Review article
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.55.1.7
The Brand Potential of „Soft“ Factors of the Territorial Capital: A Study of Eight Medium- Sized Cities in Serbia
Milena Toković
; University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Serbia
Mina Petrović
; University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Serbia
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to explore the brand potential of certain “soft” factors
of territorial capital in the medium-sized cities in Serbia. The concept of territorial
capital refers to the total city development potential that combines objective, “hard”
and subjective, “soft” factors of an area, in order to attract investment and generate
local development. As city branding has become an imperative of local development
strategies, this paper aims at connecting these concepts in order to emphasize a possible
brand potential of some “soft“ dimensions of territorial capital. The paper is
based on the data obtained from the research conducted from 2013 to 2015 by the
Institute for Sociological Research of University of Belgrade on a representative sample
of population aged 18-65 in eight medium-sized cities in Serbia. The first part of
the paper presents the concept of territorial capital and clarifies its connection with
the city branding. The second part of the paper is dedicated to the analysis related to
Serbia. It begins by summarizing the key features of its socio-spatial transformation in
the post-socialist period and points to the discordance between the state of territorial
capital and the city branding process. Then the method of research which focuses on
the citizens’ perception (a neglected soft dimension of territorial capital) is presented.
The obtained questionnaire results are analysed through the lens of the city branding
approach and the application of somewhat modified dimensions (presence, pulse and
people) of the City Brand Index (CBI). The concluding part briefly recaps how and
why the observed soft dimensions of the territorial capital might be recognized as a
relevant potential in the process of (re) branding of the researched cities.
Keywords
city branding; territorial capital; “soft“ factors of the territorial capital; Serbia
Hrčak ID:
182254
URI
Publication date:
30.5.2017.
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