-being is essential to the brand-building process and is especially significant in today's globally interconnected environment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the national initiatives and country product-origin on consumer-centered country brands. The research strategy was based on a quantitative and qualitative approach. The findings highlight the emergence of place branding, national initiatives, and country product origins in national areas. The study of country brands in the context of communication studies extends to tourism and cultural studies. The study's limitations included the fact that it was limited to countries on the inside. A broader study to represent the circumstances of other emerging countries was proposed. The contributions, both practical and theoretical, address the many-faceted complexity of the evaluated concepts, such as consumer-centered country brand, national identity, country brand, country image, and national reputation. There are several countries, including Eastern Europe, where the country's brand is still in the initial development stages. The practice of Romania might present the required knowledge of other country brands, and this study enables highlighting this aspect.

Effects of ethnic and global identities on home country brand perceptions: an identity theory perspective

PurposeThis study links ethnic identity and global identity with perceptions of brand globalness (BG) and brand local iconness (BLI) regarding home country brands. Identity Theory considers consumer behavior as driven by multiple identities concurrently and interactively.Design/methodology/approachSamples from two populations, Mexicans living in Mexico and Mexican Americans in the United States, were exposed to eight randomly presented real-world Mexican brands, followed by existing measures for several constructs. Comparing such populations is uniquely appealing for studies of immigrants’ home country brands. Data is analyzed via linear regression.FindingsEthnic and global identities have an interactive effect on BG, BLI, and purchase intention even after controlling for ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism. With the interaction term between ethnic identity and global identity included in the model, (a) global identity exhibits more efficacy than ethnic identity in explaining purchase intention; and (b) relationships involving BLI grow stronger while those involving BG become weaker. The direction of the effect of global identity depends on whether BG or BLI serves as the mediator. Ethnic identity has a significant effect on purchase intention through BLI among Mexican Americans.Originality/valueSimultaneous focus on two interacting identities is novel in the international branding space. This approach is useful for illuminating the effects of brand attributes including BG and BLI as well as studying branding effects where self-symbolizing is of interest.

Country-branded universities: a framework for country brand authenticity in transnational higher education

ABSTRACT Country-branded universities, which include a country in their name, are a type of higher education institution found in many countries globally. We consider these universities as transnational higher education institutions, for they ‘borrow’ or ‘transfer’ elements of the affiliated country across national borders. Surprisingly, there is very limited research on this phenomenon. The aims of this research are to identify what exactly in practice crosses national borders from the affiliated country to a country-branded university, and to develop a framework for country-brand authenticity in transnational higher education (TNHE). The data used in this research was provided by expert informants, who were individuals holding a senior or middle management position at a country-branded university. The proposed framework for country-brand authenticity in TNHE has four main dimensions, namely affiliated country connections; teaching and learning; governance and human resources; and student experience and development. These four dimensions are supported by eleven themes. The most often mentioned concepts were related to the curricula, pedagogy/didactics, and foreign accreditation themes. We offer suggestions for further research using our country-brand authenticity framework.

Country branding through the internationalization of higher education: the case of Egypt

PurposeDrawing from the literature on internationalization, higher education marketing and place branding, this paper aims to link the internationalization of higher education to country branding. It explores the impact of internationalization within the higher education system on Egypt’s destination brand equity. This investigation offers insights for decision-makers in both the higher education and country branding sectors.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical paper adopts an exploratory approach and serves as an initial step for researchers. It utilizes a quantitative methodology, employing a survey with 366 responses, to examine the effects of internationalization efforts in higher education on country brand equity.FindingsThe results reveal a direct correlation between student engagement and the brand equity of international branch campuses (IBCs), as well as a link between IBCs and Egypt’s brand equity. Notably, the study highlights the mediating role of IBC brand equity in the relationship between student engagement and the overall brand equity of Egypt.Originality/valueThis paper is innovative in its method of assessing the impact of internationalization efforts in higher education, specifically at IBCs in Egypt, on Egypt’s destination brand equity. Additionally, the study identifies student engagement as an antecedent to IBC brand equity.

