REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

Dosen Pengampu: Moh Yasir Alimi,S.Ag.,M.A.,Ph.d.

Oleh:
Reni Alfiyah (0301517007)

PENDIDIKAN ILMU PENGETAHUAN SOSIAL

PASCASARJANA
UNIVERSITAS NEGERI SEMARANG
2017
JOURNAL REVIEW 1
1. Tittle of the Article
“An Exploration of Rural Community Branding Efforts from the Perspective of Community
Residents”
2. Writer’s Identity and Affiliation
Jane Swinney, Chunmin Lang and Rodney Runyan
International Journal of Rural Management
8(1&2) 35–47
© 2012 Institute of Rural Management
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi, Singapore,
Washington DC
DOI: 10.1177/0973005212461984
http://irm.sagepub.com
3. Abstract
Community brand identity, as measured by brand image and positioning symbols,
typically fails to reflect the perceptions of the residents of the community. The current study,
focused on residents in four rural and culturally distinct communities in the mid-western
United States, finds that residents feel neither agreement nor disagreement with either image
or positioning constructs of community brand identity. The results suggest a need to
strengthen image and positioning constructs and we urge co-creation of the community brand
with greater involvement of the local residents.
4. Introduction
Rural communities with their traditional dependence on agriculture and limited
expansion resources are especially vulnerable in times of economic downturn. The primary
business district (downtown) in the rural community is often the centre of retail activity and
is intertwined with the identity of the community itself (Robertson 1999). From Walmsley
and Jenkins’ early work (1993, 1998) ‘town as brand’ has emerged as a viable and useful tool
for community analysis in economic development studies. Research has begun to view the
down town business district as a composite whole with a unique identity more than only the
compilation of small businesses in a central area. Runyan and Huddleston (2006)
conceptualized the composite whole of a downtown business district as a single firm in their
work utilizing the resource-based theory to identify resources possessed by the community.
They defined brand identity as the image that a community has, one that differentiates it from
other community shopping areas or competing business districts and extended the definition
of brand to represent more than products, goods and services and viewed brand to represent a
community.
This is an exploratory study built on the foundation of place brand theory. Our research
is a preliminary investigation of community resident perceptions of their community’s brand
image and position as constructs of brand identity. This moves the place branding work to the
rural community level and from the outsiders’ (often tourists) perspective to the local
residents’ perspective. We report our findings from community residents in the exploration of
the perceptions of the community place brand identity in four rural and culturally distinct
communities. This allows for a better understanding of place branding decisions in rural
markets and the role of residents in the co-creation of place branding. First we briefly review
previous work on place branding, the importance of cocreation of the brand and the
constructs of place branding used in the study. We then present a short description of each of
four rural communities used in this study. The methodology and findings are shared and we
conclude with implications for positive community brand development.
5. Objective of the article
Our research is a preliminary investigation of community resident perceptions of their
community’s brand image and position as constructs of brand identity. This moves the place
branding work to the rural community level and from the outsiders’ (often tourists)
perspective to the local residents’ perspective.
6. State of art of the article
Recommendations are given for co-creating a meaningful community brand to further
community economic development.
7. Method of the Article
Qualitative with a self-report questionnaire was mailed to 2,905 residents in the four
communities in a one week time frame. Usable responses were obtained from 287 residents.
This was about a 10 per cent response rate. Fifty-five (55) respondents reported their
ethnicity as African–American, Native American, Hispanic or a mix of two races. We chose a
random sample of 55 Caucasian majority residents for conducting the equal sample size t-test
to address our research questions. The instrument utilized existing scales to measure the
brand identity constructs of image and positioning and incorporated approach/avoidance
questions.
8. Result and Discussion
The results suggest a need to strengthen image and positioning constructs and we urge
co-creation of the community brand with greater involvement of the local residents. This
research was an initial attempt to see if residents find image and position to be meaningful
constructs. One step in the process of understanding community brand co-creation is
documentation of residents’ perceptions about image and positioning of the community.
Residents’ perceptions can guide community development leaders in building collective
ownership of the community brand.
Our findings suggest the need to improve and strengthen community brand image and
the communication of the brand through improved positioning strategies that are meaningful
to community members. Involvement of residents in cocreation of the brand image and
position may be effective in building favourable strong responses to both the image and
position and thereby brand identity of the community. Communities without strong and
positive resident perceptions of image and position are limited in their ability to attract new
businesses and build economic growth to improve the positive developmental impact on rural
people. The finding in all four communities of responses to approach/avoidance below the
midpoint of four reflects the residents’ lack of interest in spending time in the downtown
business district.
9. Thesis Statement
This is an exploratory study built on the foundation of place brand theory. Our research
is a preliminary investigation of community resident perceptions of their community’s brand
image and position as constructs of brand identity.
10. Conclusion
Brand identity is how the owners of the brand want the brand to be perceived.
Determining how the community brand is desired to be perceived is another element of the
branding process and an avenue for future research. Further work is merited on the
relationship between residents’ perceptions of brand image and position and their reported
approach/avoidance behaviours for the downtown business district.
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