Masterarbeit / Master's Thesis
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MASTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master‘s Thesis „The Competitiveness of Nation Brands – An Analysis of Japan’s and Singapore’s Nation Brands“ verfasst von / submitted by Martina Bartholner, BA angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2018 / Vienna 2018 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 066 864 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Masterstudium Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ostasiens degree programme as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Rüdiger Frank Acknowledgements This Master’s Thesis would of course not have been possible without various people supporting and guiding me – thus it is mandatory for me to acknowledge their continuous presence over the last years. First of all, I want to thank my initial supervisor Mag. Dr. Alfred Gerstl, MIR for his support, his patience, and his advice. It was reassuring to be able to turn to someone with the knowledge and the willingness to give advice whenever I felt lost. Additionally, I want to thank my second supervisor Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Rüdiger Frank. Firstly, for his flexibility and willingness to take over the supervision of this paper; and secondly, for often sharing interesting stories as well as his experience as part of the scientific community during all his lectures, thus making me aware of how the knowledge gained in our master’s program can also be handy outside of our lecture halls. Of course, I also want to thank my parents for being supportive throughout all my years at university; for accepting and respecting that my interest in Asia and especially Japan is more than just a childish whim and goes much deeper than my love for anime and manga; and for learning to understand that Asian culture is fascinating and that Asian countries are crucial for the world’s politics and economics, not only today but also in the future. I want to thank my friend, flatmate, and editor Saskia Bursa, not only for discovering Asian countries with me during our trip around the world, but also for being patient with my desperation when my English language abilities utterly failed me. She always came to my rescue and made my English sound like actual English. Further, I want to thank my friend and student colleague Melanie Kramer for making my time at university more enjoyable and bearable and for being a companion during the whole process of writing this Master’s Thesis. Finally, I want to thank my sister, Ulrike Bartholner, for being a role model, not only in terms of ambition and power of endurance regarding university studies, but also in life. I Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Research Objectives .................................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Research Outline ......................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Research Question ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.4. Research Scope and Limitations................................................................................................ 6 2. The Theory of Nation Brands ........................................................................................................... 8 2.1. State of the Art ........................................................................................................................... 8 2.2. Terms and Definitions .............................................................................................................. 12 2.3. The Significance of Nation Brands and Nation Branding ..................................................... 15 2.4. Critical Review of Nation Branding and Nation Brands ...................................................... 16 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 18 3.1. Keith Dinnie’s Internal Analysis Model of Nation Brands ................................................... 18 3.2. Adjustments to Keith Dinnie’s Model ..................................................................................... 20 3.3. The Five Dimensions and their Key Success Factors ............................................................ 23 3.3.1. Tourism ............................................................................................................... 23 3.3.2. Foreign Direct Investment .................................................................................. 26 3.3.3. Export Promotion ................................................................................................ 28 3.3.4. Talent Attraction ................................................................................................. 31 3.3.5. Culture and Brand Ambassadors ......................................................................... 33 3.4. Concluding remarks on the methodology ............................................................................... 36 4. Case Study: Japan’s and Singapore’s Nation Brands .................................................................. 37 4.1. Country Overview ..................................................................................................................... 38 4.1.1. Japan .................................................................................................................... 38 4.1.2. Singapore ............................................................................................................ 39 4.2. Tourism ...................................................................................................................................... 40 4.2.1. Safety .................................................................................................................. 41 4.2.2. Accessibility and Infrastructure .......................................................................... 42 4.2.3. Customer Service Level and Value for Money ................................................... 44 4.2.4. Tourist Promotion ............................................................................................... 48 4.2.5. Analysis ............................................................................................................... 51 4.3. Foreign Direct Investment ....................................................................................................... 52 4.3.1. Stable Economic Environment (from Investor’s Point of View) ........................ 54 4.3.2. Stable Political Environment (from Investor’s Point of View) ........................... 58 4.3.3. Skilled Workforce ............................................................................................... 61 4.3.4. Streamlined Administrative Procedures .............................................................. 62 4.3.5. Analysis ............................................................................................................... 64 4.4. Export Promotion ..................................................................................................................... 66 4.4.1. High Quality Brands and Effective Country of Origin Positioning .................... 67 4.4.2. Strategic Development of Target Markets .......................................................... 69 4.4.3. Innovation ........................................................................................................... 72 4.4.4. Analysis ............................................................................................................... 75 4.5. Talent Attraction ....................................................................................................................... 77 4.5.1. Reputation of Higher Education ......................................................................... 79 4.5.2. Opportunity for Career Progression .................................................................... 81 4.5.3. Favourable Residency Criteria (for Visa, Passport, etc.) .................................... 82 4.5.4. Analysis ............................................................................................................... 84 4.6. Culture and Brand Ambassadors ............................................................................................ 86 4.6.1. Cultural Diplomacy ............................................................................................. 87 4.6.2. National Symbols and Brand Ambassadors ........................................................ 90 4.6.3. Broadcasting and Social Media ........................................................................... 92 4.6.4. Analysis ............................................................................................................... 95 4.7. Analysis of Japan’s and Singapore’s Nation Brands ............................................................. 97 4.7.1. Critical Review on the Findings and the Framework ....................................... 102 5. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................