Country branding in post-truth Era: A configural narrative

This study investigates the impact of online disinformation and hate speech on a country's image, considering its implications for the destination's image and tourism prospects. Utilizing the theoretical lens of soft power, the study performs a macro-level empirical analysis across 56 countries on the influence of a diverse array of online disinformation variants and hate speech on the nation's brand image. The results from the configurational analysis demonstrate the increasing dominance of state and partisan factions-led disinformation, which collectively impact the nation's image. The findings also shed light on the diminishing role of foreign disinformation, while the ancillary function of online hate emphasizes the significance of disinformation amplified hate speech, which has become increasingly commonplace in global political discourse, with such disinformation campaigns using hate speech as an amplification strategy. The study contributes to contemporary tourism research, which underscores the vitality of the country's image to tourism and offers recommendations to destination marketing organizations towards intensifying efforts to preserve the country's image.

Nation Branding in Latin America: Repositioning Brazil to Reset Its Brand Image

Summary By performing country brand initiatives and hosting mega sporting events as international promotional tools, Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, has tried to leverage its brand awareness as a promising hub for investment for a great variety of sectors and add new attributes to the country’s image, such as a strong, innovative and sustainable economy. However, the country has accumulated instability and turbulence over the years, which has discredited reputation-building efforts. The lack of public financial management, economic crisis associated with widespread corruption, inappropriate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of environmental management affected the country’s image negatively. Currently, the relaunch of “Marca Brasil” represents an effort to reset its brand image based on a repositioning strategy oriented to stand the country as a protagonist on the global stage, adding value to how the country is perceived. Information © The Authors 2024

Opinion leaders on sporting events for country branding

Three main objectives guide this work: (i) to investigate to what extent the most relevant opinion leaders on three different sports events can contribute (positively or negatively) to brand a place (Spain) through their comments on four social media; (ii) to analyze to what extent visual reactions (emojis) of social media users are informative, positive or negative, helping or damaging country-brand and (iii) to analyze to what extent the most shared post on each sport event is informative, positive or negative, helping or damaging country-brand. To monitor the three chosen sporting events (mega, medium and local) on four social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube), the tool Atribus was chosen. Our sample was composed of 1,642,319 posts. Our results recommend using any sporting event for country branding, mainly local sporting events.

Advancing brand origin concept through the reverse country of origin effect

Product origin dispersion around the world in today's globalized market has aroused interest in depicting brand origin in more detail, the latter being considered a more distinctive cue of product origin. Due to the fact that the impact of product origin location on product evaluation has already been established many times, the purpose of this paper is to offer new insights into the less researched, reverse country of origin effect. More specifically, this paper deals with the impact of product attitude on the evaluation of brand origin, latter being viewed through the brand's country image and cultural background. Since this research is an exploratory one by nature, the PLS-SEM methodology was utilized, while the data collection was done through a questionnaire, through which 154 students from two Croatian universities belonging to generation Z completed the questionnaire successfully. The results point that brand attitude mediates the impact of product attitude on brand origin, implying that brand managers have to pay even more attention to product development strategies today, since favorable consumers’ product and brand attitudes can have a spillover effect on the image of an entire country. The results of this research point to several practical implications for brand managers. The first is the fact that each product in a brand's portfolio must be optimal, as respondents showed that product attitudes influences brand attitudes directly. Brand managers need to keep in mind that consumers' product attitudes can be a whole set of triggers for thinking about the origin of a particular brand and forming attitudes toward the origin of that brand based on their own experiences or product perceptions. Finally, the results suggest not only that product attitude influences the components of brand origin, but also that products that reflect the values of their origin help to build a favourable image of brand origin. This paper gives a broader perspective to the country of origin effect studies, but also contributes to further brand origin conceptualization by observing the brand origin framework through both country and culture of brand origin.

