An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Approach to Identifying Key Criteria of Taiwan’s National Brand

Nation branding benefits industrial upgrading within a nation and closes the competitiveness gap between nations. A nation that lacks a strong, positive, reputable national brand cannot maintain its competitiveness aimed at attracting consumers, tourists, investors, or immigrants and cannot gain the respect and attention of other nations or the global media. All nations are currently vying to create their own national brands. Taiwan has also attempted to define its advantages and develop its national brand to not only respond to current development trends, but also to examine issues facing Taiwan’s development. Because of this, key criteria of Taiwan’s nation branding were identified in this study. The expert interview methodology was used to discuss and compile a criteria system of Taiwan’s national brand and the analytic hierarchy process technique was used to calculate the relative weights for these criteria. Results showed that the most suitable criteria for Taiwan’s nation branding were based on the dimension of culture; within this dimension, the criterion historical heritage was most crucial. This study can serve as a reference for the government when it needs to determine areas to focus on in nation branding.