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A review of place branding methodologies in the new millennium

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Abstract

Over the past decade, place branding has become a vibrant area of research and has received increasingly widespread attention and recognition. Some scholars have discussed that many place branding studies have adopted qualitative and quantitative approaches in analysing collected data and information. This review article aligns the application of research methods and statistical analyses with place branding topic areas in articles published in three key periodicals since the year 2000. A dominance of qualitative research approaches is revealed in most of the specific topic areas in place branding including place identity, projected images, place offerings, marketing and communications, and stakeholder relationships. Several observations are also made about issues that might deserve further attention: (1) the dominance of qualitative analysis, (2) the lack of integrated research approaches and (3) the relatively low explanatory power of statistical applications in some studies. On the basis of the changing research domain in the place branding topic areas, mixed-method or more diversified quantitative approaches may yield insightful future research opportunities in a field where most research is typically conducted using individual case studies and qualitative approaches.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the important comments provided by Professor Van den Bosch, Cecil C. Konijnendijk of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The guidance of the referee and editor’s (in particular, Dr Robert Govers) feedback, which has enabled the article to be revised and strengthened for publication, is also highly appreciated. Finally, the corresponding author expresses the most important gratefulness for the grace of Jesus Christ in this publication.

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Appendix A

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Table A1

Table A1 Place branding studies categorized by topic areas (total: 55)

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Chan, Cs., Marafa, L. A review of place branding methodologies in the new millennium. Place Brand Public Dipl 9, 236–253 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2013.17

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