Chris Horbel

• Gulisova, Barbora; Horbel, Chris & Bjørnshave Noe, Egon (2023). Rural place branding processes: actor engagement in service ecosystems. Journal of Place Management and Development. ISSN 1753-8335. 16(3), p. 415–439. doi: 10.1108/JPMD-11-2022-0105. Show summary

  Purpose: The place branding process in cities and tourism destinations is usually steered by a central organization but in rural places, a focal actor often does not exist. The purpose of this paper is to identify which approaches to place branding processes are applied in different rural places. This is done by seeing the place branding process as a service ecosystem with focus on actor engagement. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical framework based on the concepts of service ecosystems and actor engagement is developed. This is then applied to analyse qualitative data collected through semi-structure interviews with participants from several Danish rural places. Findings: The authors identify four different types of rural place branding processes along three dimensions: existence and type of a focal actor; type, extent and temporal properties of other actor groups’ engagement; and organization of the process, including its formalization, centralization and strategic focus. Type 1 is a highly formalized, centralized and strategically driven process under the leadership of a public authority. The other types are community-based approaches. Type 2 is formalized, centralized and strategically driven process. Type 3 is less formalized but also centralized and strategically focused. Type 4 is a non-formalized, decentralized process with ad hoc initiatives. Originality/value: This paper applies a service marketing-based framework to analyse qualitative empirical data from different cases of rural places and identify different place branding processes.

• Horbel, Chris; Kaiser, Brooks & Menezes, Dwayne Ryan (2022). Sustainable Arctic Marine Tourism Development: Scale and Scope for Community Investment, Coordination, and Action. In Sellheim, Nikolas & Menezes, Dwayne Ryan (Ed.), Non-state actors in the Arctic region. Springer. ISSN 978-3-031-12458-7. p. 179–206. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-12459-4_9.
• Horbel, Chris (2022). Stakeholders in sport marketing. In Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fahlen, Josef & Houlihan, Barrie (Ed.), Stakeholder Analysis and Sport Organisations. Routledge. ISSN 9781000511888. p. 229–242. doi: 10.4324/9781003111917-16.
• Gulisova, Barbora; Horbel, Chris & Noe, Egon (2021). Place branding and sustainable rural communities: qualitative evidence from rural areas in Denmark. Journal of Strategic Marketing. ISSN 0965-254X. doi: 10.1080/0965254X.2021.2006274. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Several significant societal and economic shifts threaten the sustainability of rural places. More rural communities and municipalities have started to employ place branding to attract residents and businesses and to maintain the service level required to sustain their communities. This study aims to better understand the potential benefits of place branding for the sustainability of rural communities. An exploratory, qualitative research design using case studies from rural places in Denmark was applied. The findings suggest that the level of institutionalization of the place branding approach and the scope of actor engagement influence the type and strength of social sustainability outcomes. Future research should broaden the scope to include both environmental and economic sustainability dimensions. Furthermore, the impact of place branding on sustainability in other spatial contexts, such as cities or countries, should be investigated.

• Horbel, Chris (2021). The commercial context. In Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Houlihan, Barrie (Ed.), Embedded Multi-Level Leadership in Elite Sport. Routledge. ISSN 9780367552770. p. 48–62. doi: 10.4324/9781003092728-4.
• Gulisova, Barbora; Horbel, Chris & Noe, Egon (2021). Rural place branding from a multi-level perspective: a Danish example. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. ISSN 1751-8040. 17(3), p. 231–248. doi: 10.1057/s41254-021-00204-8. Show summary

  Few studies have looked at the interaction of place branding practices of geographically linked places. Moreover, the different administrative contexts of the linked places and the resulting different place branding approaches have not been taken into consideration. This study provides insight on the interactions of the brands and branding initiatives of higher-level administrative rural places and lower-level places within their territory. A qualitative study was conducted based on the cases of three Danish municipalities and eight smaller places within them. Although none of the vertically linked places under investigation had applied a strategic approach to manage place brand architecture, four archetypes of interaction between the place brands at the different vertical levels are identified. The findings provide guidance for place branding officials and others involved in the initiatives regarding the role the higher-level place brand can play in the lower level’s place branding, while making the lower level aware that their place branding should also focus on building good reputation towards the higher-level place. The study further reveals challenges regarding the strategic implementation of place brand architecture and highlights important areas for future research on the topic.

• Horbel, Chris; Popp, Bastian & Peter, Michael (2020). Internationalization of Professional Football Clubs: The Case of German Bundesliga and China. In Roth, Stefan; Horbel, Chris & Popp, Bastian (Ed.), Perspektiven des Dienstleistungsmanagements Aus Sicht von Forschung und Praxis. Springer Gabler. ISSN 978-3-658-28671-2. p. 301–310. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-28672-9_16.
• Woratschek, Herbert; Horbel, Chris & Popp, Bastian (2020). Conceptualizing Resource Integration: The Peculiar Role of Pure Public Resources. Journal of Service Management Research (SMR). ISSN 2511-8676. 4(2-3), p. 157–169. doi: 10.15358/2511-8676-2020-2-3-157. Show summary

  Resource integration is fundamental to value cocreation. In service-dominant logic, operant resources are the primary interest of actors’ economic exchange. However, the resources in service-dominant logic are rarely classified and analysed in detail. In addition, natural resources are widely neglected in conceptualizations of resources and resource integration. To fill these research gaps, this article aims to extend the existing conceptualizations of resource integration by specifically focussing on the integration of different types of resources. For this purpose, resource classifications from both the German-language literature, which is internationally mostly unknown, and the English-language research are included. Furthermore, natural resources are used as a case to discuss the peculiar role of pure public resources. Following calls for ‘oscillating foci’ to gain a better understanding of value co-creation, we further analyse resource integration at different levels of analysis by specifically focusing on the micro-level. Nevertheless, we emphasize the interdependencies between different levels of analysis. Therefore, we close important research gaps in the service-dominant logic literature, specifically regarding resource integration.

