MSc Thesis Els Hegger

Els Hegger M.Sc. student

Rural Sociology Group Wageningen University

Branching, Banding & Blending

An explorative study into concepts and practice of region branding in the Netherlands

Supervised by Henk Renting, Rural Sociology Group, Wageningen University

Els Hegger July 2007

Branching, Banding & Blending

An explorative study into concepts and practice of region branding in the Netherlands

Master thesis International Development Studies Specialisation Sociology of Rural Development

Wageningen University

Acknowledgements Ever since I wrote my Bachelor thesis on imaging destinations, I have been interested in the employment of marketing tools for sustaining or reviving places. Using slick marketing for such noble purposes at first seemed at odds with the underlying spirit of sustainability. During my studies it always seemed wrong to use such superficial or unreliable tools to achieve sustainable development. However, slowly I came to think that maybe the crux of this field is the resistance to more mass media oriented approaches. It can be compared to organic farming: for decades this market segment had an anarchistic, dusty image but is now gradually attracting the attention of more mainstream consumers. The green fanatics are not so happy about this as according to them organic farming looses its integrity and sincere character. However, if they would do some introspection and look at the goals initially set by the movement, they cannot ignore the major jump forward that has been made; in fact, the scale and scope of organic farming in Europe today might even be beyond their 1970s dream. I think this is an important lesson that I have learned during the course of my studies at university: never take anything for granted, but always try to look beyond the obvious and search for alternative solutions. It is extremely easy to continue thinking along the same path for years; everything seems logical, meaningful and right. But the only way to accomplish your goal is to once in a while take some distance and admit that you need a shift. This is exactly the case with spatial development in the Netherlands. Sectoral development was the way to go, regional development in the sense that a wide array of actors would work together in shaping a region was unheard of. However, a new road is currently being travelled; maybe with success, maybe not. The outcome is not even really important. What is, is that new ideas are being tried out, which is the key to development of any kind. From the onset of this research on region branding in the Netherlands I have tried to adopt the same kind of free spirit into my approach. Continuously, I reflected on my work and my approach: whether it was not too biased with taken-for-granted issues and tunnel thinking. Clearly, I chose this topic because I thought it was a refreshing and fruitful idea, but nevertheless I needed to be as objective as possible* without falling back into promotional or propagandistic terminology on region branding. I discovered it was not easy, trying to shed light on all possible views and likelihoods. Being a scientist who can set aside her prejudices turned out to be the hardest task during my studies, and especially this thesis. However, I was lucky to have a great supervisor who supported me in all possible ways throughout the process of this research. His expertise in the field as well as years of experience in research and supervision were of great value, and very encouraging. Just like the process of branding is a long and winding road, so was the process of writing this report on region branding. It cost me quite some effort at times to stick to the determined research mode that I adopted at the start. Henk helped me through these moments by inspiring me with his insights and ideas. I was determined to deliver a master piece to close off my 5 years of education at Wageningen University. But at times it seemed Henk was even more committed to the topic than I was, something which hardly seemed possible to me. It was great working together like this, especially as Henk gave me the opportunity to get a taste of a researchers life by taking me to Hungary for a project meeting and inviting me to write and present a paper with him and another colleague of the Rural Sociology Group. This was a great opportunity and fantastic way to end the interesting journey of my university education.

Here, I need to quote Jock R. Anderson as he has described objectivity so aptly, I could not talk about this issue without citing him: But objectivity in science is a myth, in life an impossibility, and in decision making an irrelevance.

Although Henk has been my biggest support for writing this thesis, I need to mention my mother here as well. She has always been very interested in what I do. She read nearly every essay I wrote in the past 5 years, even though she did not always understand them completely. She supported me throughout my education and stimulated me to keep going. It is great to have a parent who is so involved. On the more technical part of the thesis Willem, Floris, Miriam and Eugnie have helped me considerably. They proof read various parts and advised me on linguistic matters, style issues as well as content of the thesis. If I may be very subjective for once in this research I think this has turned out to be an excellent result; the kind of icing on the cake that I dreamed of! After all this hard work, it is time for some relaxation and enjoyment. When doing this research I discovered there are many regions in the Netherlands that I do not know (much) about but do have an opinion on. I think it is time now to explore some of those regions myself Els Hegger Wageningen, July 2007

Summary The gradual transformation of rural areas in the Netherlands and Europe at large is the result of a culmination of trends in past decades. These trends can be divided into three main processes which have been taking place at various levels in society; (1) agriculture and its changing role in society, (2) the alteration of the countryside and (3) wider societal trends. Region branding is an emerging concept which can be used as an instrument to respond to these processes. The locality is an important level of integration in rural development which needs to be captured by the concept of branding as well as creating an identity which stimulates both the regional economy and creates synergies. This idea of region branding has been employed in various European regions. A network of alliances is set up to create a range of products around the main overarching product, namely the region. This concept is based on a kind of synergy where various actors appropriate local knowledge in such a way that they collectively build a solid network by which the region and its distinctive identity can be marketed and sold as one product. However, to date no analysis has been carried out to structure the complexity of rural development and branding literature, with regard to the Dutch situation. This explorative research sheds light on the process of region branding in the Netherlands by employing three methodological steps: first, constructing a conceptual framework; second, creating a state-of-the-art overview of collective initiatives in the Dutch countryside; third, carrying out three case studies on region branding. For the theoretical framework, the theory of culture economy has been used as a starting point. Culture economy describes how localities can sell their place based on typical local, cultural and artisanal products and services while at the same time reinforcing a local identity. Region branding is close to comprising exactly the same process. The theory of culture economy is complemented with other theoretical elements which solve some of the limitations that culture economy poses. The constructed region brand has the goal to stimulate the regional economy, to create added value for the regional products and services, and to break through existing restrictions of sector-oriented approaches to rural development by integrating various activities in order to sell the region. These goals can only be achieved by co-operation between a range of actors on a regional scale while also creating networks and linkages with actors at national or European level. To gain insight in the state-of-the-art of collective rural initiatives in the Netherlands an internet research has been carried out. The overall impression one gets from this is that collective initiatives for rural development are becoming numerous in the Netherlands. For the aim of region branding it is interesting to witness the growing number of regional food and tourism initiatives as well as the combination of these. However, historical embeddedness is still clearly visible. For instance, in the north of the Netherlands agricultural diversification started with environmental co-operatives. This legacy is still visible with regard to the emergence of new collective initiatives. The results of the internet research have been the input for case selection for the third methodological step. The range portrayed needed to be reflected in the case studies and the cases needed to be innovative and inspiring, but it is not the aim to be representative for the range of region branding initiatives in the Netherlands. The three case studies that were chosen for in-depth research were spread throughout the Netherlands: Vallei & Boerderij, Vechtdalproducten and Het Groene Woud. The analysis made clear that there are large differences between the three cases, but commonalities are also recognisable. Although the theory of culture economy implied a central role for culture in reviving local economies, the empirical data showed this is not

the case for the Dutch experiences of region branding. The three case studies use certain cultural elements such as regional products, activities and natural beauty to build an identity but the differentiating power of these elements is rather low. Creating some kind of quality standards is called for in all three cases, in order for them to be recognisable by consumers and to create internal coherence. The way the initiative is supported organisationally and financially appeared to be a crucial issue, as well as the need for both a wide network in the sense of a large variety of actors involved as well as strong horizontal and vertical networks. The main difference between the three is the amount and variety of members with which they start the initiative. Furthermore, they had a different focus on and dynamics between the key identified categories nature, tourism and regional food. Two of the three cases focus on region branding, but have not yet reached this goal. Their trajectories towards achieving this are diverse, although there are some consistencies as well. This means that a blueprint for region branding cannot be identified; multiple trajectories are possible depending on a variety of factors such as contextual, historical, organisational, financial and social. Although the research has been able to answer some of the most pressing questions with regard to the topic of region branding, it has produced many more queries than it has solved. The future of region branding depends on policy developments and the behaviour of actors but there is also a need for more scientific knowledge and conceptual insight into the topic. This thesis presents 11 recommendations for a future research agenda, including the need for a conceptual classification of region branding, how to apply region branding in regions that lack distinctive power, and how to construct an identity in a setting where it has largely disappeared.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................... 1 1.1. Region and branding as key conceptual categories...................................... 3 1.2. Outline of the report............................................................................... 5