Football and Nation Branding: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia's Strategy for Global Football Recognition

Nation branding is an important factor of international image management which has gained increasing importance for nations worldwide. Since 2018, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on a journey to enhance its global sports recognition and reputation by strategically investing in football. This research article examines the efforts and challenges Saudi Arabia faces in investing in football as an important tool for country branding. The research will adopt a quantitative approach through the analysis of Twitter to explore the impact of football on Saudi Arabia's nation branding initiatives. It focuses on various dimensions, such as how culture is promoted, economic development, tourism, and global visibility achieved through football as a brand. The findings of this research provide insights into the field of nation branding which can be of further use to policymakers, academicians, and sports officials who are interested in the intersection of sports, culture, and nation branding. The study aims to focus on Saudi Arabia's government-centric approach to nation branding through football and focuses on finding out the complex nature of utilizing football to promote the country's pursuit of global recognition and reputation enhancement.

Scientometrics study of country branding and its contribution to sustainable development in nations

The main economic powers are focusing on a sustainable economic recovery following the crises triggered by systemic risks. In this context of global renewal, the opportunity arises to promote long-term collective goals and avoid unsustainable setbacks in the social, economic, and environmental realms. This article aims to conduct a critical analysis of the scientific production on country branding and its contribution to sustainable development. From 1991 to 2023, there is an interesting scientific contribution from researchers worldwide, although the years 2022 and 2023 lack production. Through scientometrics analysis using data from Web of Science (JCR and ESCI), 103 articles were identified in the knowledge categories "Country Brand" and "Sustainable Development." Laws such as Price, Zipf, Lotka, Bradford, and the Hirsch index were applied. The results reveal contributions from authors and institutions at a global level, highlighting the international relevance of the subject. Global precedents in country branding research are emphasized, aiming to establish a connection between this field and the sustainable development of nations. With this article, the authors seek to rekindle interest in this theme, promoting a comprehensive approach to the sustainable future of nations.Keywords: Country brand, sustainable development, brand image, brand value.

How does cultural tightness-looseness affect attitudes toward a local vs foreign brand transgression?

PurposeThis study aims to examine how cultural tightness at the national level and individual level influences consumer attitudes toward a brand's wrongdoing depending on the brand's country of origin and severity of the transgression.Design/methodology/approachEmploying data from two tight-culture countries (China and South Korea) and a loose-culture country (the USA), two experiments were conducted to examine the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe authors found that although consumers across cultures universally punish strong (vs weak) transgressions more severely, consumers in a tight-culture country, China, are more forgiving of a local (vs foreign) brand in both strong and weak transgression conditions, and forgiveness is higher for the strong transgression. Moreover, this buffering effect observed for Chinese consumers is stronger for those with high personal cultural tightness in the strong transgression condition. However, it emerges only in the weak transgression condition for South Korea, another tight-culture country. As hypothesized, no buffering effect for a local brand was found in a loose-culture country, the USA. Consumers from a loose culture assess transgression severity independently, and the punishment is harsher for strong transgressions than for weak transgressions.Originality/valueThis study fills a research gap by revealing that consumers from tight (vs loose) cultures would react differently to brands following a transgression depending on the brand's country of origin. It provides implications by examining how national-level and individual-level cultural tightness jointly affect post-transgression attitudes. It also presents a more nuanced perspective that the local brand's buffering effect is contingent on the degree of tightness and severity of transgression, even in similar culturally tight countries.

The problem of country image in politological approach

Examination of the concept of “country image”, which recently entered the field of political research, offers the authors the opportunity to find it important to examine how to interpret this concept, to highlight the importance of its capitalization in the conditions of a society, in which the image of the country can and must obtain a “social-profitable” dimension, adding value to the efforts of advancing of the society. The article is aimed at elucidating the direct attribution of the country image problem to the essential political categories as a state, small state, national interest, country reputa tion, national security, public opinion, information society, international communication, international relations, political communication, government communication, etc. A special attention is paid to the political elements of the symbolic action: building the national identity, soft power, country branding. The exemplification of the investigative parameters of the country image in the field of political science is carried out based on the opinions of the notorious researchers, which allows the argumentation of the multidimensionality of the phenomenon in question and reveals the multitude of possible approaches, including from a political perspective.

