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International Journal of Tourism CitiesAttributes of the Blumenau (Brazil) brand from the residents’ perspective, and its influence on thedecision to stay in the destinationFabrícia Durieux Zucco Clóvis Reis Sara Joana Gadotti dos Anjos Samara Jane Effting Melise de Lima Pereira
Article information:To cite this document:Fabrícia Durieux Zucco Clóvis Reis Sara Joana Gadotti dos Anjos Samara Jane Effting Melise de Lima Pereira , (2017),"Attributes of the Blumenau (Brazil) brand from the residents’ perspective, and its influence on the decision to stay in thedestination ", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 3 Iss 1 pp. -Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-10-2016-0044
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Attributes of the Blumenau (Brazil) brand from the residents’ perspective, and its
influence on the decision to stay in the destination
Abstract Purpose – The aim of this research is to analyze the attributes of Blumenau city brand, from the residents’ perspective and its relation to their intention to remain living there. Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative study using survey data collected from a sample of 417 subjects, stratified by neighborhood, income class, gender, and age. The theoretical and methodological framework is the scale developed by Merrilees, Miller and Herington (2009) and the Focus report (2014) about the self-image of the residents of Blumenau. Findings – There is a positive relationship between the assessment of the attributes of the municipality and the residents’ attitude towards Blumenau brand. The study also verified a positive relationship between Blumenau brand assessment and the residents’ intention regarding their own future. In fact, the relative satisfaction of the respondents with the attributes of the city, as well as the positive socio-economic indicators, influenced the intention to stay in the municipality. Originality/value – This work presents a methodological combination of the evaluation of city branding and the intention to remain living in a certain place. The study adds important information on the role of the residents on the process of city brand building, showing that besides the transient assessment, the intentions to remain in a place should be considered, given that such intent is linked to the image that residents have of the city. Keywords: City branding; brand positioning; marketing; tourism; regional development.
Article Classification: Research paper.
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1 Introduction
Tourism destination branding is a lengthy process that includes an evaluation of
the image by the visitors, but also by the intended target market (Lončarić, 2014).
Research on this topic looks into the features of the destinations that aim to be
competitive in terms of financial resources.
Lucarelli and Berg (2011) refer that a multidisciplinary focus, including
approaches from marketing, tourism, geography, and urban planning characterize
research on the production, consumption, and analysis of city branding. That fact
explains, in part, the theoretical fragmentation that pervades the studies on this topic
and which define the object study using different nomenclatures such as place
marketing, place branding, city marketing, city branding, destination marketing,
destination branding, urban marketing, urban branding, etc.
According to Merrilees, Miller and Herington (2009), city branding is a subfield
of destination and place branding and it differs from these by the specific focus on
brand positioning regarding the residents and investors. More than development,
communication, and management of the image, city branding is a tool able to assist
the public administration in the creation of competitive advantages for the city.
City branding should not be a tool used solely to promote the destination
externally. It is also a way of promoting and strengthening residents’ sense of
belonging and pride in their culture and local attractions. Residents are the main
responsible for image formation thus, it is important to analyze their attitude and
opinion regarding current city branding. This perception may indicate the resident's
intention to remain living in the destination, which shows a sense of belonging to the
place or, instead, the intent to look for a new residence, indicating that this resident
does not identify with the brand and local culture (Zenker, Braun, & Petersen, 2017).
Regarding the destination branding strategies, Choo, Park, and Petrick (2011)
refer that developing internal branding strategies in association with external branding
is essential to understand how residents recognize, understand, and identify with their
place as a brand, which can in turn influence their host attitude and behavior towards
visitors.
In this context, the current study analyzes the attributes of Blumenau city
brand from the residents’ perspective. The work looks into the relationship between
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the characteristics of the municipality, the residents’ overall assessment of the city,
and their intentions regarding their own future.
Blumenau is a municipality located in the Center-North of the State of Santa
Catarina, southern Brazil. Founded by German immigrants, in 1850, Blumenau
maintains the traditions in the architecture, food and the typical festivals, in which
Oktoberfest stands out, a beer festival inspired in the event which occurs in Munich
(Germany). Such cultural manifestations strongly affect the self-image of residents, as
the Focus research (2014) verified. Currently, the municipality has an estimated
population of 330,000 people and a GDP around R$ 10 billion, the 62th in the country
and the fourth in the state. The HDI-M (Human Development Index - Municipal) of
Blumenau is 0.806, a value considered very high.
