The Role of Higher Education in the Creation of a Regional Umbrella-Brand: The Case of Le Marche.

The idea of a research project about the role of Higher Education Institutions' (HEIs) in favoring local economic development started from a recognition of the changing roles of tertiary education institutions, as expressed both by academic literature and policy-makers' documents. International policymakers, such as OECD and the European Union, put forward the necessity for universities to connect with their regions and help the knowledge flow. Networks between universities, businesses, and governments seem to be the way for regions to grow and deal with globalization. The importance of HEIs in the development of the territory where they are embedded is becoming a fundamental issue of growing importance in the knowledge economy. If it is true that universities have been founded principally on the activities of teaching and research (first mission and second mission, respectively), on the other hand, universities have always made contributions, both directly and indirectly, to decision-making in the wider society; this aspect has been called third mission. Globalization does not dis-embed economic activities from territory; rather, the sub-national level becomes essential in building economic competitiveness and in the development of the knowledge economy. This aspect provides a territorial focus for universities' new role in the knowledge economy and network-building between universities and regional stakeholders becomes essential, particularly in rural regions, where the economy is driven by myriad of SMEs with low levels of knowledge. Universities are called to play a greater role as stimulators and facilitators of knowledge transfer within business and society. The University of Macerata is the scientific partner for “Marche d'Eccellenza,” a project aimed at constituting a territorial umbrella-brand. The goal is to create a unique brand for the Marche region, by recollecting all its unique aspects (destinations, agro-food products, and manufacture products). This research aims at understanding what roles the University of Macerata could assume in the “Marche d'Eccellenza” project. The OECD report “Entrepreneurship, SMEs and local development in the Marche region, Italy” analyses reasons why it is considered worthwhile to enhance connections between HEIs and the stakeholders of the territory are explored, especially in a context of place branding. Place branding is not about using the qualities of the place to promote local products in the markets, but about using the qualities of local products to ascribe meanings and associations to the place (Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005). Place branding is a complex operation because it implies different actors, with often competing interests. These actors must work together to create a coherent identity for the place to be promoted, within the context of global competition. The main goal of this research is to understand how the involvement of the University of Macerata can help the setup of a stakeholder-inclusive network aimed at building a territorial umbrella-brand, through the analysis of the “Marche d'Eccellenza” case study. In order to achieve this overarching objective, this work will try to answer the following questions: ? What are the main values and working hypothesis emerging from local stakeholders' discussion and interaction? What is the knowledge gap connected with some of them and what constitutes the brand essence? ? How is the image of a place perceived by foreigners? ? Which factors can determine place branding success? In order to answer these questions, this work investigates the network-building process in reference to an umbrella-brand, and the issues connected to it. It will also strive to make explicit the functions that should be ascribed to the University of Macerata, for this particular case and in this specific context. The case study as methodology has been chosen in this thesis because it allows us to understand complex social phenomena “in depth and within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (Yin, 2009: 18). The first chapter of this thesis deals with the content analysis of three different workshops, structured as brainstorming sessions, held during the First “Marche d'Eccellenza” Forum, organized by the University of Macerata, on November 10, 2010. The analysis of the brainstorming sessions showed that there are many common themes, each of which arose independently from the workshop's specific activity. This research demonstrated that there are transversal issues, as well as values common to all stakeholders, which need to be made explicit. Another fundamental issue coming out from the analysis is that many concepts, essential for the success of a place branding initiative, are often confused or unclear to stakeholders; that is, there is a knowledge gap. Issues concerning the institution of a territorial umbrella-brand, the implications of a globalized market, and the difference between the image people have of certain place (brand image) and the image marketers want to promote (brand identity) are often misunderstood concepts, making it hard for the development of an umbrella-brand to take place. The second chapter of this thesis tries to analyze the perception of the Marche region by non-residents, by using a questionnaire that investigates the perception of brand image, that is, the image held by consumers towards a certain product or place. Research on the image of a place allows us to understand how a certain place is perceived by outsiders and allows marketers to work on a strategy for brand identity that represents the image they desire to promote. The study of image formation is essential because it represents the first step, prior to any branding effort. Once there is awareness of the perceived image people have of a place, then it is possible to aim at seeking the right strategies to setup an efficient brand identity campaign. The need for such an operation is consistent with the findings that emerged from the brainstorming sessions, where stakeholders lamented the lack of coherent and consistent outward-facing communication for the Marche brand. The lack of a before and after analysis of the branding effort made it impossible to measure if communication and advertising did work. Moreover, the questionnaire can show whether the values attributed to the Marche region by non-residents coincide with the ones emerging from the brainstorming sessions, offering several indications on the assets that contribute to local economic development. The third chapter analyzes the “Tourism Victoria Jigsaw Campaign” case study. An opportunity for the author of this thesis to spend three months at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, allowed this case study to be carried out. The subsequent results can be considered as an example of best practice in place branding. In fact, the study represents an example of practical success in place branding that has received little academic attention. A literature review on success factors in place branding has allowed the emergence of a theoretical model, which was subsequently tested during the case study. The opportunity of testing place branding theories in a practical success case showed that the theoretical model has a practical application. The place branding success factors scheme offers a great help in understanding the support that a university can offer to stakeholders, making them aware of a lot of determinant issues that need to be taken into account when dealing with a place branding operation. The final chapter analyzes the implications resulting from the “Marche d'Eccellenza” case study: in the first half of the chapter, the roles of the University of Macerata in this network will be discussed, and in the second half of the chapter suggestions for local policy-makers will be put forward.