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

decision to stay in the destination

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

decision to stay in the destination

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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