Factors Determining City Brand Equity—A Systematic Literature Review

: The aim of this study is to analyze factors determining city brand equity (CBE) on the bases of a systematic literature review (SLR) according to a procedure developed by Tranﬁeld. Five databases were searched (Scopus, Web of Sciences, Google Scholar, EBSCO, and Elsevier) for studies containing the term ‘city brand equity’. In addition, databases were searched for ‘destination brand equity’ and ‘place brand equity’ statements focusing on city brands. This SLR contains 36 empirical studies and does not include conference materials, and books. The analysis was based on three issues: general information (author / authors, year of publication, research tools, sample size, city and country as well as sample population), research speciﬁcation (variables, hypotheses or research questions, statistical methods and research tools), and ﬁndings related to CBE and practical implications for destination marketing organizations, and destination or city managers. In summary, there are many factors determining CBE, including brand image, brand quality and brand awareness. These factors are related to cultural, environmental and ecological elements, as well as infrastructure and services o ﬀ ered to tourists. Brand assets related to the perception of the city brands in various aspects also proved to be important.


Introduction
City brand equity (CBE) (CBE-city brand equity, BE-brand equity, CBBE-consumer-based brand equity, SLR-systematic literature review) is a new concept resulting from brand equity [1][2][3][4][5] and city branding [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. It reflects the growing role of the brand in the promotion of tourist destinations [16][17][18], including cities, and the application of methods and tools used so far by corporate, product and service brands [19][20][21][22]. At the same time, city branding is becoming a strategic asset in communicating the city value and achieving a competitive position [12]. An important aspect is also the issue of consumer choice, understood as the destination brand choice model. In this case the city is one of the existing destinations [23].
The concept of BE has been described in the literature as a marketing tool since the 1990s. One of the first definitions proposed by Farquhar [24] points to BE as an added value to the product through the brand image perceived by customers. The frequently quoted definition by Aaker [25] refers to a set of brand assets and liabilities associated with the name and symbol of an organization that add or subtract from the value provided by a product or service. BE is also analyzed from the perspective of the consumer as consumed-based brand equity (CBBE) and defined by Keller [26] in the context of a differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand. In this regard, BE means value for customers considered in terms of satisfaction, and trust, as well as value for the company considered in terms of marketing programs, and competitive advantages [25]. Subsequent definitions analyzed different aspects of BE, such as the selection between a product with 2. Methodology

Study Design
An SLR was applied as a research method, known and widely used in various scientific areas [64][65][66][67][68][69]. This study uses a method developed by Tranfield [60], applied in scientific research regarding, among others, tourism research on sustainability [64], bio, green and circular economy trends [70], process mining techniques [71], lean supply chain strategy [72], and sustainability-oriented innovation [73]. The SLR proposed by Tranfield consists of three stages: planning, executing, and reporting/disseminating. Below is a description of their application for the purpose of the literature review on CBE.

Planning the SLR
Based on the aim of this study relating to the CBE analysis, the following research questions were formulated: • What factors influence CBE? • Is sustainability analyzed as an element of CBE? • What is the relationship between CBE and sustainability?
In order to answer the research questions, the databases were searched using the term 'city brand equity' in the title, abstract, and as keywords. The 'place brand equity' and 'destination brand equity' searches were also used to check whether the place or destination referred to the city.
The search was conducted on the following databases: Scopus, Web of Sciences, Google Scholar, EBSCO, and Elsevier. The snowball method was also used in two variants: as a backward snowball method consisting of checking reference lists in published articles and a forward snowball method consisting of identifying new tests quoting articles in SLR [74].

Executing the SLR
The databases were searched between 20th and 30th June 2020. The following inclusion criteria were applied: studies based on empirical research, studies describing CBE, studies describing destination or place BE in relation to cities, peer-reviewed papers. No time limits were applied, but the search was limited to publications in English.
Exclusion criteria were applied, including studies describing BE related to countries, tourist areas, not related to cities, studies with theoretical models, practical studies of tourist organizations, a Ph.D. thesis, short reports, rankings of cities, workshop papers, work-in-progress papers, editorials, practice guidelines, book chapters, book reviews, and conference publications: proceedings, posters, abstracts, and others.
The following search strategies were applied: Google Scholar: allintitle: city brand equity; with the statement: "city brand equity"; allintitle: destination brand equity; with the statement: "destination brand equity"; allintitle: place brand equity; with the statement: "place brand equity" • EBSCO: city AND brand AND equity; destination AND brand AND equity; place AND brand AND equity • Elsevier: Title, abstract, keywords: "city brand equity"; Title, abstract, keywords: "destination brand equity"; Title, abstract, keywords: "place brand equity" In each case, a three-stage search area was used, first CBE and then the destination, and place BE, including checking if destination or place includes a city. As a result of the applied search strategy, 708 studies were obtained in the 1st stage, 2183 in the 2nd stage, and 938 studies in the 3rd stage. Titles and abstracts were initially analyzed for relevance, appropriateness, and quality of studies. Attention was paid to whether the studies refer to the city with the destination or place search criteria used. All other exclusion criteria were then applied. The backward and forward snowball method was also used. As a result of the strategy described above, 36 studies were obtained.