Introduction: Nation promotion and the crisis of neoliberal globalisation

AbstractThis themed section seeks to initiate a debate about the changing nature of what we call nation promotion. That is, promotional practices aimed at creating, communicating and managing versions of national identity to advance economic or political goals. These practices—badged as ‘nation branding’, ‘public diplomacy’, ‘country branding’ or ‘soft power—emerged more than two decades ago, in a context characterised by the proliferation of digital communication technologies, the intensification of globalisation and international cooperation, and the shift in the balance of power from states to market forces. However, as we outline in this introduction, nation promotion operates today in a very different environment, marked by a crisis of neoliberal globalisation, the changing communication environment and mounting global challenges. The three articles that make up this themed section tackle the changing practices of nation promotion by focusing on the impact of at least one of these structural shifts, offering conceptual and analytical tools for making sense of these transformations.

The Composer's Interpretation of yhe State Anthem of Ukraine in the Works of Ukrainian Composers

The article explores various aspects of The anthem of Ukraine as an expression of the national pride and unity, unveiling its role in shaping the national consciousness, the dedication to the national heritage, and Ukrainian mentality.&#x0D; By analyzing the state anthem as a national symbol, the article examines its significance and role in Ukrainian identity. The anthem is defined as a musical composition that commemorates socially significant events and becomes the country's brand and national symbol.&#x0D; The article pays particular attention to the contemporary use of the anthem in Ukrainian society. It notes that the anthem's sound has become emotionally significant for citizens and is an everyday element of their patriotism. This symbol serves as an expression of national unity and contributes to the preservation and strengthening of national self-awareness.&#x0D; The author also analyzes various interpretations of the anthem in the works of Ukrainian artists. Specifically, the influence of the vocal piece "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" on the creation of Ukraine's national anthem and its translational aspects are examined. The primary focus is on the investigation of the Yuri Shevchenko's work "My Ye!" The article delves into Shevchenko's version of the anthem created as a paraphrase, altering its genre and lexical intonational component. The analysis assesses the level of the individual authorial contribution and the composer's interpretation in the musical text. It establishes the main features of the paraphrase genre and sheds light on the content of the original source "My Ye!" in the context of its historical creation and acquisition of significance as a state symbol.&#x0D; Considering the importance of musical translation, the article emphasizes its creative nature by analyzing the typological peculiarities of the original and its embodiment in the new versions. It highlights that the translation takes into account intonational, genre, and stylistic changes, enriching the imagery and thematic content.&#x0D; In the conclusion, the article underscores the significance of the national anthem as a symbol of national unity and patriotic sentiments, laying the foundation for the national self-identification and the development of Ukrainian society.

Determining the predictive importance of the core dimensions of nation brands

PurposeInformed by the resource-based and resource-advantage theories, this study, a comparative study, aims to examine the core dimensions of nation brands – culture, tourism, exports, foreign direct investment, migration and governance – from the company-based brand equity perspective in a sample of 48 countries clustered into three groups (strong, moderate and weak nation brands) from 2011 to 2019 to identify the most critical predictors of nation brand strength in each cluster.Design/methodology/approachA clustering technique was applied to the modified Country Brand Index to cluster the included countries into strong, moderate and weak nation brands. The authors were then able to analyze each cluster in an effort to explore the relative importance of the predictor variables and determine if that importance varied across the clusters.FindingsThis approach revealed novel findings of great importance to policymakers and academics. The results indicate the resources that contribute the most to nation brand equity in each cluster. Such information can guide policymakers in effectively leveraging these strategic resources. First, the cultural dimension was a more critical predictor concerning countries with moderate and weak nation brands than countries with strong brands. Second, tourism exhibited the highest predictive importance concerning all the clusters. For academics, these findings help foster a better understanding of the determinants of nation brand strength, as aligned with the resource-based and resource-advantage theories.Originality/valueThe findings of this study contribute to the literature concerning nation brand management, particularly the stream related to nation brand equity monetization.