2. Research setting & approach ........................................... 7 2.1. Historical developments.......................................................................... 7 2.1.1. Re-localisation................................................................................ 7 2.1.2. Consumer trends ............................................................................ 8 2.1.3. Policy developments.......................................................................10

2.2. Region branding ...................................................................................11 2.2.1. Defining the problem......................................................................16

2.3. Research objectives ..............................................................................17 2.3.1. General objective...........................................................................17 2.3.2. Theoretical objective ......................................................................17

2.4. Research questions ...............................................................................17 2.5. Methodology ........................................................................................18 2.5.1. Qualitative and explorative approach ................................................18 2.5.2. Literature Research ........................................................................18 2.5.3. Empirical research .........................................................................19 2.5.4. Interviews ....................................................................................20 2.5.5. Analysing the data .........................................................................20

3. Theoretical framework................................................... 23 3.1. Culture Economy ..................................................................................23 3.2. Reflecting on Culture Economy within the Dutch context.............................27 3.3. Constructing a theory for the Netherlands ................................................29 3.4. Network dynamics within Dutch region branding .......................................31

4. Overview of initiatives ................................................... 35 4.1. What is out there? ................................................................................35 4.2. Characteristics of initiatives....................................................................38 4.3. Contextual setting.................................................................................43 4.4. Case sampling......................................................................................46

5. Case studies................................................................... 49 5.1. Vallei & Boerderij ..................................................................................49 5.1.1. Characteristics...............................................................................49 5.1.2. Network development.....................................................................51 5.1.3. Future challenges...........................................................................52

5.2. Vechtdalproducten ................................................................................54 5.2.1. Characteristics...............................................................................54

5.2.2. Network development.....................................................................56 5.2.3. Future challenges...........................................................................57

5.3. Het Groene Woud .................................................................................59 5.3.1. Characteristics...............................................................................59 5.3.2. Network development.....................................................................63 5.3.3. Future challenges...........................................................................64

5.4. Comparative analysis ............................................................................66 5.4.1. Different combinations of functions...................................................66 5.4.2. Differences in dynamics & network trajectories ..................................68 5.4.3. Differences in life-cycle dynamics & organisational strategies ...............70 5.4.4. Difficulties in identity creation..........................................................71

6. Conclusions & Recommendations .................................. 75 6.1. Main conclusions...................................................................................75 6.2. Recommendations for a research agenda .................................................77

References ............................................................................. 81

7. Appendices .......................................................................I

Introduction 1

1. Introduction

The gradual transformation of rural areas in the Netherlands and Europe at large is the result of a culmination of trends in the past decades (see e.g. Van der Ploeg & Roep, 2003; OConnor et al, 2006b; Wiskerke, 2004; Goodman & DuPuis, 2002). These trends can be divided into three main processes which have been taking place at various levels in society; (1) agriculture and its changing role in society, (2) the alteration of the countryside and (3) wider societal trends. In order to understand current developments one needs knowledge on historical processes (Van der Ploeg, 2003). Therefore, the three processes will be shortly introduced below to sketch a framework within which this research takes place and region branding initiatives emerge. First, agriculture and its role in society are changing. Modernisation was long the controlling and pre-eminent model in the Netherlands, focusing on intensification and specialisation to increase productivity. Although it was the dominant paradigm, it was not the only one; an undercurrent of alternative developments was present throughout. The most significant one, sustainable rural development, increasingly gained momentum while the importance and power of the modernisation model diminished (see figure 1). Predominantly, there was a change in dominance and not so much in what was actually going on. Newly created images of farming and rural life did no longer correspond with the frameworks at hand; the farm boundaries were challenged1 (Ventura & Milone, 2004). Thus, the modernisation paradigm failed to coincide with reality which induced a search for new concepts and approaches that would be better able to capture prevalent processes and thus understand the evolving empirical realities. Figure 1 Development process of the two most significant paradigms; sustainable rural

development gaining significance at the expense of modernisation.

Sustainable rural development focuses on three main processes in Dutch farm strategies: deepening, broadening and regrounding (Van der Ploeg et al, 2003). Farmers no longer base their income solely on primary production as was advocated by the modernisation paradigm. They diversify into a broader perspective of income generators and are thus 1 The variety of empirical realities with regard to farms and farm systems became less narrow, which made defining farms and farm systems more difficult; distinctions were more subtle and boundaries less rigid. This process towards diversification in practice against a desire for unification at policy level is described in detail in Van der Ploeg (1995).

Modernisation

Sustainable rural development

time

significance

2 Branching, Banding & Blending

increasingly becoming rural entrepreneurs instead of just being a farmer (Van der Ploeg & Roep, 2003). The range of activities is wide, from small campsites to on-farm product processing and selling. Within the modernisation paradigm food supply chains had become narrow and long, resulting in a disconnection of farmers and consumers. With new practices, farmers try to influence their products image by creating added value and defining distinctive product qualities. They try to reduce the distance between them and consumers and simultaneously regain control over the food chain. However, such farm-based endogenous development is built on specific types of knowledge suited to the context, which have been largely lost in the Netherlands. During the dominant period of modernisation, policies were designed to re-educate farmers (towards modernisation practices) which evidently led to a loss of context specific expertise, such as tacit, indigenous and local knowledge (Van der Ploeg, 2003). The second process is the changing role and composition of the countryside and the appearance of region-oriented instead of sector-oriented approaches to rural development. Agriculture is no longer the sole player in the Dutch countryside; rural areas have the potential to fulfil various tasks that go beyond the production of just foods and fibres. The countryside transforms from a pure production space to a production and consumption space (Marsden et al, 1993). As a consequence, the countryside is becoming a place of interest to a much wider range of actors than just farmers (Caalders, 2000). New interrelations between city and countryside are formed in which various types of activities emerge. Re-connections between urban and rural areas are shaped which leads to the blurring of boundaries between these. According to OECD standards the Netherlands do not have any predominantly rural areas (Caalders, 2000), but Dutch policy does distinguish between these. This difference in definitions exemplifies the growing complexity in the field, where boundaries between urban and rural can be better defined on a continuum than rigidly separated. Moreover, more interest is being paid to new forms of collective action in rural development practices, embodied in for example the European LEADER programmes and growing scientific research on similar topics2. Instead of competing, farmers and local inhabitants seek co-operation to collectively valorise rural resources. In various European countries examples can be found where such initiatives produce, process and sell products on a regional scale (Brunori and Rossi, 2001; Midmore et al, 2004). The region has become the new level of integration. These developments are supported by changing regulations on a European scale, such as the formation of the second pillar in the Common Agricultural Policy for the support of rural development programmes. Thirdly, a range of wider societal trends influence policies and practices in agriculture and rural areas. Due to the food scares of the late 1990s consumers are more conscious of and interested in food production. They are willing to pay more for quality products and demand food supply chains to be more transparent (Watts et al, 2005). At the same time there is a trend of consumers searching for the real thing, for authenticity and meaning in their life. In a globalising world where everything is for sale, people are confronted with millions of impulses daily. It is difficult if not impossible to create a structure in this confusion and homogenisation. Companies, organisations and governments are constantly seducing and deluding individuals to bind them to their products and services. However, there is so much on offer that it is a big challenge to these businesses to position themselves in a distinguishing and unique way. Here, images and symbolic

2 Much attention is being paid to the role of tourism in rural development (see for example Rahmann, 1997; Telfer, 2000; Boyne et al, 2001; Oliver and Jenkins, 2003). A much smaller though important body of literature on co-operation in the countryside in regional sense is on the rise. The work of Brunori and Rossi (2001) is an interesting approach to synergy creation and collaboration between a range of actors in the Tuscan countryside on the case of wine routes.