The theoretical framework of this study draws on the valuable contribution of
Merrilees, Miller, and Herington (2009), whose original work serves as preliminary
reference for the definition of the research tool for empirical data collection. This
works is organized as follows: Introduction, Theoretical Framework, Methodology,
Presentation and Discussion of Results, and Final Considerations.
2 Theoretical Framework
Cities, like organizations, use marketing as a planning strategy, positioning in
the global market of locations through the symbolic construction of their image
(Carniello & Candelária, 2008). Pereira (2001) posits that such discussion dates back to
the 1970s, when the first guidelines on the application of marketing appeared.
Place marketing is the idea of discovering or creating uniqueness, something
that differentiates a place, in order to obtain a competitive brand value and enhance
the attractiveness of the place marketed (Ashworth & Kavaratzis, 2009). In this way,
the infrastructure, the service provision, urban planning, among other tangible aspects
of the city become critical to maintain competitiveness and reach other target markets
(Pinto & Meneses, 2010).
The destination brand, apparently, links to the residents’ identity, support, and
image of the city. Studies by Weaver and Lawton (2013), Prayag, Hosany, Nunkoo, and
Alders (2013), and Gursoy, Kim, and Uysal (2014) show that these aspects, in addition
to tourism development relates, among others, to the length of residence, local
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identity, direct benefits from the development of tourism, economic and social
improvements and to the appreciation of the destination by visitors.
Such conditions can also link to resident's attitude in supporting the
development of tourism and thus, remaining or not living in the place depending on
how they perceive the image of the city that results from city branding (Weaver &
Lawton, 2013) and direct marketing.
Place marketing represents a local management philosophy, aimed at
complementing the institutional planning. Within this context, places explore their
brand using techniques of product and corporate branding (Kavaratzis, 2005). The
trend is especially apparent due to the growing importance of leisure, entertainment,
and cultural industries, both for visitors and for residents. Recent studies have
examined the advantages of branding for local governments, private organizations,
and tourism network system (Aureli & Forlani, 2015), and the nature of cooperation
(Zemla, 2012). Also, studies have focused on the destination marketing value chain
model which relates tourists’ feelings, brand perception and level of satisfaction (Tuo;
Chen & Bai, 2015); the value of gastronomy in tourism destination management
(Kesimoğlu, 2015); brand performance over time, in terms of measures of
effectiveness of past marketing communications as well as indicators of future
performance (Pike, 2015).
Meanwhile, the approaches initially focused on a general marketing
perspective gradually turned to place marketing management. In the scope of tourism,
Kerr (2006) and Qu, Kim, and Im (2011) verified the consolidation of approaches such
as place branding, location branding and destination branding, while in the other end
Kavaratzis (2004, 2005 and 2007) notes a transition for what is called city branding. In
effect, Parkerson and Saunders (2005), Zemla (2012) and Borzyszkomski (2015),
identify similarities between corporate brand management and city branding, linked to
authenticity, culture, architecture and urban space (García, 2012). Such concepts also
apply to regions or countries (Herstein, 2012), giving rise to an array of indicators and
scales for assessing activities in this field (Zenker & Martin, 2011; Sevin, 2014).
Place attributes enhance attractiveness, trust, and credibility positioning the
city in the global setting and contributing to socioeconomic development. Therefore, if
a city wants to attract visitors, business, entrepreneurs, or even improve its image to
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residents, it should develop a plan in order to assert itself as a good place to visit,
invest, or live, which is crucial in an environment of global competition for resources
(Eshuis, Braun, & Klijn, 2013).
Thus, to ensure the success of tourism development in a geographic area it is
essential, according to Cañizares, Tabales, and Garcia (2014), to consider all
stakeholders. In addition, a tourism plan must take into account the perceptions and
attitudes of the local community regarding the impact of tourism development and the
economic, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects perceived by residents.
Competition between places forces them to improve the attractiveness. As
Merrilees, Miller, and Herington (2009) point out cities need to define their
uniqueness and position their image in order to captivate residents and other public
targets. In this sense, there are several key dimensions of city branding, such as the
landscape value, business creativity, shopping, transportation infrastructure,
governmental services, social ties, place identity, among others. Following Folgado-
Fernández, Duarte, and Hernández-Mongollón (2015) the cultural heritage, events,
tourism attractions, and infrastructure should be considered in the process of image
formation in a city with relevant cultural assets.