• Horbel, Chris; Buck, Christoph; Diel, Sören; Reith, Riccardo & Walter, Yannic (2020). Stadium visitors' smartphone usage and digital resource integration. Sport, Business and Management. ISSN 2042-678X. doi: 10.1108/SBM-10-2019-0099. Show summary

  Purpose: Smartphones have become ubiquitous devices that enable individuals to integrate digital resources in virtually all value co-creation processes, including visiting sport events. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand smartphone-enabled digital resource integration in the context of sport events from an individual intra-perspective. It thereby connects the perspectives of Service Dominant Logic and Experiential Computing. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual model was developed and empirically tested utilizing a survey of 707 visitors of eight first and second league soccer, handball and basketball matches in Germany. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings: The results reveal that stadium visitors integrate sport event-related and unrelated digital resources to co-create value at sport events. While event-unrelated digital resources generally have more influence on visitors' perceived value, their importance is decreasing with higher team identification. Digital resources in the form of sports betting opportunities are only relevant in some specific contexts. Hence, both individual and contextual characteristics determine digital resource integration. Originality/value: This study integrates the perspectives of value co-creation at sport events and experiential computing and proposes a conceptual model exploring how sport event visitors enrich their experience through the integration of sport event-related and unrelated smartphone-enabled digital resources. By illuminating the intra-level perspective of sport event visitors' resource integration, it provides the basis for future studies on digital resource integration on higher levels of aggregation including engagement platforms and entire sport event ecosystems.

• Kaiser, Brooks A.; Hoeberechts, Maia; Maxwell, Kimberley H.; Eerkes-Medrano, Laura; Hilmi, Nathalie & Safa, Alain [Show all 12 contributors for this article] (2019). The Importance of Connected Ocean Monitoring Knowledge Systems and Communities. Frontiers in Marine Science. ISSN 2296-7745. 6. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00309. Show summary

  Ocean monitoring will improve outcomes if ways of knowing and priorities from a range of interest groups are successfully integrated. Coastal Indigenous communities hold unique knowledge of the ocean gathered through many generations of inter-dependent living with marine ecosystems. Experiences and observations from living within that system have generated ongoing local and traditional ecological knowledge (LEK and TEK) and Indigenous knowledge (IK) upon which localized sustainable management strategies have been based. Consequently, a comprehensive approach to ocean monitoring should connect academic practices (“science”) and local community and Indigenous practices, encompassing “TEK, LEK, and IK.” This paper recommends research approaches and methods for connecting scientists, local communities, and IK holders and their respective knowledge systems, and priorities, to help improve marine ecosystem management. Case studies from Canada and New Zealand (NZ) highlight the emerging recognition of IK systems in natural resource management, policy and economic development. The in-depth case studies from Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) and the new Moana Project, NZ highlight real-world experiences connecting IK with scientific monitoring programs. Trial-tested recommendations for successful collaboration include practices for two-way knowledge sharing between scientists and communities, co-development of funding proposals, project plans and educational resources, mutually agreed installation of monitoring equipment, and ongoing sharing of data and research results. We recommend that future ocean monitoring research be conducted using cross-cultural and/or transdisciplinary approaches. Vast oceans and relatively limited monitoring data coupled with the urgency of a changing climate emphasize the need for all eyes possible providing new data and insights. Community members and ocean monitoring scientists in joint research teams are essential for increasing ocean information using diverse methods compared with previous scientific research. Research partnerships can also ensure impactful outcomes through improved understanding of community needs and priorities.

• Woratschek, Herbert; Horbel, Chris & Popp, Bastian (2019). Determining customer satisfaction and loyalty from a value co-creation perspective. Service Industries Journal. ISSN 0264-2069. doi: 10.1080/02642069.2019.1606213. Show summary

  In light of the recent developments in marketing theory, namely service-dominant logic and value co-creation, the development of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty deserves reconsideration to broaden the mostly firm-centric earlier approaches. We propose a framework that includes the contributions of co-creating actors and identification with the firm as antecedents of customer satisfaction and loyalty. This framework can be adapted to a context by defining a context-specific set of actors and their unique reciprocal relationships. Two quantitative studies conducted in the professional German soccer leagues demonstrate that multiple actors (event organizer, teams, and fans) roughly show the same effect on customer satisfaction. Moreover, identification has both direct and indirect (i.e. via customer satisfaction and perceived social actors’ contributions) influence on customer loyalty. The results imply firm activities have limited influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty. As a result, managers must identify strategies to facilitate value co-creation among all relevant actors.

View all works in Cristin

• Roth, Stefan; Horbel, Chris & Popp, Bastian (2020). Perspektiven des Dienstleistungsmanagements Aus Sicht von Forschung und Praxis. Springer Gabler. ISBN 978-3-658-28671-2. 861 p.

View all works in Cristin