Introduction 3

meanings are becoming more and more prominent in reaching consumers. People do not simply buy products anymore, they buy experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 1999). Images are connected to logos to bind people to specific products, companies, places and experiences (Klein, 1999). Changes in lifestyle, the process of globalisation versus growing regional significance (Swyngedouw, 1997) and the ambiguous character of consumers versus citizens are all part of wider societal trends that influence practice and policy. Although the three main processes are described separately, in practice they interact and intersect. Processes do not take place one after the other but always simultaneously. At some points shifts do occur, but for the majority of time multiple processes take place, as is exemplified in figure 1. Modernisation and sustainable rural development have co-existed for a long time, although currently we are at the crossroads of both approaches (the area between the dotted lines). For instance, in the Netherlands it soon appeared that modernisation could not be successful in some regions and for specific categories of farms. Alternatives sprouted and slowly gained significance. It turned out that concepts which had been used until then no longer sufficed; they could not capture all elements in the process. Agritourism for instance is a new phenomenon in the countryside which cannot be adequately studied within traditional agricultural sciences nor within tourism studies, and thus requires new integrated approaches.

1.1. REGION AND BRANDING AS KEY CONCEPTUAL CATEGORIES

A key element in newly emerging approaches to rural development is the region as level of integration with identity as a central theme in rural development. Identities of farmers and consumers alike have transformed, but above all are under attention. Identities are created and developed to formulate region specificity and thus to increase economic opportunities for regions. The next logical step is to make an identity and region known to the outside world to be able to actually valorise regional resources. Branding is an emerging concept which can be used as an instrument to respond to such processes. Creating a region brand and selling it as such could be an option for rural areas. It could strengthen social coherence, offer economic prosperity, reinforce traditions and identity, and create back-linkages in economic and cultural sense. However, branding is a frequently used and widely applied concept which makes it a precarious notion to use. As Anholt (2005) rightly points out brand as a word and as a concept is used in all sorts of contexts and circumstances without being specified and laid out in detail. He fears for brand to become overly used and eventually synonymous with bad thing. Misfortunately, because then [..] it risks blinding people to the real economic and social values which the discipline of branding can bring if responsibly and imaginatively applied (ibid: 116). A quick scan in various literatures underlines the volatility of the concept of branding. Because of its origin in the field of marketing and still strong focus on it the concept is mostly applied in corporate environments where it serves to boost a products or companys image and is therefore not concerned with a network of actors but with one actor. Product identity is at the centre of the rather practical focus3 and not a region or a basket of (public) goods and services which is what we are talking about when discussing rural development. The brand serves as a thin top layer to communicate with potential buyers. Progressively, the use of branding is expanding into other fields. In tourism studies the concept has been taken up in the form

3 Although scientific approaches to the concept are available, much of the literature focuses on a more managerial approach to branding. In this respect see for example Doyle (1994) or Kapferer (1997).


of destination branding4, where a strong link is made with the place or locality of service provision. The concept seems apt for tourism studies and has therefore led to a more specific and systematic conceptual analysis in the field5. However, as branding takes on interest from various fields it not only becomes a multi-disciplinary concept, but also looses strength due to decreasing visibility and meaning attached to it. One can now read about personal branding, co-branding, corporate branding, city branding, public branding, network branding, geo branding and region branding. Various authors have tried to systematise this proliferation of concepts by distinguishing between different types of brands (e.g. Hankinson, 2004; Anholt, 2005). However, the exact meaning of branding is subject to dispute, between fields but also within certain fields of application (Kapferer, 1997). Figure 2 Role of place branding within current processes in the Dutch countryside. It has the

potential to connect all three relevant processes in Dutch rural development.

Despite its ambiguous character the concept of branding is applied widely, also increasingly in rural development. However, most branding applications mainly respond to societal trends while in rural development there are two more important processes to be dealt with. A region has the potential to connect different developments and create coherence but its application needs to be much more than simply imaging an area with a glossy logo or magazine; [it] is not something you add on top: it is something that goes underneath (Anholt, 2005: 121). The locality is an important level of integration in rural development which needs to be captured by the concept as well as creating an identity which stimulates both the regional economy and creates synergies. Place branding as a concept specifically connects places to brands and has the potential to connect all three processes as exemplified in figure 2. It can integrate various issues from a holistic point of view to question and identify what kind of economy, identity and agriculture we need and how this can be supported with policies, subsidies and/or marketing channels. Collective action is intrinsically defined in the concept which is needed when analysing rural development issues. However, to date no analysis has been carried out to create structure in the complexity of rural development and branding literature with regard to the Dutch situation. How and under what conditions regions might benefit from branding are central issues to be discussed. Therefore, intelligibility on and insight in these issues needs to be increased. This research tries to achieve this goal by sketching the current Dutch situation on region branding on the basis of case studies, literature and internet research. 4 The research by Morgan et al (2003) on destination branding in New Zealand is an archetypal study in this field. It shows how a destination brand in this case 100% pure New Zealand can successfully be strategised and managed to sell a place. 5 See for example Hankinson (2004) who tries to design a conceptual model of place brands and thus sets a research agenda for place branding.

Place branding

Process 3 (societal trends)

Process 1 (agricultural changes)

Process 2 (regional developments)

Introduction 5

1.2. OUTLINE OF THE REPORT

This report contains six chapters, the first of which is presented here. Chapter 2 outlines the research setting and its approach, which includes the formulation of research questions and the used methodology. The report continues in chapter 3 with presenting a theoretical framework for the research, which is built on the basis of an existing theory but specified to the Dutch situation. Chapters 4 and 5 present the results of the empirical research. Chapter 4 describes in detail the results of an internet research on collective initiatives in the Netherlands, which is elaborated on with field research of three case studies described in chapter 5. The three cases are described separately in detail after which they are compared in an analysis where theorical conceptions are linked to the empirical data. Finally, chapter 6 discusses overall results of this research and offers some recommendations for a future research agenda.

Research setting & approach 7

2. Research setting & approach

This chapter specifies the research topic by shortly sketching historical settings which illuminate current development trajectories and the role region branding plays. It then goes on to define the problem statement, research objectives and questions and finally the methodology which supported this study.

2.1. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS

When talking about rural development in the Netherlands, one needs to discuss its 20th century history. For the understanding of current processes such as the emergence of region branding it is vital to have knowledge on historical trajectories which still strongly influence Dutch contemporary practices. Certain patterns are distinguishable in the Netherlands, as shortly laid out in the introduction. This helps to create a framework within which region branding acts out. The modernisation paradigm with rather intensive and specialised forms of farming was very dominant in the Netherlands. It was pushed much further than in other European countries, especially due to re-education programmes which made transformation to alternative approaches and practices much more difficult. However, regional approaches are increasingly on the agenda while policy and scientific advances to rural development have also changed radically. To understand why region branding is an approach which attracts much attention, the next paragraphs sketch Dutch historical developments divided into three sub-themes.

