Conference Agenda

Marketing is a well-established field of study in the private sector, but the literature on marketing in the public sector is less developed. Still, public sector marketing has been a subject of study since the 1960s, and public organisations use a range of different marketing instruments, such as branding, new product or service development, and social media promotion.

In our systematic literature review we analyse 371 articles published between 2008 and 2024. First, we identify the current state of the literature on public organisations using marketing instruments. Second, we identify the purpose of public organisations in using marketing instruments. Third, we identify the different contextual factors that public organisations face when using marketing instruments.

In the contemporary landscape characterized by heightened global competition and imperatives of sustainable economic prosperity, the strategic management of international attractiveness among subnational territories emerges as a pressing challenge. Despite the proliferation of investment promotion agencies (IPAs), a significant research gap persists in comprehending the mechanisms underlying coordination efforts among sub-national territories to strengthen their international attractiveness. The study will investigate the complexities of coordinating international attractiveness efforts within subnational territories and focus on the case of the Paris Region, in light of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Paris Region’s IPA, “Choose Paris Region” (CPR), faces multiple challenges in its endeavor to manage the international attractiveness of the Region: The Paris Region can be characterized by a great diversity of territories and a complex administrative structure. This complexity poses difficulties for CPR when aiming to coordinate the region’s international attractiveness. A further difficulty is the internationalization of places, driving territorial actors to seek to distinguish themselves and develop their own international initiatives.

Therefore, the study will analyze the following research question: How do sub-national attractiveness agencies coordinate international attractiveness actions of sub-territories?

The paper will mobilize a comprehensive theoretical framework to analyze international attractiveness management. It integrates Collaborative Public Management (CPM) as an alternative to traditional models to identify Coordination Mechanisms for effective coordination strategies. The approaches of Inter-Organizational Relations (IOR) will be used to highlight the crucial role of IPAs as pivotal actors in fostering collaborative efforts. Drawing upon a continuum of IOR that characterizes the different types of possible collaboration between organizations, the paper will investigate the connections, positioning, and meta-organizational effects involving various actors and their strategies. Additionally, the study will employ Governance and Territorial Attractiveness concepts to examine governance structures and attractiveness strategies. Place Marketing and Branding theories offer insights into how territories promote their international attractiveness.

For this paper's research design, I will adopt a qualitative case study approach to answer the introduced research question. To examine the complexities of managing international attractiveness in the Paris Region, I created and analyzed a comprehensive database of stakeholders and conducted in-depth interviews with regional and local stakeholders. The first interview took place in February 2024. In total, I aim to conduct 30 interviews.

The stakeholder analysis and the analysis of the qualitative interviews seek to unravel the intricacies of stakeholder relationships, coordination mechanisms, and management strategies employed by regional attractiveness agencies. Furthermore, this analysis could allow for the identification of obstacles and levers encountered in managing international attractiveness, thereby paving the way for future research directions.

First results show the importance of the development of the "Comité des Territoires", serving as a pivotal coordinating body within the CPR agency. This committee serves as a platform for engaging diverse stakeholders, including local authorities, agencies, and urban development authorities, in the coordination of initiatives aimed at enhancing international attractiveness. Furthermore, territorial partners stressed the evolution of the Choose Paris Region agency towards the role of manager of the Region's international attractiveness and its opening up to the territories. Despite criticisms, stakeholders acknowledged the agency's expertise and inclusive approach, highlighting the necessity of its coordination mechanisms. These findings underscore the agency's transformation into a meta-organizational entity dedicated to enhancing regional and territorial attractiveness, thus paving the way for further exploration of effective coordination processes.

Considering these findings, the paper will set a comprehensive research agenda aimed at unraveling the complexities of managing international attractiveness. Key areas of inquiry encompass a thorough investigation of organizational mandates, an exploration of management methods and coordination bodies, and an identification of challenges encountered in the process.

In conclusion, this paper will aim to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on managing international attractiveness in subnational territories, focusing on the case of the Paris Region. By employing a qualitative case study approach and drawing upon theoretical frameworks of collaborative public management and inter-organizational relations, this study seeks to analyze how sub-national attractiveness agencies coordinate international attractiveness actions of sub-territories.

By offering insights gathered from both theoretical analysis and empirical inquiry, this study seeks to inform policymakers and practitioners in subnational territories, ultimately contributing to the advancement of knowledge in the field of public management, territorial governance, and place attractiveness.

There is consensus among researchers in the fields of place branding and place marketing on the importance of involving place stakeholders in the place brand process (e.g., Zenker and Erfgen 2014; Kavaratzis and Kalandides 2015). Involving place stakeholders can benefit the process in several ways. First, their participation has been shown to strengthen their sense of belonging and citizenship (Källström 2019; Ripoll González et al. 2023). Participation has also been linked to increased democratic legitimacy (Eshuis and Edwards 2013) and even to a higher perceived overall effectiveness of the place brand (Kavaratzis 2012). Finally, stakeholder participation could lead to increased support for the brand, leading to increased advocacy but also resource investment in the brand project. This supportive behaviour is often voluntary (beyond formal contractual obligations) and has been conceptualised in the literature as place brand citizenship behavior (BCB, see Källström & Ripoll González, forthcoming).

