Value co-creation stemming from a
cultural heritage and specific local needs is the key element of the process of
building a brand identity, particularly in the context of cultural
entrepreneurship. Based on the literature on branding and networking our study
aims to identify the processes that advance the distinctive branding of a
destination by analyzing the prerequisites for building a joint brand in a
collaborative network. We wanted to study who takes the lead in coordinating
cooperation in cultural networks, and who initiates value co-creation
processes. Furthermore, we wanted to examine how various actors perceived the
coordinating role of the municipality. Our case study is from a small rural
destination in Finland where the municipality has taken the initiative to lead
and coordinate the value co-creating processes in branding the destination. The
empirical data were collected through participative observation and in-depth
interviews with municipal representatives, entrepreneurs and members of associations,
and the third sector, and also from a local media, policy documents and web
sites. A multidimensional concept assigned the acronym BRICK, which stands for:
Benefits, Risks, Interaction, Coordination, Keenness was used to analyze the
data. Our findings show that the development process is still ongoing, and
running alongside the cultural and historical perspectives, has been the
commercial side of the process addressing the issue of boosting the attraction
of the area as a tourism destination. Consequently, the role of value
co-creation as an outcome is expanding in terms of affinity, and that of
external coordination is diminishing. Our study findings contribute to the
theoretical discussion on leadership in the research domain of place branding.
The process of building the joint brand for a destination can illustrate to
practitioners how to apply academic theory to a real branding case.