Presenting the SLR
The list of all 36 studies included in the SLR is presented in the (Table S1). The analysis of the studies is presented in 3 parts: general information (author/authors, year of publication, research tools, sample size, city and country as well as sample population) ( Table 1), research specification (variables, hypotheses or research questions, statistical methods and research tools) ( Table 2), and findings and practical implications (findings and conclusions related to CBE as well as practical implications for destination marketing organizations, destination or city managers and others) ( Table 3).       brand identity (BId) brand image (BI) brand loyalty (BL) brand personality (BP) difference between how BId from city officials' perspective and BI from city residents' perspective are related to BL toward a city (+) difference between BL toward a city among city officials and city residents (+) difference between how city officials and city residents perceive the BP of that city (+)

5-point Likert-type scale
BId-5 items BI-5 items BL-3 items BP-5 items CFA SEM [96] brand equity (BE) brand awareness (BA) brand image (BI): brand attitude and brand quality Brand associations (Bas) brand loyalty (BL)   [98] brand equity (BE): investments-shareholder perspective (In) return on investment: (1) shareholder and stakeholder perspective: first-order effects (RoI) (2) second-order effects: impacts: intangible assets (IA) within and outside the city, tangible assets (TA) within and outside the city In-7 items RoI-5 items IA-10 items TA-8 items quantitative and qualitative analysis of data [99] cultural destination brand equity (CDBE): cultural destination brand assets (CDBA), cultural destination brand awareness (CDBAW), cultural destination brand associations (CDBAs), cultural destination brand quality (CDBQ), cultural destination brand loyalty (CDBL) groups of targeted consumers: international tourist, investors, professional group, local residents marketing and administrative expenditure city brand equity How should resources be best allocated among the four key target groups with the objective of maximizing CBE? Elements: budget constraint: marketing expenditure policy constraint: governmental expenditure for marketing administrative constraint: total administrative cost non-negativity constraint Marketing expenditures spent on 4 targeted groups of consumers city brand equity generated by one unit of marketing expenditures spent on 4 targeted groups of consumers total administrative cost induced by all marketing activities and on 4 targeted groups of consumers Linear programming [104] city diversity (CD) city safety and comfort (CSC) professional and job changes (PJ) city facilities (CF) How important are city attributes in the CBE of Perm? What is the structure of city utilities?