Most studies to date have focused on the roles of residents (e.g. as ambassadors or as integral part of a place, see Braun et al. 2013). However, a diversity of stakeholders is found in places. These include residents, visitors, entrepreneurs, workers (commuters) as well as public, private and non-profit sector organizations. Besides, little is known about the motivations and expectations associated with different roles and their relationship with the brand citizenship behaviours (BCB) that the roles generate.

The success of place branding processes often depends on the willingness of politicians, holding most of the resources necessary for place branding related activities, to contribute to the branding process. However, beyond providing funding and resources, politicians as well as public officials often engage in additional voluntary supportive behaviour. Hence, this particular study focuses on exploring how politicians and public officials perceive their role in place branding processes. We particularly zoom into their motivations to adopt certain roles as well as the expectations that come with such roles in relation to their associated supportive behaviours.

Empirical context: Skåne Nordost (SKNO)

Region Skåne is located in southern Sweden, with Denmark as a neighbour. Today, around 1.4 million people live in the 33 municipalities that make up Skåne. Six municipalities collaborate in the northeast corner of Skåne and the collaboration is formalized as cooperation committee, called Skåne Nordost (SKNO). The municipalities in the collaboration are: Bromölla (13 000 citizens), Hässleholm (52 000 citizens), Hörby (16 000 citizens), Kristianstad (86 000 citizens), Osby (13 000 citizens) and Östra Göinge (15 000 citizens). Skåne Nordost's operations are managed from the SKNOs office in Kristianstad. The organization also has a joint EU office in Hässleholm. In general, SKNO collaborate with the municipalities in priority areas where they believe they can reach further together than each municipality individually. The board for SKNO consists of two representatives for each member municipality as well as a chairman (from Kristianstad municipality) and a vice chairman (Hässleholm municipality), in total 14 board members. The six municipal directors are co-opted to the board meetings. The board meets about 6 times a year or as needed.

SKNO’s vision 2030 is focused on creating “an attractive and competitively northeastern Skåne, a growth engine in southern Sweden” (Skåne Nordost, 2023) and the cooperation committee has recently approved a new development plan for 2024-2027. The plan includes three target areas which shows the direction for development and what should be prioritized in the collaboration to achieve the vision. Public officials in this context have adopted a series of roles and engaged in different behaviours in support of this vision and regional brand.

Methodology

Empirical research (ongoing) consists in 20 semi-structured interviews with politicians (municipal councillors) on SKNO's board and the municipal directors (the highest-ranking official in the municipality) for the municipalities represented in the board.

Bibliography

Braun, Erik; Kavaratzis, Mihalis; Zenker, Sebastian (2013): My city – my brand: the different roles of residents in place branding. In Journal of Place Management and Development 6 (1), pp. 18–28. DOI: 10.1108/17538331311306087.

Eshuis, Jasper; Edwards, Arthur (2013): Branding the City: The Democratic Legitimacy of a New Mode of Governance. In Urban Studies 50 (5), pp. 1066–1082. DOI: 10.1177/0042098012459581.

Källström, Lisa (2019): 'A good place to live' : rethinking residents' place satisfaction and the role of co-creation. Lund University. Available online at https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:1353828.

Källström, Lisa & Ripoll González, Laura (forthcoming): ‘Unravelling the link between actors’ roles in place branding processes and brand citizenship behaviour ’.

Kavaratzis, Mihalis (2012): From “necessary evil” to necessity: stakeholders' involvement in place branding. In Journal of Place Management and Development 5 (1), pp. 7–19. DOI: 10.1108/17538331211209013.

Kavaratzis, Mihalis; Kalandides, Ares (2015): Rethinking the place brand: the interactive formation of place brands and the role of participatory place branding. In Environ Plan A 47 (6), pp. 1368–1382. DOI: 10.1177/0308518X15594918.

Ripoll González, Laura; Klijn, Erik Hans; Eshuis, Jasper; Braun, Erik (2023): Does participation predict support for place brands? An analysis of the relationship between stakeholder involvement and brand citizenship behavior. In PUBLIC ADMIN REV, Article puar.13776. DOI: 10.1111/puar.13776.

Skåne Nordost. (2023). Skåne Nordost Utvecklingsplan 2024-2027. Accessible: https://skanenordost.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/skane-nordost-utvecklingsplan-2024-2027-1.pdf

Zenker, Sebastian; Erfgen, Carsten (2014): Let them do the work: a participatory place branding approach. In Journal of Place Management and Development 7 (3), pp. 225–234. DOI: 10.1108/JPMD-06-2013-0016.

City branding is an important tool for government governance. However, existing research remains controversial about whether city branding can achieve good governance effects, possibly because the importance of political support is ignored. Based on legitimacy theory, we establish an explanatory framework for city branding with political support to influence corporate behavior. We argue that politically supported city brands deliver the priorities of higher authority, prompting firms to engage in behaviors similar to the city brand's values to meet legitimacy requirements. We empirically examine the impact of China's civilized cities on corporate social responsibility from 2009 to 2021. Statistical findings supported by robustness checks confirm our theoretical hypotheses. Furthermore, the higher the hierarchical authority level of political support, the stronger the effect on firm. The implication is that city brand with political support can guide the stakeholders’ behavior and a means for higher authority to assign its priorities to local governments.