A destination should not be attractive only for tourists and visitors. It should
also provide sources of entertainment, recreation, and image and identity formation
for local residents, promoting knowledge, recreation, and socialization. At the same
time, the destination should promote its image and identity in such a way that
residents would feel part of the brand (Ko & Stewart, 2002) and also, promoting the
feeling of appreciation of culture through city branding. The attractiveness of a
territory does not relate only to the number of tourist attractions in the destination,
but also to the set of improvements of infrastructure, access, landscape, and territorial
and economic improvements (Kyvelou, 2015). In this perspective, Servillo, Atkinson,
and Russo (2011) posit that the "quality of place" will influence its brand,
competitiveness, and attractiveness, since tourists not only visit the attractions, but
also consume local products and services.
Place narrative, besides city marketing, should take into account the
relationship between visitors and residents, from the economic, sociological,
psychological, and aesthetic perspective (Marques & Richards, 2014), as well as the
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cultural heritage, events, tourism attractions, and infrastructures (Folgado-Fernández,
Duarte & Hernández-Mongollón, 2015).
The resident of a community has a key contribution to the cultural context and
attractiveness to tourism development (McDowall & Choi, 2010), as these will have
their habits, customs and cultures directly exposed. The development of tourism can
change relationships between locals and their community. Ko and Stewart (2002)
consider that the residents’ perception and attitudes towards tourism impacts are
likely to be an important factor for the planning and policy for the successful
development, marketing and operation of existing and future tourism programs.
Given that residents play different roles for the success of city branding
process, their evaluation of city’s attributes is directly related to the efforts of brand
positioning, acting as brand ambassadors or as citizens who legitimize the efforts to
create a unique brand image of a place (Braun; Kavaratzis & Zenker, 2013; Chuang,
2015). From this perspective, city branding can be a democratic and legitimate tool for
city governance, equating the residents’ self-image of the city with that of the
governmental communication.
3 Methodology
In terms of methodology, the current work is classified as basic research (on the
nature of the study), quantitative (on the problem approach) and exploratory (on the
objectives). With respect to technical procedures, this study adopted the documentary
review and the survey methods.
We collected data through structured, self-administrated questionnaires,
composed of 40 close-ended questions, distributed among the ten analysis dimensions
and the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics. The preliminary references
for the construction of the instrument of research drew on the Merrilees, Miller, and
Herington’s (2009) study and on the Focus research project (2014) on the self-image of
the residents of Blumenau. The questionnaire aimed to identify and measure the
attributes that influence the residents’ overall assessment of the municipality. The
items used a seven-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree).
To sum up, the guiding hypotheses of this study are the following:
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- H1: There is a positive relationship between the evaluation of the attributes of
the municipality and the attitude towards the Blumenau brand.
- H2: There is a positive relationship between the evaluation of the Blumenau
brand and the residents’ intention regarding their own future.
The residents of Blumenau are the target population (universe), around 310,000
people, and 417 selected subjects compose the (probability type) sample. Quotas were
defined to select respondents by gender, age, income, and residence, yielding a
sample proportionally representative of the population, according to the stratification
of the census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – IBGE (2010), using
the age of respondents (over 15 years) as filter. The sample procedures guarantee that
the maximum margin of error is five percent with a confidence level of 95 percent. We
carried out the collection of data in the second semester of 2014 and included a
preliminary test with 10 percent of the sample.
The realization this study entailed the following steps: development, pretest,
and approval of questionnaire; training of the 15 interviewers; collection, verification,
codification and digitization of data; elaboration of the report and presentation of
results. We performed data analysis with Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for
the Social Sciences – SPSS software.
Data analysis was done through descriptive, analytical, and inferential statistics,
including measures of frequency distribution (mean, median, mode, and standard
deviation), Cronbach’s Alpha (F-test), Structural Modelling Equation (SEM), among
others.
4 Presentation and discussion of results
The presentation and discussion of research data is divided into three main
parts. The first moment presents the results through descriptive statistics, showing the
frequency distribution. Next, we depict the findings resulting from analytical and
inferential statistics. Finally, we discuss the implications of the findings in the context
of the guiding theoretical framework.
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The results wherein depicted are a preliminary approximation to the topic,
aiming to contribute to further studies within this field of knowledge and in its
economic, geographical, political, and cultural context.
4.1 Descriptive Statistics
First, we present the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents:
gender, age, marital status, income, children, and place of residence.
Table 1 – Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents
The sample is composed of 210 men, representing 50.36 percent of
respondents, and 207 women, corresponding to 49.64 percent. The number of
respondents ensures that it is representative of the population. Regarding the age
group, the individuals between 25 and 34 represent 20.62 percent of the sample.
