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Legitimacy of public–private partnerships for place development and branding: The case of Sønderborg municipality in Denmark

Barbora Gulisova

European Urban and Regional Studies2026https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764261419466article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Place branding, while seen as a public responsibility, is in many places undertaken by public–private partnerships (PPPs) between the local authorities and the local business sector. Yet, the private actors’ presence in the place branding process can become so significant that it questions the democratic legitimacy of the process. This article studies the legitimacy of place branding initiatives undertaken in the form of PPPs in a smaller Danish municipality. The initiatives and their respective PPPs are introduced, and three dimensions of legitimacy are analysed: input (participation and inclusiveness), throughput (transparency and procedural fairness) and output (effectiveness and outcomes). Based on qualitative data, the analysis shows that while PPPs can enhance output legitimacy by creating positive results, they may simultaneously compromise input and throughput legitimacy by limiting democratic accountability, reducing transparency and narrowing public engagement. The article argues that these trade-offs pose challenges for the legitimacy of place branding processes that rely heavily on PPPs, including the risk of creating path dependencies that become difficult to break, and a laissez-faire attitude among other actors for their contributions.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764261419466

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@article{barbora2026,
  title        = {{Legitimacy of public–private partnerships for place development and branding: The case of Sønderborg municipality in Denmark}},
  author       = {Barbora Gulisova},
  journal      = {European Urban and Regional Studies},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764261419466},
}

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Legitimacy of public–private partnerships for place development and branding: The case of Sønderborg municipality in Denmark

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.