2.1.1. Re-localisation

Globalisation is an inevitable subject when discussing rural development. The increasing speed with which world wide networks are built results in the rise of ever larger and more complex agro-food systems. The farmer plays only a small part in this process. To keep up with global competition, farmers specialised into producing one commodity instead of a diverse package of goods and services (Roep & Wiskerke, 2004). This in turn means an increase in commoditisation of farming; when specialised in one product it is impossible to produce all inputs needed. Thus, farmers become more dependent on formal markets to buy and sell their goods with a diminishing prominence of informal markets and endogenous development processes (Van der Ploeg & Van Dijk, 1995). To sell bulk products local selling points are evidently not sufficient, resulting in extension of selling across borders. As this process has taken place over decades, food marketing channels have expanded considerably with the current state of affairs of extensive and complex global production and consumption chains (Winter, 2003). Towards the late 1960s various social, natural, economical and cultural problems that sprung from the intensification of food production were acknowledged6 and gave rise to alternative approaches to gain interest and significance. The notion of sustainability was born7 and later applied to various fields, among which agriculture. Here, important concepts that emerged include co-production, endogenous development and local knowledge (Van der Ploeg & Long, 1994). One important aspect that came out of sustainable rural development is that of re-localisation, which means to turn again to local resources to limit the commoditisation 6 Rachel Carsons Silent Spring (1962) is generally seen as the first critical report about the negative externalities of agriculture and the realisation that the environment did not have an infinite capacity to absorb pollutants. 7 The report Our Common Future of the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 (publicly known as the Brundtland Report by the Club of Rome) introduced the term sustainable development after which is was adopted quickly and spread throughout the (scientific) world.


and market dependence of agricultural production (Watts et al, 2005). As a result of modernisation, food production was increasingly disconnected from its regional locus. Existing resources were employed in new ways to create added value for farmers incomes. This reaction was a counter act to increasing globalisation but did certainly not replace it. Farmers look for new ways to add value to their products by e.g. selling locally to customers instead of taking products to the global market (Knickel, 2006). By designing new short networks that rely heavily on local resources, farmers limit their dependence and try to regain power in the food chain. Here, we come to another aspect of re-localisation: the role nature plays in agricultural production. The food industry searches for ways to minimise the need for nature in food production, reducing it to a minor factor. If technologically possible, large multinational companies would ideally eliminate nature from the production process altogether (Murdoch et al, 2000). Thus, nature is almost entirely disembedded from agricultural production according to the modernisation paradigm. Concerns about the environment, food safety and quality have been articulated for some time, but it was not until the end of the 1990s that these issues took centre stage. The sequence of food scares accelerated the process already taking place, namely that the exclusion of nature from production would backfire. Consumers have become reluctant to buy bulk products and turn to individual farmers to secure quality and safety (Knickel, 2006). People want to know the origin of their products and need to be sure their food is natural. This has stimulated a place-based development approach. Although the attention for ecological embeddedness had diverse consequences8, it clearly gave rise to alternative practices that re-embedded nature into production practices. The inextricable link between man and nature in the existence of specific ruralities was stressed (Van der Ploeg, 1997). Craftmanship or the artisanal mode of production is important to the diversity of rural areas as it counteracts the standardisation and routinisation of farming, conceptualised as the transformation and reproduction of living nature by man (Frouws, 1998: 58). Thus, the environment and its resources are more than simply a dcor for living; they are the vital basis on which rural development in all its facets rests ecological, economic, social. This realisation stimulated the emergence of a range of regional and local foods that are embedded in and dependent on specific local circumstances.

2.1.2. Consumer trends

The production side of agriculture has long been the central focus. By various mechanisms farmers were encouraged to produce bulk products for the global market. There was little variation in the price and quality of products as it was believed consumers would simply buy what was being offered on the shelves without demanding any additional information about the production process or origin of the ingredients, nor demanding a specific quality (Van der Ploeg & Roep, 2003). Products were produced with a minimal, negative quality attached, which avoided food safety and health problems but which also lacked added value. However, living standards in Europe were raised which resulted in a general emphasis on quality of life issues (OConnor et al, 2006a). Animal welfare, social equitability and environmental concerns were among the themes that came under societal attention. One can speak of a shift from disconnection to

8 The concern for localilty and sustainability set all sorts of developments in motion, some of which were not stimulating for an alternative food paradigm (Watts et al, 2005). Nature was back on the agenda, but in some cases it was simply used as a marketing strategy rather than a real change to production practices. In other instances, it resulted in the growth of organic and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. In yet another way, increased legislation concerning food safety hampered the development of certain alternative sometimes built on traditions food production systems (Van der Ploeg & Roep, 2003).


reconnection. Consumers started to become involved in the process of food production and consumption by demanding differentiation in what was on offer in the shops (Murdoch et al, 2000). The food chain became reversed; instead of production oriented its focus shifted to consumption with retailers playing a key role as dominant marketing channel and acting as guardians of the concerned consumer. It appeared that the consumer does not exist, it is a rather heterogeneous group with varying idea(l)s in relation to agriculture and its future. Some are prepared to pay for products that come from farms which take care of the environment, others are willing to travel to individual farms to buy products directly from them to ensure the products traceability. However, it is not all about sustainability concerns. Consumers rise in living standards has resulted in a more hedonistic lifestyle. Food that tastes good, which is healthy and easy to prepare is a popular and growing market segment. People are prepared to pay for products that look good in order for them to feel good. Farmers have reacted in various ways to these changing consumer demands some start small on-farm shops, others convert to organic farming or start processing special products. A range of differentiated products and production processes has been the result9. One of the important mechanisms behind the renewed interest in the rural is that of the post-industrial consumer (Ray, 1998). Until the Enlightenment Period rural areas were seen as threatening, as areas which had to be mastered by human beings, by industrialisation. During the Romantic Period these perceptions changed into a respect for nature and its pureness, especially nature as wilderness was highly appreciated (Van Koppen, 1997). Currently, one can talk about a period of neo-Romanticism. After an era of modernisation, the consumer is now mainly a post-modern one who idealised the countryside as a place where one can chase the roots of his existence (Bessire, 1998). Although different images of the countryside as threat, productive area, picturesque recreational space have always co-existed, the emphasis is continuously changing (Van den Berg & Koole, 2006). In the eyes of the post-modern consumers, farmers are the real people, the authentic representatives of our historical roots who know what true life is about and how to earn an honest living. Scholars talk in this respect about the construction of a rural idyll (Van Dam et al, 2002); images that people create of the countryside which may not and often do not correspond with reality. The rural idyll can be defined as the locus of innocence, uncorrupted by the iniquities of low life in the city or the fashionable vices of high society (Pritchard and Morgan, 2003). The emergence of such romanticised ideas of the countryside is connected to various (consumer) trends in society to date, such as creative class, experience economy, sense of place and cultural markers10. The overarching essence in these trends is the changing role of identity. The boundaries of identities and localities are getting blurred. People are continuously searching for themselves, a place or space to identify with and to be included in. In a world which is globalising in such a speed as it is today belonging to something or someone becomes increasingly difficult albeit important. People are confronted with millions of impulses daily only a fraction of which they can respond to. In fact, people are consciously and unconsciously culture hopping to see and experience what is out there in order to choose and adapt those elements which fit them