Following, there are 80 people between 20 and 24 years, representing 19.18 percent
of respondents. Individuals over 49 years of age are 79, i.e. 18.94 percent of the
sample. Sixty-nine respondents are between 40 to 49 years of age, totalling 16.55
percent of the sample. There are 67 individuals between 15 and 19 years of age,
representing 16.07 percent. At last, the age group 35 to 39, the one that differs most
from the others, represents 8.63 percent.
Regarding the marital status, the majority of the respondents are single, i.e.
200 individuals, which represents 47.96 percent. People living common-law or married
represent 40.29 percent of the sample, corresponding to 168 individuals. Separated,
divorced, or widowed people are 11.75 percent of the respondents, corresponding to
49 individuals.
The average family monthly income was divided into five social classes
represented by the minimum wage and converted into U.S. dollars (US$), for a better
understanding. The largest portion of respondents, 179 people (43 percent) have a
monthly family income between US$ 848 and 2,825. Following are those that receive
between US$ 566 and 847 a month (24 percent), between US$ 2,826 and 7,062 a
month (20 percent), people who earn up to $ 565 a month (12 percent) and those
receiving more than US$ 7,063 a month (1 percent).
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The majority of the respondents (52.28 percent), corresponding to 218
individuals, are childless and 78 (18.71 percent) have children under 15 years of age.
The neighborhoods in which people live are grouped into five areas. The Northern
Region comprises the neighborhoods of Fidélis, Fortaleza, Itoupava Central, Itoupava
Norte, Itoupavazinha, Salto do Norte and Vila Itoupava. The Western Region comprises
the neighborhoods of Água Verde, Badenfurt, Passo Manso, Salto Weissbach, Testo
Salto, Velha, Velha Central and Velha Grande. These two regions are the most
represented in the sample with 123 (29.50 percent) and 121 (29.02 percent)
individuals respectively. The Central Region includes the neighborhoods of Boa Vista,
Bom Retiro, Centro, do Salto, Escola Agrícola, Itoupava Seca, Jardim Blumenau,
Ribeirão Fresco, Victor Konder and Vila Nova, and is represented by 84 respondents,
i.e. 20.14 percent of the sample. Forty-eight individuals (11.51 percent) live in the
Southern Region, composed of the neighborhoods of Glória, Garcia, Progresso,
Valparaíso, and Vila Formosa. Finally, 41 people, i.e. 9.83 percent are from the Eastern
Region, which comprise the neighborhoods of Fortaleza Alta, Nova Esperança, Ponta
Aguda, Tribess, and Vorstadt.
Mean of the dimensions
The Identity dimension scored the highest mean (5.22). For most respondents,
the municipality values its German culture, the population is proud of that tradition
and the city has become known in the country for that. The Business Creativity
dimension came second (mean of 5.16). The result indicates that the respondents
consider that the municipality is a good place for companies to set up operations and
to make business, and that the local companies are growing and there are many job
opportunities in the city.
On the other hand, Transport dimension exhibit the least mean value (2.29),
revealing that people heard in the research are not satisfied with the traffic in the city,
the works carried out on the streets and the poor state of roads in general. The
Governmental Services dimension has the second lowest mean (3.44). The result
reflects the discontent of respondents regarding the access to health and education,
the quality of service in health centers, hospitals, schools and on public transport, as
well as the Government's capacity for decision-making.
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The Identity dimension stood out among the highest scores, while Transport
had the lowest score. On its part, the Cultural Activities dimension (events, festivals,
concerts, etc) had intermediate levels of satisfaction.
The individual analysis of the units that made up the dimensions of the study
pointed out that the variable “it is for the German culture, manifested through the
festivals and traditions that Blumenau is recognized throughout the country" scored
the highest overall average (5.69). On the other hand, the variable "works on city
streets do not cause inconvenience" recorded the lowest score (2.01).
Cross-check of the results with the socio-demographic variables of the
respondents showed that the overall mean falls between 4.27, assigned by female
respondents, and 4.56, by male respondents. Among women, the means of the
dimensions varied less than among men.
Among female respondents, the Social Ties dimension obtained the highest
mean (4.94), while Business Creativity had the worst evaluation (3.30). Among male
respondents, the Government Services dimension exhibited the highest average (5.91)
and Transport category accounted for the lowest score (3.45). In both cases, a data
filter by gender reveals evaluations that contrast with the general results of the survey.
