Place marketing, policy integration and governance complexity: an analytical framework for FDI promotion

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the marketing of regions and cities within the global market for foreign direct investments (FDIs). In a context in which place marketing and place branding are employed as tools for local and regional development, this paper aims to discuss, within the broader place marketing and branding discourse, the extent to which FDI promotion has evolved in pursuit of the relative economic prosperity of local communities. In so doing, this paper investigates the evolution of FDI promotion and its degree of integration with diverse local policy domains. The cases of Ontario (Canada), Tuscany (Italy) and Western Switzerland are taken as illustrative examples of the intertwining of the three dimensions that this paper identifies as fundamental to the analysis of FDI promotion, namely (a) FDI policy generation, (b) the relationship of place branding and place marketing and (c) governance complexity. In light of the results, the relation between FDI promotion and strategic planning is discussed, by drawing attention to critical aspects of policy integration.

KEYWORDS:

• FDI promotion
• policy integration
• governance
• spatial planning
• place marketing
• place branding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Valais, Vaud.

2 The analysis of the authors attests the existence of these trends. However, due to the exploratory nature of this research and the political sensitivity regarding comparisons between cantons, the authors renounce to name the specific cantons. This could be further developed in future research.

3 The cantons of Jura and Bern are not always considered to be part of Western Switzerland. Bern has a large German-speaking majority. Jura is part of an economic development agency with the cantons of Basel-Land and Basel-Stadt (BaselArea.swiss) and does not belong to the Western Switzerland economic development agency (Greater Geneva Bern area).

4 Greater Zurich Area (GZA), Invest Western Switzerland (or Greater Geneva Bern area), St.GallenBodenseeArea and BaselArea.swiss.

5 The ‘Territorial Concept Switzerland’ provides a national framework and guidance for decision-making for future spatial planning and territorial development. It was designed and supported by all levels of government and aims at gathering all policy sectors that have a potential territorial impact (SECO, 2019; OECD, 2019). The Federal Agglomeration Policy and the Policy for mountain regions and other rural areas are two policies that prioritize greater cross-sectoral and multilevel governance co-ordination as well as rural-urban linkages. They serve as a strategic umbrella for spatial development policies, such as the spatial planning policy and the New Regional Policy, which has a strong focus on regional innovation systems, co-operation and synergies between sectoral policies as well as capacity building regarding regional development.