Competition, cooperation and co-opetition: unfolding the process of inter-territorial branding

Territorial competition is considered as the main assumption of place branding, but this is not an exhaustive approach to understand it as part of local and regional development strategies. Within the frame of global competition, cities can undertake inter-territorial cooperation in order to enhance their competitiveness. In this regard, there is an evident gap in place branding literature which overlooks inter-territorial collaboration for place promotion. This article aims at unfolding the process of inter-territorial branding, that is, branding crossing administrative borders. ‘Market’ and political forces driving the emergence of inter-territorial brands as well as the phases of the underlying process are scrutinized by means of a secondary research reviewing 12 inter-territorial networking experiences in Europe and the United States.