Place Branding: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

This study aims to systematically review the place branding literature and comprehensively synthesize the academic research in this domain. Accordingly, this study examines the development of place branding research over time in terms of years of publication, publication outlets, authorship, countries, methods, and theories adopted. Further, based on the literature synthesis, this review proposes a conceptual framework by integrating the antecedents, mediators and consequences reported in the place branding literature. This study also performs a lexicometric analysis to illustrate different themes of place branding research studied over time. Finally, this study identifies under-researched areas in place branding and provides directions to advance this research in terms of theory development, context, characteristics and methodology. Overall, this review contributes to the place branding literature and provides practical implications for destination marketers and policymakers in successfully implementing place branding strategies.