Place Marketing as Governance Strategy: An Assessment of Obstacles in Place Marketing and Their Effects on Attracting Target Groups

Jasper Eshuis, Erik Braun, Erik-Hans Klijn

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Place marketing is increasingly being used as a governance strategy for managing perceptions about regions, cities, and towns. What are the most important obstacles to implementing place marketing? Based on a survey of 274 public managers involved in place marketing in the Netherlands, this article analyzes the main obstacles as perceived by public managers. It also analyzes the effects of obstacles on perceived results of place marketing in terms of attracting target groups. A factor analysis of a variety of obstacles investigated in the survey shows three clearly demarcated obstacles: administrative obstacles within municipalities, obstacles in developing the substance of marketing campaigns, and political obstacles. Obstacles in developing the substance of the marketing campaigns have significant effects on the results of place marketing in terms of attracting stakeholders, whereas the two other obstacles have no significant influence.
Original languageEnglish
JournalPublic Administration Review
Volume73
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)507-516
Number of pages10
ISSN0033-3352
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

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