FUTURE RESEARCH GUIDELINES ON SOFT POWER: AN OBLIQUE APPROACH OF THE LITERATURE ON THE INTERTWINEMENT BETWEEN CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AND PLACE BRANDING

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this paper is to present cross-disciplinary future research guidelines on soft power, analyzing its intertwinement with creative industries and place branding. Methodology: A systematic literature review is performed using Methodi Ordinatio in Scopus database. Papers are ranked according to their relevance and reviewed using content analysis techniques and oblique approach. Main results: Although several authors do not make use of the term soft power itself, most of them obliquely allude to its concept, from where we draw inferences for future research. Contributions: Through Methodi Ordinatio, we identified the most relevant articles on the object of study. Analyzing them, our main contribution is an array of guidelines for future research on soft power in six areas: psychosociology, labor mobility, urban planning, arts diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy, and geographical indications. Relevance and originality: to our knowledge, the triangle of creative industries, place branding, and soft power has been studied only to a very limited extent, and this seems to be the first article to link it to the aforementioned areas. Managerial and social implications: Not only does this triangle contain uncharted theoretical challenges, but it also puts forward underexplored areas by practitioners and policy-makers, provoking insights for the image planning of cities, regions, and countries. The need for further studies notwithstanding, the areas involving arts and gastronomy seem to be feasible initiatives for the short-term, meanwhile the other ones may be more time and cost consuming.