From Table 2, it is possible to observe that, in some aspects, there is a clear difference
in assessment between men and women. This is the case of Business Creativity
dimension, which men evaluated more positively than women, 5 and 3.30 means
values, respectively. Regarding Governmental Services there is also a noticeable
difference in the assessments. Male respondents evaluated this dimension with a
mean value of 5.91, while women classified with a mean value of 4.58. Finally, in
general, men evaluate more aspects with higher scores (overall mean of 4.56) women
(overall mean of 4.27).
Table 2 – Means and Socio-demographic Variables Researched
Regarding the assessment by region, in general the residents of the Southern
Region, comprising the neighborhoods of Glory, Garcia, Progress, Valparaiso, and Vila
Formosa, are those who evaluated the dimensions more negatively in terms of overall
mean. The worst rating, with an average score of 2.94, was the dimension Social Ties,
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which evaluates the ease of making friends in the city, hosting tourists, and whether or
not Blumenau is a good city for families. The best score given by the residents of the
Southern Region was to Transport. This dimension had the second best mean per
region (5.09), behind only the northern region. Compared to other regions, the south
did not give the best evaluation to any of the dimensions.
The Eastern Region, formed by the neighborhoods of Fortaleza Alta, Nova
Esperança, Ponta Aguda, Tribess, and Vorstadt, in general, made the more positive
evaluations, considering the mean of all dimensions (4.78). The issues related to Social
Ties, which received the worst evaluation in the south, was the best-evaluated
dimension in the Eastern Region, with an overall mean of 5.88. On the contrary, the
worst rated dimension for easterners was Identity, represented by culture and German
traditions, with an overall mean of 3.91.
Regarding the Nature dimension, its preservation, conservation, and the
amount of natural beauties in the city, the Central Region (Boa Vista, Bom Retiro,
Centro, do Salto, Escola Agrícola, Itoupava Seca, Jardim Blumenau, Ribeirão Fresco,
Victor Konder, and Vila Nova), had the highest score, with a mean of 5.
Business Creativity stood out in the Northern Region (Fidélis, Fortaleza,
Itoupava Central, Itoupava Norte, Itoupavazinha, Salto do Norte, and Vila Itoupava)
with an overall mean of 5.67, while in the Central Region that evaluation was negative,
with 2.79.
With a mean of 5.52, the Shopping dimension was positively assessed in the
Eastern Region but received the worst evaluation in the Central Region (3.36). The
Central region evaluated Business Creativity and Shopping dimensions less positively
when compared to other regions, however, its assessment of Brand, i.e. the pride of
living in the city, was the most positive of all. The Intentions of remaining living in the
city or retiring there had the worst score in the Northern Region, with an overall mean
of 2.67.
The Transport dimension, in general, got low scores; the worst was in the
Central Region (3.85) and the best in the Northern Region (5.82). Regarding Cultural
Activities, these were more positively assessed (overall mean of 5.45) in the Western
Region (Água Verde, Badenfurt, Passo Manso, Salto Weissbach, Testo Salto, Velha,
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Velha Central, and Velha Grande); and got the worst score in the Northern Region,
mean of 3.79.
The Governmental Services, which was the second worst rated dimension, got a
more positive judgement in the Western Region, and the more negative in the Eastern
Region. The Social Ties, which was a dimension with an overall positive evaluation, the
differences between the regions are more evident. It received a negative score in the
Southern Region (2.94) and a considerably more positive assessment in the Eastern
Region (5.88).
At last, Identity had the best score in the Western Region of the city (5.24) and
the worst in the Northern Region (4.52). The study presented a value of 0.94 in the
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test. Furthermore, the alpha values exceeded the reference
values (0.70), varying from 0.73 for Social Ties, and 0.83 to Shopping. In this way, all
the scales confirm the validity of this study.
Regarding the results of the research, the most influential dimensions for city
branding are Social Ties and Business Creativity, followed by Nature and Cultural
Activities. Transport and Public Services dimensions did not have a significant influence
on brand attitudes.
The statistical data analysis revealed a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.91. This result
confirms the reliability of results and the level of agreement of the respondents
regarding the dimensions of the study (Hair Jr. et al., 2005). Once we verified the
reliability of the sample, we made the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and the
respective path diagrams. This analysis is performed to identify the relationships
between the dimensions of the study.
In general, the procedure revealed the influence of the different variables on
the respondents’ image of the city and the relationship that such outcome has on the
intention of respondents of continuing living on the municipality. Figure 1 presents an
overview of the results.
