%0 Journal Article %T Investigation of the Effect of Place Brand Complexity on its Recommendation to Others Case Study: Kerman City %J urban tourism %I University of Tehran %Z 2423-6926 %A Poursaeed, Mohammad Mehdi %A barzegarpour, mahbobe %D 2020 %\ 07/22/2020 %V 7 %N 2 %P 97-112 %! Investigation of the Effect of Place Brand Complexity on its Recommendation to Others Case Study: Kerman City %K place branding %K Destination branding %K Place brand complexity %K place identification %K Brand recommendation %K Kerman City %R 10.22059/jut.2020.286008.689 %X Extended Abstract Introduction Residents and tourists are the two main components in the tourism process, and if the residents are considered and feel satisfied with the place, they can act as ambassadors of the place. Since residents are considered as an important part of tourism businesses, in practice, the role of residents in the tourism process of our country has been ignored. A significant point is that active tourism officials use the identical simple strategy to identify residents and tourists. However, little attention has been paid in studies to how branding effects on the residents' identities, affiliation, and satisfaction. If the mental imagery of the place is simple and identical, it will lead to weaker identification and undesirable behavior of residents towards tourists. Therefore, the category of perceptions (identification, belonging and satisfaction) and consequently the behavior of residents (brand recommendation) in the literature of urban development and tourism in Iran is a category that has received less attention and the study of the impact of location perceptions and word-of-mouth advertising with the mediating role of identification factors (identification attractiveness, optimal proportion and optimal distinctions) of active residents of tourism field in relation to brand complexity is very "rare". Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of brand complexity based on the mediating role of identification factors on the attitudes and behavior of active residents in the tourism field.   Methodology The statistical population of the study was active residents of tourism in the five regions of Kerman. And 500 questionnaires were distributed that 412 questionnaires were returned. This research is applied and descriptive-survey one. The reliability of the questionnaire was also confirmed by using of Cronbach's alpha, which was 0.76. SPSS24 and AMOS 23 software programs were exerted to analyze the data.   Results and discussion 1. The complexity of the place brand has a significant impact on the attitudes of active residents in the field of tourism (due to the attractiveness of identification). The standardized regression coefficient of the residents (0.618) and the confidence interval of 0.682-0.682 were obtained. And the hypothesis was confirmed, and it can be said with 95% confidence that the complexity of the place brand has a positive effect on the satisfaction of the residents through the attractiveness of identification. It can be said with 95% confidence that the complexity of the place brand has a positive effect on the affiliation of residents through the attractiveness of identification according to the value of regression coefficient of residents (0.493) and its confidence interval (0.046-0.56). The hypothesis of the effect of the complexity of the place brand on the residents’ identification through the attractiveness of identification was rejected based on the standardized regression coefficient of the residents (0.777) and the confidence interval (0.038-0.188). 2. The complexity of the place brand has a significant impact on the attitudes of active residents in the field of tourism (due to the appropriateness of identity). The value of the standardized regression coefficient of the inhabitants (0.174) and the confidence interval 0.089-0.26 were obtained, which can be said that the complexity of the place brand has a positive effect on the satisfaction of the residents through the identity appropriateness. Also, the complexity of the place brand has a positive effect on the affiliation and identification of residents through the appropriateness of identity, considering the amount of standardized regression coefficient of residents and its confidence interval. 3. The complexity of the place brand has a significant impact on the attitudes of active residents in the field of tourism (due to optimal distinctions). The complexity of the place brand does not have a significant effect on the satisfaction and belonging of the residents through the optimal distinctions, considering the amount of standardized regression coefficient and its confidence interval. The value of the standardized regression coefficient of residents (0.129) and its confidence interval (0.262-0.238) were obtained, which indicate the confirmation of the hypothesis and it can be said with 95% confidence that the complexity of the place brand has a positive effect on residents' identification through optimal distinctions. 4. The attitude of active residents in the tourism field has a significant effect on brand recommendation. The standardized regression coefficient was 0.125 for the satisfaction path that the hypothesis was rejected and it can be said with 95% confidence that satisfaction does not have a significant effect on the brand recommendation of active residents in the field of tourism. In addition, due to the standardized regression coefficient, it can be said that belonging and identification have a notable effect on the brand recommendation of active residents in the tourism field.   Conclusion The research results show that the complexity of the location brand affects identification (due to identity appropriateness and optimal distinctions). And perception of the brand complexity does not affect identification (due to the attractiveness of identification). Brand complexity has a positive effect on satisfaction (due to the attractiveness of identification and identity appropriateness) and does not have a notable effect due to optimal distinctions. In addition, the complexity of the place brand has a positive effect on the affiliation of active residents through identification attractiveness and identity appropriateness, and this effect is rejected by optimal distinctions. Finally, identification and affiliation of place have a positive and significant effect on brand recommendation and do not have a positive effect on the satisfaction of active residents in the tourism field.   %U https://jut.ut.ac.ir/article_77665_78087c3ca8eedb6ee946747bf4cf91b4.pdf