25.4.2025
Doctoral thesis on how stories and narratives function as analytical and strategic resources that shape place identity and value
B.A, M.Ed. (Upper Secondary School) Joakim Lind’s doctoral thesis in Internationell marknadsföring will be put forth for public defence at Fakulteten för samhällsvetenskaper, ekonomi och juridik at Åbo Akademi University.
The thesis is entitled The Narrative Capital of the Place – Value Dynamics in Place Identity and Branding.
The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on Friday, 2 May 2025 in Stora auditoriet, ASA, Vänrikinkatu 3, Turku You can also follow the defence online.. Docent Anna Sörensson, Mid Sweden University, Sweden, will serve as opponent and Professor Bengt Kristensson Uggla, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.
Summary
In his dissertation, Joakim Lind examines how stories and narratives function as analytical and strategic resources that shape place identity and value. Drawing on three qualitative case studies, the dissertation explores how narrative processes contribute to creating both intangible assets and tangible value in the context of place branding and development.
The three cases include the popular cultural narratives related to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy in Stockholm and Sweden, the Tom Tits Experiment Science Center in Södertälje, and the climbing community in Brodalen on Sweden’s west coast. These cases illustrate how narratives are co-produced by diverse actors, circulate across time and space, and generate economic, social, cultural, and symbolic value in various ways.
A central concept in the dissertation is narrative capital, which describes how narratives can serve as long-term resources for the identity and positioning of places. By combining theories from place branding, narrative theory, spatial theory, and value theory, the study proposes an analytical framework for understanding the interplay between narrative, place, and value.
Narrative capital is defined as a meaning-bearing structure that fosters continuity and change in place development. It influences how local actors and external stakeholders perceive and interact with a place. In the dissertation, the author illustrates that these processes are essential for understanding how places are shaped, managed, and negotiated within broader societal and cultural contexts.
The study offers practical implications for policymakers, place developers, and stakeholders working at the intersection of communication, culture, media, and societal development. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing narrative as a strategic and analytical resource in inclusive place branding.
Joakim Lind was born in 1969 in Helsingborg, Sweden. He can be reached by phone +46 709 286 973 or email joakim.x.lind@abo.fi.
The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.
Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.
Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:
To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.