Figure 1 – Correlation between the dimensions under study, the image of the city and intentions of staying
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The analysis of the results indicates that Transport (0.77) and Governmental
Services (0.69) are the main factors influencing the respondents’ opinion with respect
to their overall image of the city. As presented before, these two categories had the
lowest mean values (2.29 and 3.44, respectively).
The modeling has identified that the third highest relationship (0.56) occurs
with Cultural Activities. In the overall assessment, this dimension had an intermediate
value (4.12), between the extremes of the study, and the variables associated with the
category presented the concentration of responses at the intermediate level of
satisfaction.
At the other end, the results of the dimensions Business Creativity (0.12) and
Identity (0.23) indicate an influence between the lower levels of the construct. As
above-mentioned, both categories showed the highest means of the research (5.16
and 5.22, respectively).
The results show that the dimensions Transport and Government Services had
a decisive influence in the overall mean of the study (4.43), neutralizing the influence
of dimensions such as Creativity and Business Identity on the respondents’ global
image of the city. In other words: the overall result stood in a middle position,
between the lowest (1 and 2) and highest (6 and 7) scores subsets due to the
respondents’ dissatisfaction with a series of issues regarding the administration of the
municipality which are local government’s responsibility. Among others, we can
mention traffic problems, maintenance of streets, schools, hospitals, and healthcare
services.
Such evaluation had a strong influence (0.81) on the respondents’ intention of
remaining in the municipality. However, despite the critical view about the city (overall
mean of 4.43), the respondents realize that – when compared with other places, for
example – Blumenau is a good place to live in. Inverse relationship (going back)
correlation justifies the mentioned conclusion, with statistically close value (0.78).
Subsequently, we performed an exploratory factor analysis using the main
components and varimax rotation. This work followed two criteria: extraction of
factors with eigenvalues greater than one and commonalities greater than 0.50.
Following, Table 3 depicts these data.
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Table 3 – Factor Analysis of the Construct
From the significance of variables within the factors of the construct, we made
the following sets: Perspectives, Initiatives, Public Services, and Reputation.
The first, called Perspectives, indicates people’s intentions of remaining in
Blumenau and the actions that contribute to it, such as cultural activities, events,
constructions, and the existence of leisure spaces and parks in the city. The second
factor is Initiatives, and represents the business growth and the ratio of the enterprises
in the city, whether for business or leisure. This factor is composed of only three
variables. The third factor, Public Services, represents the quality of the services
offered by the Government (health, education, transport, and government
administration). It is composed of six variables. Finally, the last factor is Reputation,
which addresses the aspects of quality of life, pride, and willingness to live in the city,
the culture and tradition, and also social relations.
4.2 Discussion
Research data analysis confirmed the hypotheses (H1 and H2) that guide the
present study.
Considering H1, «There is a positive relationship between the evaluation of the
attributes of the municipality and the attitude towards Blumenau brand», we have
found that there is a positive relationship between the assessment of the
municipality’s attributes and the attitude of the residents regarding the Blumenau
brand. The overall mean of the study (4.43), is in an intermediate position – from
medium to high – on a scale from 1 to 7. Dimensions such as Identity (5.22) and
Business Creativity (5.16) push up the mean, especially in the case of variables such as
the identification of respondents with the tradition of the settlers (5.69). On the other
hand, the evaluation of Government Services (3.44) and Transport (2.29) pull down the
image that residents have of the city. The inconvenience caused by street works (2.01)
is a sensitive point in the overall weight of City’s attributes.
Considering H2, «There is a positive relationship between the evaluation of the
Blumenau brand and the residents’ intention regarding their own future», the study
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has confirmed the positive relationship between the assessment of the Blumenau
brand and the intention of the residents about their future. In fact, the relative
satisfaction of respondents with the attributes of the city, alongside favorable
economic indicators (GDP per capita, high HDI-M and their effects in the local quality
of life, etc.), influences the willingness to stay in the city and it corroborates that such
intention is, effectively, linked to the image that residents have of the city.
The monitoring of such indicators sets up an important management strategy for the
local public administration (Kavaratzis, 2005; Gaio & Gouveia, 2007; Pinto & Meneses,
2010), since the residents’ image of the city can influence both the relationship with
the government and the investors and visitors’ perception of a certain place (Braun,
Kavaratzis & Zenker, 2013).
Specifically in the case of this study, the cultural heritage of German settlers –
architecture, cuisine and typical festivals –, who founded the city in 1850 stands out of
an element of local identity that residents strongly value in their everyday life. The self-
image of the population represents a key element for the tourism positioning strategy
of Blumenau. The study highlights the need for the identification of the residents with
the destination brand in order to maintain the consistency of the image to tourists.
