The impact of government policies on place branding performance: evidence from China

Uneven economic development due to varying strategic resource endowments has led to increasing competition between cities, regions and countries. This study examines the impact of different government's policies on place branding performance because place branding is a crucial strategy that distinguishes the region from its competitors. This research used primary data and surveys have been collected from managers of companies in Zhejiang Province. The findings of PLS-SEM show that government policies (supply-side, demand-side, and environmental) have significant impacts on place branding performance with boosting, pulling, and guiding effects. Market environment and Inter-firm collaboration partially mediate between government policies and place branding performance. Inter-firm collaboration directly mediates supply-side and environmental policy on place branding performance. Moreover, according to the Importance-Performance map analysis, demand-based policies are more important than supply-based and environmental-based policies in place branding performance. The study concluded that the government could put more effort into the pulling effect of demand-based policies on place branding performance. This research enriched the relationship between government policies, inter-firm collaboration/market environment and place branding performance. This study provided valuable insights on how governments can further promote the active participation of enterprises in regional branding and enhance place branding performance in practice, which encourage governments to conduct place branding to new statures.