9 The differentiated reaction was not specific to the Netherlands. OConnor et al (2006b) describe clearly how these processes gave rise to the creation of a diversified and alternative countryside as we know it today. They show how sustainable rural development is differently embodied in 7 EU countries. It gives an insight into the high variety of practices employed in these countries in response to the same macro-processes taking place in society. 10 There are numerous books and articles written on these topics. It goes beyond the scope of this research to attend to this topic in depth. For interesting literature on the topic see for instance Pine & Gilmore (1999) on the experience economy, Florida (2002) on creative class, Gupta & Ferguson (1997) on sense of place and Ray (1998) on cultural markers.


best. Producers react to this trend by constantly creating and recreating products and services to cater for the hungry consumer. On the other hand, consumers are looking for authenticity. They feel lost in their own contemporary society and thus turn to the past to search for meaning there an example being the earlier mentioned rural idyll. Many believe that in the past people still had true identities as they belonged to clearly defined localised communities. The lack of a sense of place combined with the constant drive towards new and unique experiences makes it difficult for producers to bind consumers to their products and services. It is their challenge to develop a long-term strategy with clear product positioning and a distinctive image, which appeals to people in such a way that they do not loose interest quickly. People want an ever richer more diverse and wider diet which demands producers to be flexible but more importantly, to have a wide variety of products on offer. At the same time it offers opportunities for farmers to create or invent distinctive, cultural and traditional products. As Tregear (2003: 98) puts it: ..[typical foods] represent means by which urbanites indulge nostalgic desires to return to rural roots [] offering a moral and aesthetic anchor in the post-industrial world. The key issue is that consumers are open to and interested in a large variety of products and services especially with a unique and authentic character but are at the same time quickly distracted by other true-to-life experiences.

2.1.3. Policy developments

The trend of growing importance attached to rural regions does not go unnoticed with policy makers; in fact, regulations stimulated many practices currently taking place. Over the course of years, national as well as European governments have set up a gamut of programmes, schemes and projects to both initiate and respond to new rural developments. Under the concept of rural renewal in Dutch policy, rural areas have become the focus of multifunctionality in particular recreational and natural values and functions. Recreation and tourism are the prime appointed functions to strengthen the rural economy (Caalders, 2000). In these policy approaches, the concept of regionalism plays an important role. Policies are increasingly designed at regional level where it is tried to tie together various (economic) activities instead of development at sector level11. For instance, conserving natural values is incorporated with economic entrepreneurship instead of creating separate national parks for nature protection and agricultural areas for economic activity. Regional development in the Netherlands was stimulated with specific national policies rather than the European Unions LEADER programmes. Although LEADER played an important role in many EU countries, in the Netherlands it was not until the LEADER+ programmes that they were implemented on a national scale12 (Farrell et al, 1999). The important change in conceptualisation is that the countryside is no longer seen as a place just for food production; it is an area where an array of activities can take place which strengthen the local economy and valorise local resources. In this respect a process of delegating decisions downstream is taking place (Berger, 2003), putting rural

11 The region as policy level originates in the late 1980s with the ROM-policies where environmental goals were defined on a regional level (Gijsberts, 1995). This was followed by the WCL-policies which were not only regionally focused but also integrated various functions within a certain region (Ministerie van LNV, 1992). These were later followed by Belvedre (Feddes, 1999) and Agenda Vitaal Platteland (Ministerie van LNV, 2004). The latter one was the first time the government presented an integral approach to rural development. Recently, the brochure Veelzijdig Platteland (Coperatie Stadteland, 2007) has been disclosed, which is a combined effort of private and public institutes to get attention for the need to increase co-operation between various actors in the countryside for a vital and strong rural space. 12 LEADER 1 was disregarded altogether, LEADER 2 was implemented in the Netherlands on a small scale for trial, and LEADER+ was implemented on a national scale.


people in the spot where it happens13. Bottom-up approaches are on the rise and are an important part of various new modes of rural governance that are based on participative principles. Thus, local people have more power over and influence on what happens at local level, which inspires them to set up new initiatives. In turn, this results in traditions being (re)invented to preserve localness and develop socio-economic vibrancy (Ray, 1998). Entrepreneurs and consultants take advantage of the opportunities offered, resulting in numerous initiatives being set up as well as rural advisory agencies emanating frequently. The countryside has grown to become a popular destination to escape daily reality and search for a (long lost) identity; the rural being the place where the real thing takes place. Identity is hence another issue which has gained significant interest in rural policies and schemes. During the dominant period of modernisation, the countryside was regarded as a faceless space where identity was irrelevant. Food was produced, which was the most important and in fact for many the only purpose of the countryside. Differences between regions were decreasing. However, with the emergence of sustainable rural development as an important approach the rural space is slowly transformed into rural places. Regions rediscover and redefine their identities and try to connect this to products and services. In the Netherlands however, the process of modernisation was carried out more thoroughly and fiercely than in other countries, resulting in a severe loss of traditions and culture. As Tregear (2003:97) rightly notices: [] a whole generation grew up with little inherited food culture to call upon and only a restricted culinary repertoire to practice. As a result, identity only appeared on the Dutch policy agenda in 199914. The emergence of identity is a sign of the multitudinous character of the rural development debate. Not only the government but various private, public and voluntary actors take part in the governing process. Consumers, producers, retailers, governments and other actors are together deciding the routes to follow. This development is in line with the global process of a shift from government to governance in which identity is seen as a starting point for regional development (Knickel, 2006).

2.2. REGION BRANDING

The trends sketched above induce certain innovations which develop in specific ways due to given historical settings. Region branding is such a phenomenon. It responds to globalisation by formulating distinctive powers between regions. Branding in general is a strategy to create competitive advantage in an era where competition is ever increasing. As people no longer need to choose between regions in close proximity to their homes and the rate and amount of information on display is mounting, regions need to compete on a global scale. To prevent single visits to regions or the outflow of economic revenue from regions, creating a brand and corresponding identity seems an inevitable and above all promising strategy. A similar trend is discernable with cities, which need to profile themselves to compete on a global scale; Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, New York, Beijing. Amsterdam has created the brand and identity of I Amsterdam to stress its innovative, creative and entrepreneurial identity (www.iamsterdam.com). The goal of such branding is to create certain images which the city wants people to have of the city and not to find a common identity among all parties involved on which to further build on. Such city 13 Within the European Union this is reflected in the principle of subsidiarity: allowing more autonomy for regions by shifting the locus of decision making to the lowest most appropriate level (Van Kersbergen & Van Waarden, 2004). 14 This first appearance of identity was in the report Made in Holland (Raad voor het Landelijk Gebied, 1999) by the Council for the Rural Areas. The report presents numerous examples where to find what kind of identities in the Netherlands. The report has had a strong influence on subsequent policies by the Dutch government in which identity played a role.


branding mainly serves a marketing goal to attract visitors and investors instead of an internal branding idea on which the city can prosper. City branding is above all a strategy to attract tourists to the city and not to simultaneously develop internal coherence or synergy within the citys borders. This aspect of city branding is fundamentally different from that of region branding within the framework of sustainable rural development. Attracting tourists to rural regions only fulfils part of the goals of region branding. For regions, branding serves a deeper and more internal goal: by making use of local resources it aims to preserve and strengthen the regions identity and create synergy and coherence between economic activities and land-uses at regional level. In order to reach these goals it is vital that a large variety of actors profit, non-profit, private, public work together in designing a long term strategy. Eventually, these actors together need to create a region story which can be told in order to meet the set goals. In practice, region branding is not so uniformly defined; it appears in a variety of different ways (see previous sections). When browsing the internet, the main focus of regions seems to remain rather superficial. Region branding is often equalled with regional marketing plus tourism marketing15, an equation which very much relates to city branding. Elsewhere, it is described as substantially investing in marketing and brand policy (www.loketplattelandstoerisme.nl), again little more than a thin layer of promotion language. These forms of region branding respond much more to consumer trends than to the more profound processes described in previous sections (see also figure 2 on page 4). Successful region branding which addresses current challenges of rural areas should balance between the internal and external actors, values and preferences, which is a difficult and delicate business. The external consumer side is easily overstressed while neglecting the internal mechanisms. In this sense branding often tries to create [] an image that taps into peoples perceived values and lifestyle (Ind, 2003:8). In order to create that image and reach the cultural creatives16 the message needs to be one of lifestyle, so that consumers see there is something in it for them, i.e. the ego-centric consumer. If branding evolves in this direction and successfully establishes a trust relation with consumers they can enhance consumers sense of well-being and even further their sense of self, and thus respond to the main consumer trends in society. Although this may be a successful strategy, it insufficiently addresses rural endogenous development possibilities and structures, which are vital to rural development processes.

