Place marketing examined through a service-dominant logic lens: A review

Abstract

The traveler (or city-customer) should be viewed as a major co-creator of the value extracted from her or his destination (or city) experience. Consumer resources such as energy, mental disposition, expertise, or involvement may be crucial to explain the final value perceived. It is not clear, however, how effectively the concept of co-creation has been incorporated within place marketing. This research takes a step forward toward covering this gap by: (1) drawing on service-dominant logic and related perspectives to propose a co-creation-led, baseline framework; (2) conducting a systematic review of quantitative place-marketing research that has attempted to incorporate the value co-creation perspective; (3) critically reviewing these research efforts; and (4) providing future research avenues. Overall, this research shows that quantitative place-marketing literature is advancing towards incorporating the co-creation proposal, although that is primarily so in destination and hospitality contexts. There is still a long way to go, however, before a consensus is reached on many fundamental aspects.