 Places in good graces: The role of emotional connections to a place on word-of-mouthCarola Strandberg, Maria Ek Styvén and Magnus Hultman Journal of Business Research, 2020, vol. 119, issue C, 444-452 Abstract: The role of emotional connections to places has largely been studied with a focus on place visitors. However, while residents are considered integral to the place brand, their perspectives generally have been overlooked. This study aims to increase the understanding of the relationships between place image, self-congruity, place attachment, and positive word-of-mouth among residents and visitors of a place. A conceptual model is advanced from identity and attachment theories. Responses from 654 residents and visitors in two Swedish cities were collected through an online survey, and the conceptual model was tested across the two city samples using structural equation modelling. Findings indicate that affective place image is positively related to positive word-of-mouth and that this relationship is mediated by place attachment for both residents and visitors. The results further show that self-congruity acts as a mediator between affective place image and place attachment for visitors but not for residents. Keywords: Place image; Self-congruity; Place attachment; Positive word-of-mouth (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:119:y:2020:i:c:p:444-452 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.044 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.