Title: A cultural hybridisation approach to reinterpreting the integration-diversity dichotomy: the case of Guggenheim's master branding Bilbao

Authors: Frank M. Go; Mariapina Trunfio

Addresses: Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA, Rotterdam, the Netherlands ' Department of Business Management and Quantitative Studies, University of Naples 'Parthenope', Via Generale Parisi, 13, 80132, Naples, Italy

Abstract: This paper explores how urban actors leverage iconic branding as a cultural catalyst to fill the void left by the declining narrative of the nation. The global, deindustrialised service economy raises the cultural politics of the landscape, including heritage governance issues relative to spatial theory. The case analysis unpacks the convergence-divergence dilemma, particularly, how the Guggenheim master-brand transfer simultaneously changed the political dynamics and corroded Bilbao's sense of place. It contributes to our understanding how a cultural hybridisation approach can help to reinterpret the 'integration-diversity' dichotomy embedded in iconic branding, particularly its impacts on urban socio-cultural, economic and political institutions.

Keywords: Bilbao effect; integration; diversity; cultural hybridisation; global networks; local culture; city brands; Guggenheim; iconic branding; cultural catalyst; convergence; divergence; political dynamics; sense of place.

DOI: 10.1504/EJCCM.2014.065166

European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management, 2014 Vol.3 No.2, pp.158 - 174

Received: 01 Mar 2013
Accepted: 14 Jan 2014
Published online: 24 Oct 2014 *

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