CD-4 items CSC-4 items PJ-4 items CF-4 items
Conjoint analysis Linear regression [105] European Capital of Culture city brand equity direct impacts (e.g., investments, purchases of services and commodities, and increased tourism income) Indirect or multiplier effects (the intermediate product input from partner and other companies and industries, satisfying the increasing demand for goods and services; new jobs created as a result of increased production) How can a cultural capital organization build brand awareness for the year? What kind of associations can and should be emphasized?
What can be done in order to increase positive brand experiences? How can the organization ensure brand loyalty? qualitative analysis of interviews and press articles quantitative analysis of statistical data content analysis data analysis Can the CBBETD scale be adapted for the city of Bandung? Which of the sub-dimensions of CBBETD will be useful for strategic decisions regarding tourism in the city of Bandung?
DA-5 items DI-17 items DQ-12 items DL-7 items CFA [107] place brand equity destination awareness perceived quality brand associations destination loyalty destination positioning special event/jazz festival What is the potential for image transfer between the special event and the host city? What are the event's contributions to destination awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and destination loyalty and positioning? How can cultural producers leverage the distinct reputation of an event (herein Pori Jazz) as a magnet attracting resources to the host city (Pori in this case) (on the local and the global scale?
'inside-in' strategic perspective -secondary data on local strategies 'inside-out' strategic perspective on the national print media by means of content analysis 'outside-in' strategic perspective on Pori's international reputation in a content analysis of national and local media reflections on the international networks and connections the jazz organization     The impact of price on perceived quality and loyalty on the destination image has been rejected. - The effect of physical evidence variable on perceived quality, perceived value, and loyalty was approved. The effect of people on perceived quality, perceived value, and loyalty has been rejected. - The effect of destination image on loyalty was confirmed. - The managers of tourism destinations are advised to continuously monitor all areas related to tourism. - The owners and managers of residential centers need to be trained on how to communicate with tourists. [93] -The city brand identity increases the strength and effectiveness of urban branding for the experts' immigration with higher education. -A city with higher BE has a higher role to play in city identification and its residents have a stronger sense of belonging.
City branding leads to encouraging tourists and experts to visit the city by building loyalty to the brand and awareness of the city's development opportunities and attractions. [94] -Destination brand personality and BE have a significant direct effect on the revisit intention. -Destination brand personality has a positive influence on BE.
-Destination personality can be applied as a metaphor to create destination brands, to understand the tourist feelings toward destinations, and to industrialize a unique feature of the tourism destinations. -City marketing managers should: -create a competitive advantage through loyalty toward the tourism destination brand; -develop marketing strategies to monitor tourist perceptions of brand image; -analyze the methods used by major competitors to promote tourism destinations; -plan and invest in the development of BE over the long term; -learn how to develop unique features that can improve brand image; -focus on improving positive associations related to destinations; -focus on a wide range of destination attributes when offering the services; -adopt new advertising methods to reach potential tourists. The functional elements, such as parking facilities, cleanliness, overall guidance provided by staff, and good quality of food offered can improve the functional imagery of the Lahore Fort as a destination brand. [97] -CBBE can lead to increased destination competitiveness, greater competitiveness can also result in stronger CBBE. -Functional attributes component of destination competitiveness is the antecedent of CBBE.
Regional and national tourism authorities should identify the strengths and weaknesses of the city or destination with regard to its BE and competitiveness. [98] -CBE results from the city brand balance sheet, and the starting point is investments. When analyzing the return on investment, the first-order and second-order effects should be taken into account. -First-order include number of website-visitors. -Second-order effects include intangible assets within the city, e.g., feeling of ownership, city pride, storytelling, residential satisfaction; tangible assets within the city, e.g., population increase, changes in income; intangible assets outside the city, e.g., top-of-mind awareness and associations toward the city, and tangible assets outside the city np. increase in employment n/a [99] All correlations between the proposed dimensions were found to be positive and statistically significant.
Assets have a positive impact on awareness and quality, while awareness has an impact on both quality and associations. Quality and associations have a positive impact on loyalty. The significance of cultural brand assets refers to entertainment/nightlife, festivals, events, traditions, and street culture.
The DMOs' effort to achieve the desired number of visits in the future should emphasize the qualitative dimension, adapting it to the context of its city. Instead of focusing on investing in high cultural infrastructure, a cultural brand should be created. The atmosphere of a cultural destination emphasizes the quality experiences and indicates the need for an effective organization of cultural aspects of the destination. To strengthen loyalty, it is important to remember that international tourists are more likely to recommend and return to a particular destination only after reaching quality standards. [100] There are three categories of place brand associations: events, city/country name and famous people Twitter is not only an interesting way of understanding place brands, but also to express and communicate the CBBE.
Place brand managers should: -approach places and their brands as fragmented phenomena over which they cannot exercise managerial control in the traditional sense, -underline the need to build a sense of belonging to the brand community, by maintaining a dialogue with users. -Structure of city utility is as follows: -in the group of qualified specialists: brand diversity-19%, city safety and comfort-22%, professional and job chances-36%, city facilities-23%; -in the group of non-qualified workers: brand diversity-24%, city safety and comfort-22%, professional and job chances-27%, city facilities-27%.
City brand managers should: -pay attention to what can be measured in relation to CBE; -be aware that city branding is a signal of quality as an integral ability to satisfy needs of its residents. [105] Cultural The city branding should take advantage of the positive features, i.e., good weather, nice atmosphere and good cuisine, known from the loyalty programs of tourists who have had good experiences with the city and felt loyalty.

