Cultural and institutional determinants in city-branding practices: Evidence from three Saudi cities

Place-branding strategies are increasingly used in cities and territories to improve reputation, attract investors, realise urban transformation and reach economic development goals. Most scholars advocate for a participatory approach, with the national government playing a limited role. However, multi-level governance models are used in culturally and administratively centralised countries like Saudi Arabia, where the central government also significantly influences local brand performance. This article provides new insights by examining how cultural and institutional determinants, particularly high-power distance and hierarchical governance, affect the effectiveness of place branding in such contexts. Twenty-four in-depth interviews were held with stakeholders and experts in Saudi cities – Riyadh, Madinah and Al-Baha – each with their own characteristics, size and multi-level governance models, to measure their preferences. The findings were analysed to come to a better understanding of how cultural dimensions affect place-branding practices. The central government is crucial in guiding the process. High-level national leadership involvement in Riyadh leads to high satisfaction and direction, while Madinah and Al-Baha have low-level central representation, resulting in more local infighting and poor quality of place-branding strategies. This study expands place-branding research beyond Western models by emphasising the impact of institutional and cultural factors in centralised systems.