The desired outcomes in the communication can be achieved if the residents
understand their role in it (Choo & Park, 2011).
To some extent, such result validates the ongoing external promotion actions of
the city, inasmuch as that there is a coincidence between the way residents see
themselves and the approach of media advertising campaigns.
The participation of local residents in tourism activities should be encouraged,
and these must be compatible with the local identity. Such actions add to increase
resident's relationship with the identity of the place, which, in turn, makes local
residents feel even more satisfied (Wang & Chen, 2015). Thus, a favourable
assessment of the community, which is also a destination for tourists, can be
generated. Given this, it is necessary to know the residents’ opinion and evaluation of
the destination for tourism planning purposes.
When residents perceive themselves as an active part of the city, which
influences the decision-making on the future of the municipality, they assume the role
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of brand ambassadors to the visitors, which certainly contributes to the development
of initiatives in this segment of economic activity.
5 Final Considerations
The results of this study indicate the influence of variables such as the cultural
identity in the residents’ assessment of the city and, consequently, on the image they
have of the municipality. The satisfaction with city development, despite the criticism
of public services, influences the intention of the respondents about their future,
favoring Blumenau as a dwelling place, a market for business investments or as a
tourism destination.
The analysis of the survey data revealed an overall mean of 4.43 for the 10
categories of the study. The result is in an intermediate position between the subset of
the lower (1 and 2) and the highest (6 and 7) ratings. The calculation of the standard
deviation showed a relatively uniform distribution of values between the different
variables (from 1.46 to 2.25). Favorable results in these situations constitute a
competitive advantage for the city competing with other municipalities for more
investment and collection of taxes (Merrilees, Miller & Herington, 2009). A place that
has a prospect of maintaining the population in its territory increases its attractiveness
to new business (trade, services, industry, etc.) and, therefore, increases the
possibilities for their own socio-economic development. In this context, marketing is
an institutional planning tool that contributes to the construction of the symbolic
image of the city (Carniello & Candelaria, 2008), associating a unique concept to the
locality and increasing its competitiveness in a physical and virtual market oblivious to
borders (Ashworth & Kavaratzis 2009).
This research offers a theoretical and practical contribution to the work related
to destination and place branding management in general and city branding in
particular, as the work related to the study of the attributes that influence the
attitudes toward the image of cities. In this sense, research results contribute
specifically to the expansion of the literature on the subject, city brand benchmarking,
the knowledge of the regional reality and its possible implications for the development
of local tourism and the positioning of Blumenau as a tourism destination.
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City brand positioning should be understood as the process of generating
expectations in actual and potential city users’ minds (Ashworth & Kavaratzis, 2009),
specifically in the case of Blumenau, research and indicators can ensure that these
expectations are met in the way people experience the city as Zenker and Martin
(2011), and Sevin (2014) point out.
The results presented here are a first approach to the research problem, aiming
to contribute to further research within this field of knowledge. Although the study
refers to a socio-economic, geographic, and cultural context in particular, we believe
that the results - as research hypotheses – can be applicable to other markets with
similar characteristics, given that the analyzed variables can be applied to different
contexts.
For future studies, we suggest further research in two distinct and
complementary directions. Firstly, we propose the development of a study on the
destination branding actions, in order to compare the Blumenau brand positioning
among tourists and residents and, from there, analyze in particular the implications of
these results for the development of local tourism. In addition, we suggest the
development of qualitative research based on in-depth interviews to residents or focus
group with the population in order to understand in detail the process of construction
of the self-image of Blumenau residents and its relationship with brand positioning
that they aim to the place wherein they live.