Article Findings/Conclusions Related to CBE Practical Implications for DMOs, and Destination or City Managers
[107] -The city of Pori and the jazz festival intertwine in a symbiotic way at every level of analysis: inside-in, inside-out and outside-in. - The image transfer between the event and the host city is obvious. - The event contributes to the increase in destination awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, destination loyalty, and destination positioning.
n/a [108] There are significant, positive relationships between destination brand awareness, destination brand image, destination brand salience, destination brand satisfaction, and destination brand loyalty.
In city branding, it should be noted that destination brand awareness plays a significant role in influencing customers to be loyal to the destination; -destinations prefer brand image, destination salience, destination satisfaction as relevant variables related to destination loyalty. Tourism managers should: -build the loyalty of potential tourists to the brand by studying the perception of Internet users' and applying appropriate actions; -analyze the different dimensions of the destination BE to increase the level of sales to target customers, -assess the competitive position of their brand and consider its uniqueness and superiority, -apply the promotional strategy to effectively match brands to market segments by communicating the specific strengths.

Results
This Section is divided into three Sub-sections: Section 3.1-general information, Section 3.2-research specifications, and Section 3.3-findings and practical implications. Table 1 presents general information related to the author/s, year of publication, research tools, size of sample, sample population and analyzed city or cities.

Research Specifications
In 21 cases, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and SEM (Structural equation modeling) were used for statistical analysis for the cities studied individually and comparisons were made. The statements were evaluated on a 5, 7 or 11-point Likert scale. An interesting solution was applied for five European capitals (London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Madrid), for which the City Brand Index (CBI) was calculated, allowing BE comparisons of the analyzed cities. Four variables were used to calculate the CBI, i.e., attitude toward the brand, brand image; brand awareness; and perceived quality (each of them rated on a scale from 0 to 10) [81]. In turn, the study of 16 Iranian cities took into account four factors, i.e., brand image, brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand loyalty; additionally, cluster analysis was conducted. Cities were divided into three clusters of great, average, and weak BE of the tourism destinations point of view. Different dimensions of the BE of tourism destinations were compared with each other within three clusters through discriminant analysis [84]. Table 3 presents findings and conclusions related to CBE as well as practical implications for destination marketing organizations (DMOs), destination or city managers, and others. The findings/conclusions refer to the determinants of CBE, that is the research methods used. They also indicate the importance of CBE in branding cities. Practical recommendations are included almost in all articles included in the SLR. Only two studies did not include practical recommendations.
The second reason for applying the BE concept to cities is to transfer theories from corporate brands to city brands. In the literature, the similarities were grouped into categories indicating an integrated approach dedicated to managing city brands. The following groups were distinguished: vision and strategy, internal culture, local communities, synergies, infrastructure, cityscape and gateways, opportunities, and communications [19]. When making such a transfer, the specifics of the place/destination/city should be taken into consideration. This is because various indications refer to geographical nomenclature, product-place co-branding, and place branding [20]. At the same time, the use of systems and structures of generic branding models increases the effectiveness of activities undertaken within the city branding. Such actions may consist, for example, in distinguishing visible elements (hotels, airports and trains culture, arts, history nightlife, shopping, safety, cleanliness, transportation, education, health, housing, employment, business, infrastructure) from the invisible related to (1) image, style and personality, (2) awareness, recall, recognition, (3) perceived quality, consideration, (4) emotional and self-expressive elements, as well as (5) loyalty, and engagement [21]. Another statement defines tangible assets as perceived quality, impression, and promotion, with intangible elements relating to awareness, heritage, personality, reputation, and trustworthiness [126].
In the scientific literature, there are various measures related to city branding, these are the City Brand Hexagon and City Brand Index [127], CBE Triangle [128], Tourist-based Brand Equity Pyramid [129], European City Brand Barometer [130] or relating to the sustainability of the city called Green Brand Hexagon [131,132]. The City Brand Hexagon consists of six elements: a presence related to the international status and position of the city, a place that focuses on the perception of physical aspects, the potential for economic and educational opportunities, the pulse associated with the urban lifestyle, inhabitants in the context of friendliness, and prerequisites related to the perception of the basic characteristics of the city [127]. An interesting concept is also the CBE triangle of such three elements: city brand elements (events and activities, history and heritage, graphics and symbols, process and institution, as well as artifacts and spatial planning), city brand measurement (quantitative, qualitative and mixed), and the city brand impact (economic, socio-political, image-identity) [128]. One of the most holistic approaches refers to CBBE for tourist destinations including four elements: destination brand awareness, perceived quality, destination brand image, and destination loyalty (cognitive, affective, conative and action). The destination choice flowchart consists of the following sequences: market (all existing destinations), consideration (awareness and unawareness set), evaluation (evoked, surrogate, and exclusion set), constraints (dream, available and unavailable set), choice and post visit-evaluation. This approach focuses on the two most important destination brand elements: favorite and dream destination [23].