An example of a more profound and fundamental approach to the concept of region branding is the Baltic Sea Region (see box 1). It is one of the many European regions17 that are applying the concept of branding according to them one of a total of 800 EU region brands. Regions make use of the notion in very different ways with various outcomes and rates of successfulness. In the case of the Baltic Sea Region, the plan is laid out in detail and seems well-discussed and thought through. According to the information on the website, it gives the impression of being an example of region branding in a more profound way. Although it does not deal with specific agricultural developments, it is built on more than a simple marketing strategy. It brings together an

15 Thus, it is only about combining marketing forces, rather than basing it on local capacities and knowledges. There is no creation of local coherence and synergy on which to build a brand such as is tried by the Baltic Sea Region (see Box 1). 16 See Florida (2002) for an explanation of the rise of the cultural class in which the so-called cultural creatives bloom. 17 The term region is used with various levels of scale. The Baltic Sea Region crosses 11 countries whereas in this research regions are small areas within provinces in one country. Although the Baltic Sea Region is thus not an appropriate example of the scale of region branding, it is chosen to exemplify the approach which is chosen to brand the region.


array of (public and private) actors who collectively develop a regional story on which an identity can be built.

In addition to the intricateness of region branding already presented, the specific rural setting and historical trajectories in which it is embedded also play a crucial role. In fact, we need to take the analysis a step further than the Baltic Sea Region has done. The state-of-the-art in the Dutch countryside has been described in previous sections. The culmination of trends and developments, both agricultural and non-agricultural, have induced alternative forms of development. The reactions to the trends have been various but generally there was a need to search for new forms of income generation. Initially,

Box 1: Branding the Baltic Sea Region Despite all of its achievements, the Baltic Sea Region still has a somewhat unclear image and is little known in the global context, and that is why this branding initiative is paramount: to fully unlock, develop and communicate the potential of its people, companies, organisations and institutions. Simply announcing the Regions existence will not attract tourists or investment. Nor will it attract the best and the brightest. The outside world needs to be given motivating reasons for choosing to visit, to live and to do business in the Region. There is no reason to wait setting a branding effort in motion although there is still need for developing the Region internally. Creating a stronger regional identity is an ongoing process that will take years to achieve; it will not be carved in stone, it will evolve as the Region evolves. Branding a region is very different than branding a product. A consumer brand can be discontinued, modified, withdrawn from the market, re-launched, re-positioned or replaced by improved products, a region cannot. Branding a region has to be an amplification of what is already there, not a fabrication and has to relate to the Regions people and any change in the image has to be accepted by them. It is a highly complex and sophisticated business, especially for a region encompassing 11 countries and it can only succeed through thorough planning and analysis and, most importantly, the back up and inclusion of a multitude of stakeholders, both private and public. Branding the Baltic Sea Region is about crystallizing and promoting a stronger and more competitive identity for the Region through a clearly articulated sense of common purpose. It is a long-term plan for earning and maintaining a distinctive, positive and competitive regional reputation, both within the Region and around the world. It will be achieved through a strategic, harmonised and audience-aware approach to innovation, policy making, international relations and public diplomacy, investment and export promotion, tourism and cultural relations. Building a brand for this Region is a complex and very delicate matter given its linguistic, cultural, political and historical diversity. It's far from a textbook example, it's a virgin voyage.

1. We must come up with a brand story for the whole Region which is inspiring and magnetic, yet credible.

2. We must then infect as many organisations and people as possible with the brand story, and explain why it is in the interest of all stakeholders to promote this story in their own activities and communications.

3. Then we will select a number of initiatives, institutions, firms, events, individuals or other exemplars of the brand strategy from each point of the branding hexagon (culture, policy, tourism, brands, people, and investment) which will form the necklace of a powerful regional brand.

4. We should provide every possible encouragement, support and incentive to encourage these independent cells to succeed and to gain a high international profile.

5. We must help to publicise their success, never losing an opportunity to teach the world that these successes could not have happened outside the Baltic Sea Region.

Quoted and summarised from www.brandingbsr.org


farmers experimented with various activities individually, but they progressively join forces by setting up organisations for reviving rural areas. Many initiatives18 are being set up ranging from direct selling of farm products to agritourism, on-farm activities, organic and care farming. The synergy created by working together is an important reason for co-operation. Synergy can be defined as linkages between two or more entities, whose joint effort produce effects that are quantitatively and qualitatively more far reaching than the effects of similar entities when they operate alone: E(a+b)>E(a)+E(b) (Brunori & Rossi, 2000: 410). Figure 3 The collective initiative of farmers, entrepreneurs, governments and other actors

together create an array of products which serve as the basis for the region as a product and thus for region branding. Each arrow represents a flow of products, services, goods etc. provided by a collective group of actors.

However, many of these initiatives remain at the level of collectively selling products, rather than collectively creating an overarching region product that reflects a certain culture in order to sell the region as such; i.e. region branding. The region becomes the product, albeit an intangible one, to be sold. The region product entails a combination of physical products, services, public goods, experiences and images: tasting foods, enjoying the landscape, traditions, people, nature, crafts; i.e. to breathe localness (see figure 3). It is this combination of controllable and external variables that is only achievable by combining efforts (Brunori & Rossi, 2000). The silence, the landscape and the variety of food offered in the region are an effort of collective action, complemented with personal flavour (e.g. hospitality) of every single actor in the collective. It is especially the integration of the efforts of the different actors that creates the added value to the tourist experience rather than the sum of outputs of the single producers (Caalders, 2000). It is exactly this kind of synergy that is ideally created by region branding. It is a different approach to synergy than which is often understood; from a higher level of aggregation. The initial creation and success of region branding thus not only depend on individual activities, it concerns an array of private and public actors

18 In this research the words initiative, co-operation, collaboration and group are all used to indicate the same: a group of people working together. As the Penguin concise English dictionary (Allen, 2002) puts it: To work together on a common project or with a common aim (Allen, 2002).

Region as product

Actors (collectivity)

Physical products Services

Public goods Culture


together creating an aggregate region brand as a marker for individual products and services (see figure 4). Figure 4 The left figure represents initiatives that simply combine marketing powers without

creating a new product together. They do fall under the term synergy creation, but at a lower level of aggregation than the right one. This latter one represents region branding, where partners together create a new region product i.e. the region as product.

