Legitimacy of public–private partnerships for place development and branding: The case of Sønderborg municipality in Denmark

Place branding, while seen as a public responsibility, is in many places undertaken by public–private partnerships (PPPs) between the local authorities and the local business sector. Yet, the private actors’ presence in the place branding process can become so significant that it questions the democratic legitimacy of the process. This article studies the legitimacy of place branding initiatives undertaken in the form of PPPs in a smaller Danish municipality. The initiatives and their respective PPPs are introduced, and three dimensions of legitimacy are analysed: input (participation and inclusiveness), throughput (transparency and procedural fairness) and output (effectiveness and outcomes). Based on qualitative data, the analysis shows that while PPPs can enhance output legitimacy by creating positive results, they may simultaneously compromise input and throughput legitimacy by limiting democratic accountability, reducing transparency and narrowing public engagement. The article argues that these trade-offs pose challenges for the legitimacy of place branding processes that rely heavily on PPPs, including the risk of creating path dependencies that become difficult to break, and a laissez-faire attitude among other actors for their contributions.