Major Waves of CBE Research
The studies included in the SLR are characterized by different research topics resulting from different brand equity approaches analyzed in relation to the city. Five waves of researchers' interest can be distinguished ( Table 4). The first two waves refer to different ways of perceiving city brand loyalty. In the first wave, loyalty is seen as a result of CBE and, at the same time, as a result of all factors determining CBE. The second wave refers to considering loyalty as one of the CBE factors, alongside the brand image, brand awareness, and perceived brand quality. The third wave is related to communication with tourists and the importance of communication process in shaping CBE. This group examined social media and advertising, pointing to the need of selecting appropriate communication tools to show all the attributes of the city, including elements that make it unique and original. The fourth wave refers to unique city brand assets that are tourist attractions, and refer to history, culture, special events, etc. Unique city brand assets influence CBE directly or indirectly, shaping the image of the city, and brand quality. The last wave indicates a willingness to quantify CBE in order to make city comparisons. At the same time, the quantitative expression of the city brand equity may, in the opinion of city managers, be an element facilitating the management of the city brand. Brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand image and brand associations influence CBE. [96] Brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand image, and quality influence CBE. [106] 3 Communication and its role in shaping CBE DMO-and tourist-generated social media communication influence destination awareness and image directly, and destination quality indirectly. [75] Proper communication influences city branding and CBE. [78] Advertising influences brand image and promotion brand awareness. [87] Social media influence CBE. [75,86,100] 4 Unique city assets as drivers of CBE Unique city brand assets affect the city image directly and perceived quality indirectly. [77] Unique city brand assets influence BE. [91,98] Unique city selling offers influence city branding and CBE. [78] Historical determinants are important elements of CBE. [83,94,95,99] Cultural brand assets are one of the elements influencing CBE. [89,93,95,99,105,107] Functional city attributes influence CBE. [97,104]

CBE indicators
City Brand Index is calculated using the BE dimensions: attitude toward the brand, brand image, brand awareness and perceived quality. [81] CBE index is calculated using BE dimensions: attachment, image, recommendation and value for money. [108]

Factors Determining CBE
The identification of CBE determinants is the answer to the first research question. The main factors include brand image, brand quality, and brand awareness (Table 5). They were analyzed in 24, 21 and 19 studies, respectively. Brand loyalty was also frequently analyzed; however, in some cases brand loyalty was treated-according to Aaker's model [25]-as an element of BE, similarly as perceived quality, brand association and brand awareness. In other cases, brand loyalty was analyzed as a result of actions taken and the result of specific strategic activities applied in the area of city branding. This is consistent with the understanding of BE in the Keller's model [26]. Due to the fact that three factors (brand perceived quality, brand image and brand awareness) were most often analyzed as determining elements of CBE, a detailed description of them is provided below. Brand assets described both as separate factors or appearing as elements influencing the brand image and brand associations are discussed separately. At the same time, attention was paid to the sustainability elements concerning the specific determinants of CBE, which were included in the second and third research questions.