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Attributes of the Blumenau (Brazil) brand from the residents’ perspective, and its influence on the
decision to stay in the destination
Figure 1 – Correlation between the dimensions under study, the image of the city and intentions of staying (page 13)
Source: Research data
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Attributes of the Blumenau (Brazil) brand from the residents’ perspective, and its influence on the
decision to stay in the destination
Table 4 – Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents (page 07)
Socio-demographic
Characteristics
Frequency %
Gender Male 210 50.36% Female 207 49.64% Total 417 100%
Age 15 to 19 years 67 16.07% 20 to 24 years 80 19.18% 25 to 34 years 86 20.62% 35 to 39 years 36 8.63% 40 to 49 years 69 16.55% > 49 years 79 18.94% Total 417 100%
Marital status Single 200 47.96% Married / Living common-law 168 40.29% Separated / Divorced/ Widowed 49 11.75%
Total 417 100% Income < US$ 565 per month 51 12%
US$ 566 to 847 per month 98 24% US$ 848 to 2,825 per month 179 43% US$ 2,826 to 7,062 per month 83 20% > US$ 7,063 per month 6 1% Total 417 100%
Children Yes 199 47.72% Yes - Above 15 years 78 18.71% No 218 52.28% Total 417 100%
Neighborhood / Region Northern Region 123 29.50% Western Region 121 29.02% Central Region 84 20.14% Southern Region 48 11.51% Eastern Region 41 9.83% Total 417 100%
Source: Research data
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Attributes of the Blumenau (Brazil) brand from the residents’ perspective, and its influence on the
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Table 5 – Means and Socio-demographic Variables Researched (page 10)
Dimensions
MEAN
Gender Region
Male Female Southern
Region
Northern Region
Western Region
Eastern Region
Central Region
Nature 4.70 4.61 4.94 3.24 3.15 4.88 5.00
Business Creativity 5.00 3.30 3.06 5.67 4.24 4.42 2.79
Shopping 4.09 3.91 3.55 4.79 5.00 5.52 3.36
Brand 3.97 4.36 4.06 3.94 4.15 5.12 5.52
Intentions 3.82 3.91 4.52 2.67 4.03 4.73 4.91
Transport 3.45 4.64 5.09 5.82 4.12 4.91 3.85
Cultural Activities 5.15 4.06 4.12 3.79 5.45 4.24 3.39
Services 5.91 4.58 5.06 5.00 5.67 4.18 5.30
Social Ties 4.36 4.94 2.94 5.03 5.15 5.88 3.48
Identity 5.18 4.36 4.52 3.79 5.24 3.91 4.85
GENERAL - City 4.56 4.27 4.18 4.37 4.62 4.78 4.25
Source: Research data
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Attributes of the Blumenau (Brazil) brand from the residents’ perspective, and its influence on the
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Table 6 – Factor Analysis of the Construct page 14 - 16
Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 V1. Blumenau has well preserved and clean places for outdoor leisure activities. 0.85612 - - -
V2. Our city is a good place for companies to set up and make good business. - - - -
V3. Blumenau has well maintained green spaces. 0.71256 - - -
V4. In general, people living in Blumenau have a good life. - - - 0.87625
V5. I like and I am proud of living in Blumenau. - - - 0.82199
V6. Blumenau is a typical German city that values and preserves the traditions of settlers. - - - 0.89219
V7. Probably I am going to retire in Blumenau. 0.81625 - - -
V8. Blumenau is a good city for families. - - - 0.89876
V9. The city where I live has much natural beauty. 0.86251 - - -
V10. Local companies are growing. - 0.72165 - -
V11. Blumenau is a prestigious and much visited city. - - - -
V12. There are many work opportunities in the city. - - - -
V13. Blumenau has many shops of famous brands. - 0.81277 - -
V14. The city has good reputation among residents. - - - 0.81256
V15. Blumenau has several nice bars, restaurants, cafes, etc. - 0.82615 - -
V16. Blumenau’s healthcare services are appropriate. - - 0.81265 -
V17. Blumenau has well maintained and promptly repaired roads. - - - 0.61276
V18. There are many cultural events, festivals, 0.72165 - - -
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Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 and concerts taking place in my city.
V19. Blumenau has modern and attractive architecture. 0.62651 - - -
V20. I intend to live in Blumenau for at least 5 or 10 more years. 0.82765 - - -
V21. I am willing to live in Blumenau just until next year or the following. - - - -
V22. I trust in the local government to make decisions and offer quality public services. - - 0.81652 -
V23. The population of Blumenau is proud of its German tradition. - - - 0.77565
V24. City hospitals offer high quality services. - - 0.77659 -
V25. Blumenau’s traffic in is well organized. - - - 0.87651
V26. Works on the city streets do not cause inconvenience. - - - 0.71254
V27. The city where I live has a wide variety of shops. - - - -
V28. Blumenau is a city open to other cultures. 0.65214 - - -
V29. It is easy to make friends here. - - - 0.82165
V30. It is for the German culture, which manifests through festivals and traditions, that Blumenau is known in the country. - - - 0.61254
V31. The city where I live provides good access to health care. - - 0.62514 -
V32. Schools in the city offer quality education. - - 0.81625 -
V33. Public transportation in Blumenau is adequate. - - 0.81265 -
Source: Research data
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