Unveiling the effect of psychological proximity on nation brand value: Mediating and moderating dynamics

The impact of a nation’s brand extends far beyond its product or national competitiveness. It plays a pivotal role in attracting foreign investment, tourism, and talent, thereby influencing the political, social, and cultural aspects of a nation. Therefore, countries competing fiercely in a global world with limited national resources increasingly recognize the importance of nation brand. Existing research on nation branding can be divided into nation brand elements, antecedents, consequences, and moderating factors. Previous research focused on defining antecedent factors of nation brand, however, the mediating mechanism of how these antecedent factors affect nation brand value under what conditions is not much known, limiting setting the strategic direction to improve certain nation’s brand value. This area calls for further exploration. In addition, there might be various factors other than demographic factors as moderating factor for nation branding, but quantitatively analyzed studies still need to be made available. Our research findings, based on a comprehensive survey of 1,600 individuals across 52 countries and secondary statistical data by using PROCESS MACRO, have confirmed significant insights as follows. Firstly, we found that psychological proximity (national image and national relationship) influenced the nation brand through the mediating effect of willingness to visit. Secondly, we discovered that the nation brand was moderated by nation branding strategic actions of four key elements: government, corporations, civil organizations, and citizens. These findings shed light on the complex dynamics of nation branding, underscoring the crucial role of collective efforts by a country’s stakeholders and the importance of willingness to visit in enhancing the nation brand.