City Brand Image
In this SLR, the city brand image appeared in 24 studies as destination brand image [77,80,82,90,92,102,108,110], brand image [79,81,84,[86][87][88]95,96,100], and destination image [75,83]. It was analyzed in different ways by quantitative evaluation of statements and qualitative analysis of dimensions and factors determining perception of the city and its brand.
In the scientific literature, the brand image is defined as a separate set of associations related to the brand, held in the memory of the consumer [133], while the destination image is perceived as an interactive system of thoughts, opinions, feelings, visualizations and intentions concerning tourist destinations [134]. It is created by historic charms, the number of cultural and festival events, good museums and art galleries, outstanding scenery, good state parks and forests, and great places of outdoor activities [133]. Destination brand image perceived as perception of a place in the tourist memory [135], combines affective and cognitive structures [136]. Destination imagery refers also to the work and long memory with attention to the perception of destination imagery analyzed via functional, psychological, common and unique characteristics as well as in a holistic approach [23].
Studies included in this SLR indicated interesting cultural and historical attractions [82,102], an interesting brand [81], advantage, and originality over other destinations and cities [75]. Comparisons of tourist's personality and city brand [75,77,82,90,102] as well as the image of the tourist and the city image [77,81,82,90] were also referred to. The literature emphasizes that brand image includes the features and advantages that make a brand unique [137]. This is due to the fact that brand image is associated with personality [138]. Additionally, brand personality enables brand creation taking into account emotional links [2]. However, the brand image, apart from the personality, also includes the value association, and associations with the organization [139].
Some of the studies in this SLR have included the assessment of the city brand divided into affective image and cognitive image. In the case of Sarajevo city, the following statements were assessed as affective image: enjoyable, exciting and tourist-friendly city, as well as friendly and ready to help residents. In the group of creatures concerning the cognitive image, a combination of old and new buildings, a clean and uncontaminated city and the nature of the city were assessed [83].
The evaluation of the city brand image was often related to qualitative aspects. In the case of the city of Khalkhal, constructs such as: the weather of the city, the availability of travel information, the adventure atmosphere of the city, the hospitality rate of the residents and the natural attractions and beautiful landscapes of the city, were taken into consideration [92]. In some cases, brand image has included brand attitude and brand quality incorporating such elements as historical and aesthetical appealing, cleanliness, accommodation, infrastructure, shopping facilities, halal food, and culture [96].
In the evaluation of the image of Valencia, several levels were analyzed, referring to (1) cultural image, including cultural and historic city, interesting museums, tourist attractions; (2) nature, including parks, nature zones, environment of Valencia (villages and nature), and attractive beaches; (3) attractions and leisure, with shopping facilities (shops, shopping centers), events (fairs, festivals, etc.), and local gastronomy, and (4) Mediterranean city, considered in terms of tourists' perception of the city [86]. Similar aspects were taken into account when analyzing the image of Bandung city in Indonesia. In this case, offerings focusing on the historical aspects (museum and cultural/historical events) were associated with city ambiance, reflecting such features as atmosphere, weather, shopping facilities, entertainment and nightlife [106].
In the case of the city of Perm, the city image was evaluated on three levels. The low level indicated a negative image, and the city was characterized as dull, grey, and boring. The medium level was explained in the context of neutral image of the city, indicating the terms 'nothing to boast for, nothing to complaint for'. The high level, however, indicated a very attractive image of the city [104].
The above-mentioned factors influencing brand image are reflected in the literature [140][141][142][143][144][145]. One of the most extensive lists presents dimensions and attributes determining the perceived tourist destination image. This list includes the following elements: natural resources (e.g., weather, richness of the scenery, variety and uniqueness of flora and fauna), general infrastructure (e.g., health services, public and private transport, quality of roads, airports, commercial infrastructure), tourist infrastructure (e.g., hotel and self-catering accommodation, restaurants, tourist centers), political and economic factors (e.g., political stability and tendencies, economic development, prices, safety), culture, history and art (e.g., museums, historical buildings, monuments, religion, folklore, festivals, concerts, etc.), tourist leisure and recreation (e.g., theme parks, entertainment and sport activities), natural environment (beauty of the scenery, cleanliness, overcrowding, air and noise pollution), social environment (e.g., hospitality and friendliness of the local residents, language barriers, quality of life), and atmosphere of the place (e.g., destination described as luxurious, fashionable, exotic, relaxing, stressful, attractive, interesting, enjoyable, pleasant, etc.) [146].

