Business location: city image and trust

Purpose This study examines whether value-based trust arises from the metaphorical and experiential image of a business city and whether it serves as a key antecedent of business executives’ satisfaction, regardless of the city's management model. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach is adopted. First, the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique is used to explore executives' perceptions and mental associations of business cities. Next, a quantitative model is developed and tested using structural equation modeling with data from 1,801 managers of foreign firms in two Latin American cities. Findings The findings extend network governance, innovation ecosystem and smart and sustainable city models by showing that, beyond institutional and technological structures, a business city's competitiveness also depends on how these structures are perceived in terms of image, trust and satisfaction by visiting executives. This represents a clear and significant advance in both the theory and practice of business city management. Originality/value This study integrates three constructs that the literature has typically treated separately or mainly in tourism contexts rather than from a business city management perspective: a city's metaphorical and experiential image, value-based corporate trust and business executives’ satisfaction. Its value lies in the managerial implications, which distinguish global trends–where business destination management typically relies on established infrastructure, stable regulatory frameworks and institutionalized city-branding strategies–from Latin American contexts, where business city management must prioritize a more basic but strategically important agenda focused on reducing perceived risk, building trust and creating holistic experiences for business executives.