Soft and hard determinants affecting FDI attraction. A study on nation branding across developing and developed countries.

Nation branding has captured the attention of policy makers and researchers from diverse fields and attention for the topic in marketing is increasing. The nation brand may help nations communicating its tangible and intangible resources and a strong nation brand may help attract tourists, foreign direct investment (FDI), skilled labor, increase exports, or create jobs (Wang et al., 2020). Research on nation branding affecting FDI is scant in marketing, but it attracts researchers in political science, public diplomacy, urban planning, geography, and tourism (Steenkamp, 2019), emphasizing its importance. Nation branding seems particularly important for developing economies that overtook developed economies as the principal recipients of FDI (Papadopoulos, et al., 2016). The benefits of increased FDI have been resulting in an increase in companies' activities aimed at attracting foreign capital. In this study, we will investigate the extent to which nation branding, including both hard and soft factors, is a key determinant to attract FDI. The main objective of this research project is to gain insight into the extent to which nation branding affects companies' (managers') propensity to invest in developing and emerging economies.

Nation Branding may help nations to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and its the particular interest for developing economies to identify its key determinants that affects companies' (managers') propensity to invest in developing and emerging economies.

Gain insight into the extent to which nation branding affects companies' (managers') propensity to invest in developing and emerging economies.