City Brand Quality
Quality as an element of BE in relation to the city was analyzed in 22 studies as destination perceived quality [75,77,90,92], perceived brand quality [79,87,93], destination brand quality [80,82,99,102,110], perceived quality [81,84,88,89,107], and brand quality [86,96]. In one case, a division was made between destination service quality and destination natural quality [76]. In the literature, brand quality such as perceived quality is defined as the judgment made by the consumer regarding the overall perfection or superiority of a product. [147]. It may refer to such dimensions as: performance, reliability, durability, features, conformation quality, serviceability, as well as style and design [148]. For tourist destination, brand quality is defined as a strong and influential component of CBBE [123] and travelers' perception of a destination's ability to fulfill their expectations [149]. In this respect, it may refer to hotel accommodations, shopping entertainment [149] or in general do destination facilities [111].
Environmental aspects were important elements of the city brand quality assessment, in some cases influencing the brand image of the city. For example, in relation to Bandung city, environmental pollution, level of cleanliness and quality of infrastructure were assessed by tourists as unsatisfactory. This indicates that the level of quality as BE element depends on city pollution, infrastructure quality and cleanliness. Tourists visiting Bandung city felt unsatisfied with the polluted environment as the city is getting more crowded, and full of vehicles. They also pointed a lack of proper maintenance for public buildings and issues relating to public safety [106]. Similarly, in the case of Dubai, the quality aspects related to levels of cleanliness and quality infrastructure [82].
In the study on the city of Perm, the city's quality attributes were associated with ecology ratings; a low level referred to a highly polluted city, while a high level meant low pollution and an ecologically clear city. The development of transport was also analyzed, indicating that a low level of transport infrastructure meant uncomfortable road junctions, uncomfortable traffic net, limited railways and traffic. The development of the high level of infrastructure indicated the possibility of easy access to this city by various means of communication while at the same time providing good internal communication solutions [104]. Similar aspects were analyzed for Iranian cities, indicating clean air, high-quality transportation infrastructures, road infrastructure quality, and hygienic environment. Attention was also drawn to persistence (sustainable) quality [84].
In assessing the quality of cities, an important element was the availability of parks and green zones. In case of Perm city, the presence of parks was analyzed at low and high levels. A low level meant no green zones inside the city, while forests and rivers were hardly available. A high level indicated a large number of parks and available green zones [104]. As indicated by the studies quoted in the literature, the presence of natural green areas and parks is important in relation to destination BE as an important element of the dimension defined as "nature" [119]. Urban nature is important from an environmental and ecological point of view; it also provides psychological and emotional benefits to residents and tourists [150]. Environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits of urban nature influence four elements of city branding, including global competitiveness, social cohesion, lifestyle changes, and climate change [151]. At the same time, a "green" or environmentally sustainable city brand contributes to sustainable development [152]; additionally, a green city brand determines the willingness to stay in a city [153].
In some cases, sustainable elements were present in the evaluation of the quality of experience, which is the brand of performance. For the city brand of Sarajevo, transportation infrastructure, hotels and restaurants in terms of customer service and facilities, the variety of food and beverage choices, tourism information services, opportunities for entertainment and sport activities, as well as communication problems with locals, were considered [83]. The experience as an element of quality was also analyzed in the case of two American cities: Las Vegas and Atlantic City [110].
Quality aspects were also taken into account in the case of Lahore in such BE element as brand association, indicating high-quality services, high-quality tourist attraction and the overall picture of high quality [96]. The aspect of high-quality tourist attractions was also analyzed in the case of Shiraz [102] and Danang [90]. The quality of the experience is also determined by authentic cultural experience, which is particularly evident with Rome brand quality. The impact on brand loyalty considered as a willingness to recommend and visit again is achieved [99].
The quality of Valencia brand was analyzed quite differently. It indicated a very good tourist offer, a range of lodgings, good quality of local infrastructure and transport with a sense of security and satisfaction [86]. In the case of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, it has been pointed out that cities/destinations should provide tourism offerings of consistent quality and tourists can expect superior performance. As a result, destination performs better than other similar destinations [110]. The aspect of comparing performance with other destinations and the expectations of tourists for the best performance of the destination was also analyzed in the case of Shiraz [102] and Danang [90].
The quality of the Dubai brand in terms of the offer for tourists was analyzed as a high level of personal safety and high-quality of accommodation [82]. The quality assessment of the Seoul brand analyzed whether the quality of tourism products (accommodation, transportation, shopping, etc.) are outstanding. Attention was also paid to whether Seoul continuously provided high-quality tourism products and services [87]. Similarly, high-quality services and the high quality of accommodation centers were considered for 16 Iranian cities [84].
An interesting method of analyzing city brand quality was used for Alanya in Turkey. A differentiation was made for destination service quality, including accommodation, transportation, cleanness, hospitality activities, amenities, language and security and destination natural quality with climate, historical and cultural attractions. Studies have shown that the natural quality perceptions are mostly related to the emotion-based situations for individuals such as the atmosphere (climate, historical attractions) and the culture, they could have a relatively stronger impact on destination hedonic value perceptions [76].
In the scientific literature, brand awareness is described as familiarity, a signal of substance/commitment or an 'anchor to which other associations can be attached' [25]. It is also perceived as a necessary element for the image formation [26] representing the strength of the brand's presence in the mind of the target audience [139]. In the case of tourist destination, brand awareness is defined as the image of a destination existing in the minds of potential travelers [154]. Brand awareness of tourist destinations is also defined as the ability of tourists to recall a specific tourism destination among various locations, and to distinguish it from others [155,156]. Destination marketing aims to raise awareness of a destination by creating a unique brand [157].
In discussing the above results, it should be noted that brand awareness begins to appear after gaining more knowledge about the brand at the beginning, then the learning process begins; thereafter, the attractiveness of the brand begins to appear. These elements will create connotations, shape attitudes, and, as a result, positive attitudes can bring BE [158]. This aspect relates to the understanding of brand awareness as the ability to remember a brand logo [159]. At the same time, it should be noted that CBDBE creates and maintains brand awareness, and positive feelings, which could increase the possibility of revisiting [75].