This idea of region branding has been employed in various European regions, such as Bregenzerwald in Austria (see Box 2). A network of alliances is set up to create a range of products around the main product, namely the region. This concept is based on a kind of synergy where various local actors appropriate local knowledge in such a way that they collectively build a solid network by which the region and its distinctive identity can be marketed and sold as one product. Although the initiative starts with local actors, a successful network employs resources from all levels of wider (rural) society. The concept of glocalisation (Swyngedouw, 1997) explains the use of this controversy of endogenous and exogenous factors. Although employing local resources and building on regional strengths and opportunities it is an approach which is successful in the light of time, global processes cannot be neglected or disregarded. An intricate play between local and global, endogenous and exogenous factors determines rural development processes. As Amin (2002: 387) states: The post-1970s wave of globalisation has significantly decentred the role of the national scale as a self-enclosed container of socio-economic relations, such that we are witnessing a re-scaling of territoriality which includes the increased importance of both sub- and supranational forms of territorial organization. He further explains the concept of glocalisation by saying that [g]lobalisation represents the breakdown and reconstitution of spatial scales [] involving clashes of scale and contested boundaries. The[ changing spatial requirements] are not seen as mutually exclusive or parallel scalar configurations, but as intersecting and overlapping scales, leading to the restructuring of places as territories as they engage in the multiscalar processes and politics (ibid). It is exactly this process within which region branding takes place, it is a development combining various levels of society in new and challenging ways.

Product A

Product B

Public good A

Service A


2.2.1. Defining the problem

With a total number of 800 initiatives in Europe (according to www.brandingbsr.org) region branding seems a notion which attracts a lot of attention. The developments in this field have not gone unnoticed in the Netherlands either. As mentioned before, Dutch rural regions constantly respond to mechanisms in society, agriculture and the countryside in general. Besides, many developments in rural Netherlands take place on a European wide scale. People learn from each other in different regions and apply for similar projects and programmes. A quick scan on the internet shows that collective initiatives in the Dutch countryside emerge throughout the country and grow quickly in number and size. The approaches of these initiatives are increasingly on a regional scale where co-operation is sought between farmers, citizens, nature organisations, multi-level governments, and others. It is or may be the start of region branding initiatives. However, the actual presence of explicit region branding is still largely lacking in the Netherlands at least, on the basis of a swift internet research. Conceptual research on region branding within the field of rural development studies is just as rare to find. Even if Dutch region branding initiatives do exist, they are not articulated clearly to the outside world and thus can the problem be defined: there is a strong lack of information on region branding in the Netherlands, both in conceptual as well as in empirical sense. Dutch rural development processes are different from other European countries, which makes the underlying reasons for the emergence of region branding and the patterns in which these are constructed interesting to analyse. New initiatives are set up for certain reasons, with particular world views and ideas about concepts such as region branding. Therefore, this research tries to shed light on this process in the Netherlands and how region branding is embodied in the Dutch countryside. Before analysing the employment of the concept one needs to have a clear view of what is out there in Dutch rural areas. Is region branding really absent in the form defined for this research? Clearly, processes are taking place and collective initiatives are set up, but what are these, how are they organised and which developments influenced them most? These are but a few of the many questions to be asked with regard to the research topic. The next section goes more into detail on the objectives and specific questions delineated for this research.

Box 2: The Ksestrasse Bregenzerwald Ksestrasse Bregenzerwald is an alliance of Bregenzerwalder farmers, landlords, lodging-house keepers, craftsmen and other businesses. All members and partners of the Ksestrasse contribute to conserve the Bregenzerwalder landscape and its traditional, region specific products. The Ksestrasse Bregenzerwald is more than just a route on which one can buy all sorts of cheeses. It is a hallmark for a rural region, a network of producers and entrepreneurs, a philosophy of harmony between farmers quality products and modern marketing, an ecological well thought-out, economical interesting experience-place for guests and locals alike. The silage free character of the Bregenzerwald is a major marketing asset and makes it easier to show a story behind the product which concerns nature, which concerns culture: there are human beings, there are animals which are kept, unlike in other regions. Thus, it is not only about marketing a range of products, it is an entire philosophy of safeguarding regional traditions and local specificities for the future. Although cheese is a central product the producers are not the only important actors in the alliance. Together with craftsmen and lodge keepers, tourists and locals are offered an experience of the region, by presenting a range of activities and products that together constitute the product Ksestrasse Bregenzerwald.

Translated and summarised from www.kaesestrasse.at


2.3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The problem defined in the previous paragraph is divided into an empirical and a conceptual part. The research objectives put forward and explained below correspond to this division: a general objective connected to the practical and empirical side of the research, and a theoretical objective corresponding with the current conceptual gap in region branding research in the Netherlands which will help to set an agenda for future research.

2.3.1. General objective

The previous sections have shed light on the multiplicity and complexity of region branding as a new phenomenon in rural development processes. Region branding is hot so to speak, which leads to a great diversity in its application and appearance. Currently, there is a richness in definitions and implementations, not only between countries but also within countries. However, little knowledge on these characteristics is available with regard to region branding in the Netherlands. Therefore, the general purpose of this research is to clarify the current Dutch situation on region branding in order to be able to formulate a definition of region branding in the specific Dutch context. All current as well as future initiatives can benefit from the outcomes by taking notice of the challenges and pitfalls, as well as other development issues on region branding. Actors with various backgrounds involved in region branding in the widest sense can learn from contemporary processes and insights in order to act on it more appropriately.

2.3.2. Theoretical objective

On a conceptual level, the results of this research will increase understanding of how theoretical notions are being framed in practice. Little documentation is available at present on the phenomenon of region branding. Most of the literature is focused on shortening food supply chains, multifunctionality, new sources of income generation inside and outside the farm, and alternative production and consumption practices. Region branding could be a viable option for farmers and rural inhabitants alike to revive their region socially, economically and culturally. It is a subject which is not only of concern to farmers although they do play a central role but involves many more actors in the countryside. It has already been said that new collaborations and alliances are sought in rural development practices for which a region wide product could be an interesting option. If some literature becomes available on region branding in the Netherlands, an impulse might be given to scholars in developing further documentation on this subject. Thus, for this research the theoretical objective is to contribute to filling a gap in Dutch rural sociological literature in order to set a future research agenda on the subject.

2.4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

On the basis of the above defined problem and objectives, appropriate research questions can be formulated. One question will be central to this research and its answer can be formulated by seeking answers to each sub-question. In turn, to clarify and simplify these sub-questions each is again divided into several sub-questions. Main question

How is region branding, based on the valorisation of economic and cultural assets intertwined with a regional identity, framed in the Dutch countryside?


Sub-question 1

What are the characteristics and dynamics of region branding initiatives in the Netherlands?

o How is co-operation between partners in initiatives arranged? o What is the central focus and purpose of the initiatives? o What does the organisational structure of the initiatives look like?

Sub-question 2

Why do new region branding initiatives emerge? o What influencing factors are discernable? o How are existing networks used and further built on?

Sub-question 3

How do initiatives work towards creating a collective identity and how does this result in a regional identity supported by a wide range of actors?

o Is an existing identity reformulated and reworked or is an entirely new identity created, and how?

o How is the establishment of an identity negotiated? o How is regional identity expressed and valorised through (a range

of) economic activities, products and services?

2.5. METHODOLOGY

The research has a qualitative and explorative character. Furthermore, literature research, in-depth interviews and content analysis of documents and websites were techniques used during the research process. The detailed outline of the research techniques, sampling method and data analysis approach are presented in the following paragraphs.

2.5.1. Qualitative and explorative approach

The topic of this thesis is one which is not very established and therefore this research serves mainly an explorative purpose. Inextricably connected to an explorative approach is that of qualitative research. As little information is available on region branding it makes more sense to start with qualitative than with quantitative research. First, basic data need to be gathered to describe the setting within which region branding acts out in the Netherlands. Subsequently, results following from this thesis can lead to further research which can focus more on quantitative data which is, however, clearly beyond the scope of this research.

