Internal City Branding
(A2019-8798)

AUTHORS

Rico Piehler, University of Bremen; Michael Schade, University of Bremen; Ayla Rößler, University of Bremen; Christoph Burmann, University of Bremen

KEYWORDS

Place branding; Internal branding; Residents

ABSTRACT

Actual residents are one of the most important target groups of cities because they are important co-creators in the branding process. Although researchers have called for a con-sideration of internal branding, it has not been properly adapted to the city branding context. Therefore, this study develops an internal city branding (ICB) model. The results of an online survey of 442 residents from the city of Bremen in Germany reveal that actual resi-dents’ city brand commitment has positive effects on their intention to stay and their city brand citizenship behavior. Furthermore, their satisfaction positively affects their city brand commitment and their intention to stay in the city, but not their city brand citizenship behav-ior. Most important, actual residents’ city brand understanding has positive effects on their satisfaction, city brand commitment, and city brand citizenship behavior.