Competing for legitimacy in the place branding process: (re)negotiating the stakes
基于布迪厄场域与资本理论，通过对英国两城市60位利益相关者的访谈，揭示地方品牌化过程中不同群体如何争夺影响力与合法性，发现社区代表可凭地方敏感知识和程序性知识获得参与权，但传统强势群体仍能通过战略合作维持地位。
Although stakeholder participation in place branding is actively encouraged, there has been a paucity of studies examining why uneven involvement persists in practice. This study builds on Bourdieu's theory of field and capital to explain how stakeholders from the local state, destinations, businesses and local communities negotiate influence and legitimacy in the place branding process. A multi-case study of two UK cities was employed involving semi-structured interviews with 60 stakeholders. We identify the specific characteristics of cultural capital in place branding: procedural know-how and place-sensitive knowledge. Our findings show that community representatives can acquire a seat at the place branding table by possessing distinct place-sensitive knowledge and drawing on procedural know-how accrued from professional settings. Nevertheless, traditionally dominant stakeholder groups, such as local state actors, destination management organisations and the business community, can build strategic collaborations that counter deficits in cultural capital and thus retain their status.