2.5.2. Literature Research

The research has started with literature analysis to explore the field of region branding on a European scale in order to create an overview of the available information in order to identify gaps which this research could fill. Literature research further helped to shape a theoretical framework which serves as the starting point from which conceptual and empirical knowledge is built. With the data gathered from the fieldwork further literature research was undertaken to analyse where and how the results reflect existing theoretical conceptions and where these needed to be expanded. The literature analysis mainly covered scientific articles and books but has also been broadened with websites and non-scientific documents such as flyers and leaflets. In the initial phase, various websites were browsed to get an overview of the state-of-the-art in the Dutch


countryside. Simultaneously, literature research added on the current situation in scientific sense. Articles from various journals obtained by searching both the internet and the library of Wageningen University were read and analysed; their references gave clues for further documentation. In a later stage, websites were revisited for a more elaborate analysis of all current collective initiatives in the Dutch countryside as well as for the review of three selected case studies. Each case study has its own website which is useful in exploring branding strategies in terms of how an identity is projected to the outside world and what products and services are on offer. This latter issue is further strengthened by the use of leaflets and brochures.

2.5.3. Empirical research

The empirical research has been carried out in the Netherlands and consists of two phases: a desk study and field research. Before carrying out the field work, an internet research was carried out to create an overview of all collective initiatives in the Dutch countryside. The list used for the analysis is deducted from the website of Vrienden van het Platteland (www.vvhp.nl), which is a Dutch organisation for preserving the Dutch countryside. Although it is difficult to determine whether the list is exhaustive, it certainly is large enough it covers more than 90% of all initiatives to date to create a representative view of what is currently being done in the field. The initiatives have been classified using a broad scheme specifying their background, aim and level of co-operation, and focus towards region branding. As this preliminary desk study is purely based on internet research, its purpose is solely to sketch an overall idea and assist in depicting a first typology that served as input for the field research. On the basis of the overview thus created, case studies for the second stage of the empirical work were selected. The second stage consisted of interviews and observations. The three selected cases reflect the variety in Dutch rural development initiatives with respect to focus, historical background, geographical setting and other characteristics that resulted from the desk study. However, the three case studies showed an above average level of interest in region branding compared to the majority of initiatives. For each case a key informant in the initiative was interviewed before any other informants were approached. With the information thus gathered, a clearer insight in the initiative was formed so that subsequent interviews could go more in-depth on the issue of region branding. The other interviewees were chosen on the basis of diversity in roles and background to create a balanced view from different stand points e.g. farmers, local policy makers, tourism suppliers, nature organisations. Apart from the first round, all interviews were paired; two interviews per day on the same initiative were carried out. Besides convenience in saving travelling time, above all, in this way the experience was as in-depth as possible, especially because the interviews took place in the region itself. Consequently, observation was an important aspect during these visits and while travelling through the region. It provided opportunities to get a feel of the area, which contributed to shaping a picture and understanding of the region and thus of the initiatives. An extra source of information for the field work was provided through research simultaneously carried out by the Rural Sociology Group of Wageningen University for the European project COFAMI19. The case study for the COFAMI project was also one of

19 COFAMI is the abbreviation of Encouraging collective farmers marketing initiatives which is a two year project in 10 European countries that aims to identify the social, economic, cultural and political factors that limit/enable the formation and development of collective marketing initiatives. The research activities involve an assessment of the positive and negative effects of existing policy and support measures, and determine what is the most appropriate level of policy formulation and implementation for supporting COFAMIs (EU, national, regional, local level). (www.cofami.org).


the three case studies chosen for this thesis. The interview results for the case study were available to cross-check the data gathered for my own research. In general, it confirmed what was found during the interviews carried out for this thesis, which validated the results of the other case studies.

2.5.4. Interviews

Two kinds of interviews have been carried out during the research: informal and semi-structured ones. Informal interviews were held throughout the course of the field work. In the beginning they served to familiarise myself and my informants with one another and the situation, while in a later stage they were more often used before and after the official interview. Although I expected people to sometimes hold back information during the formal interview period and reveal it on the doorstep, in practice this was not the case. This is not to say that all information has been transferred; rather, it ascertains that in this case the informal conversations revealed little more than the formal ones. Open-ended semi-structured interviews have been carried out with all informants. On the basis of the research questions a check-list of topics to be covered was constructed. This checklist only served as support and guidance and not as a list which needed to be crossed out in chronological order. In practice, the interviews had a high conversational character rather than being a question-answer type, which allowed for (spontaneous) additions. This is exactly the strength of semi-structured interviews: they give informants the opportunity to talk freely about the topic without feeling limited by a list of questions. At the same time the list of topics does give direction to the interview and creates a certain level of consistency between the interviews. Because of the conversational character of the interviews one might think a voice recorder is a necessity to make sure no crucial information is lost. However, to stimulate openness this was decided against. All information was written down during the interviews and worked out in detail immediately after; that way, the risk of losing information was limited to a minimum.

2.5.5. Analysing the data

All information gathered during the field research was first described and analysed on a case to case basis to allow for an analysis of the dynamics within each initiative. After grouping the information internally, the cases were compared. Here, the selected and constructed theoretical conceptions were applied to each case and to the overall comparisons between the cases. In methodological sense, the theory of comparative analysis (or grounded theory) has been applied to assist in getting an insight in and understanding of the research situation. As an emergent theory, comparative analysis believes that the gathered data will tell what is happening and can thus be used to frame the situation rather than to use the data to test a hypothesis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). In short, by using this theory I assume that the theory is concealed in my data and is there for me to discover. Considering the explorative character of this research and the lack of comprehensive theory on region branding, the emergent approach seems appropriate. The steps to be followed according to this theory are data-collection, note-taking, coding, memoing, sorting and finally writing. The first four occur simultaneously, whereas the latter two happen almost entirely chronologically. Constant comparison is at the heart of the process, from which categories and sub-categories with certain properties will emerge. In practice, this means that after each interview all information was typed out in detail, regardless of its relevance. The information was subsequently organised in different headings (called coding) to make them easily traceable and thus comparable. Simultaneously, personal memos and comments were made. This so-called memoing has helped to critically shape the theory at a later stage. After the field work was completed, the information which was most useful for answering the research


questions and which appeared to contain the building blocks from which the theory could be formulated was selectively cut out. If this would have been done directly after each interview, the chance of misinterpreting certain passages and/or leaving out information for comparison would have been considerably larger.

Theoretical framework 23

3. Theoretical framework

This chapter describes in detail the theoretical framework that has been constructed for the thesis. It first explains what the theory of culture economy entails as this theory is used as the starting point for the rest of the theoretical framework. It has been further expanded and specified to create a more coherent and encompassing theoretical framework with regard to the specific Dutch situation.

3.1. CULTURE ECONOMY

Many authors have tried to capture current processes in rural Europe towards valorising rural resources by selling typical and unique regional products and services to the post-industrial consumer. Most of these authors focus on product or sector specific developments while only sporadically analysing developments with the region as level of integration, such as region branding. One scholar who has tried to capture rural European processes as well as cultural, consumer developments in society into one theoretical framework is Ray (1998) with the introduction of the culture economy concept. The culture economy can be seen as an attempt by rural areas to localise economic control [and] to (re)valorise place through its cultural identity (Ray, 1998, p. 3). The two central words economy and culture stress that one is dealing with the relationships between resources, production and consumption on the one hand, and the changing nature of regionalism, post-industrial capitalism, and agency within reorga

MSc Thesis Els Hegger

Documents

Transcript of MSc Thesis Els Hegger