Specific City Brand Assets
Brand assets are important elements for creating CBE. In the case of Rome, brand assets have been analyzed in order to assess the city as unique. Attention was paid to entertainment/nightlife options, cultural festivals, traditions, cultural events, street culture, monuments/heritage sites, cuisine, art centers, museums and contribution to world heritage. The greatest importance of cultural brand assets was related to entertainment/nightlife, festivals, events, traditions and street culture realized in a city known for its long history. These assets make Rome a famous cultural destination that immediately comes to mind when asked about culture and create city brand awareness [99]. Literature points to the importance of cultural assets indicating the existence of an urban cultural appeal matrix including hard and soft cultural assets as well as local vs. global nature of the key cultural variables [160].
An example of cyclical cultural events affecting the development of the city is the Pori Jazz Festival organized since 1966 in Pori in Finland. The development of the city and the festival took place simultaneously. Moreover, the transfer of image between the festival and the host city has been observed. The city has developed on a political, economic, environmental and social level, and the jazz festival has gained international recognition [107]. The literature shows the importance of music or film festivals and artistic performances in the promotion of cities. In this regard, festivals/artistic performances can be used by city tourism managers to promote city as a corporate brand [7,[161][162][163][164]. However, this depends on several factors, including the size of the festival, its importance, uniqueness, and frequency [161] as well as cooperation with tourist agencies and the government [165]. Local or minor theme festivals cannot be used as marketing tools to promote the city [161].
An important way to strengthen the CBE is to include the city on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This list includes 1121 properties of historical (869 properties), natural (213) and mixed (39) importance [166]. According to the mission of UNESCO and World Heritage Convention, "heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live today, and what we pass on to future generations" [167]. Among the studies in the SLR, the positive impact of brand awareness on brand image and perceived quality, brand image on perceived quality as well as brand loyalty and perceived quality on brand loyalty was found in the case of Hoi An City (Vietnam) included in the UNESCO list [77].
In turn, cultural differences in Istanbul, another UNESCO-listed city, have a significant impact on tourists' satisfaction and their desire to visit the city again. Cultural assets, such as monuments, heritage attractions, museums, art centers, cultural events and festivals, point to a competitive advantage. At the same time, associations with brands help build favorable attitudes and beliefs towards their brands to ensure a higher BE [89]. Similar brand assets were analyzed in the case of Lahore Fort on the UNESCO list [96]. However, in the case of Lulea, which is on the UNESCO list due to its historical old town, environmental considerations are also important. The city of Luleå comprises 1300 islands, and the mix of salt and fresh water makes the archipelago very special and unique [95].
The inclusion of the city in the UNESCO list increases its attractiveness and contributes to the development of cultural tourism. In this aspect, the intention of UNESCO is to develop sustainable tourism [168]. It is also fundamental to preserve its historical and artistic inheritance and, at the same time, to encourage visits to that area [169].
Another example of the city asset creating BE is the awarding of a prestigious title or the location of prestigious events in it. Among the cities surveyed, Turku in Finland, which has become European Capital of Culture, is an example. It is a prestigious title that allows the development of CBE through multifaceted activities, also in social, cultural and economic areas. Cities applying for this title must meet requirements, including a high-quality program of events; the commitment of public authorities, especially in terms of financing, and the involvement of social and economic stakeholders [105]. Similar experiences are quoted in literature for other cities [170].

Conclusions
Based on the SLR, it should be noted that there are many factors influencing CBE. The main factors include brand image, brand quality, and brand awareness. Each of these factors refers to a number of elements influencing the perception of the city's brand. They concern cultural and environmental aspects and are also related to services provided to tourists. Environmental factors related to air pollution, infrastructure quality, presence of green areas, quality of urban transport, cleanliness and safety are important in perceiving the quality of the city brand. The brand assets also determine CBE and relate to quantitative and qualitative elements confirming the uniqueness of the city and its brand.
The SLR fills a gap in terms of publications on CBE. However, it has limitations on the exclusion criteria used, which does not consider conference materials, books, dissertations and others. However, this is due to the rules applicable to all SLRs.
This type of research on CBE should be continued, trying to introduce quantitative indicators to compare the BE of different cities over a given period of time, as well as to analyze changes over time. This may prove to be particularly important to ensure sustainable city development.
Funding: The Article Processing Charge was financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education within funds of Institute of Human Nutrition, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS) for scientific research.

Conflicts of Interest:
The author declares no conflict of interest.