National branding supports countries to improve their international reputation, to attract investment, to link their national name with comparative advantages of producing products or services, and to attract buyers and visitors. The globalization of markets has increased the competitiveness of states and political influence in markets, and national branding has become a vital tool. Healthcare within the environment of seamless information and easy patient movement from state to state has led states to strive to convince the public opinion of the medical specialized services their country provides to attract patients for treatment. This chapter sought to examine whether Greece can acquire national branding in medical tourism and in the production of generic medicines. This approach has shown that there is potential, but specific policies need to be pursued to achieve the goal. This chapter reveals that the combination medical tourism and production of generic medicines can be essential elements towards a concrete national branding strategy.
Top1. Introduction
A country's competitiveness depends on many factors, including the value of National Branding (Domazet, 2016). The National Branding improves the image of the country and its reputation and becomes a pole of attraction for foreign investments and attraction of buyers and visitors (Mary, & Misiani, 2017). Through National Branding, the aim is to create a favorable position for the country and to create a distinction that is strong and attractive. (Mohammadifar etal, 2019). Successful National Branding allows a country not only to improve its image in the international audience but also to increase its political influence, promote and export its products and services, strengthen partnerships and improve its competitiveness (Zhukovets, 2018). Globalization has increased competition between states (Aronczyk, 2013) and now National Branding has become the norm for the promotion of services such as tourism (Njiru,2016). The same was reflected in the National Branding and in the research of Ejov & Ejov (2019) because it enhances the global competitiveness of the state and its political influence. Zeineddine (2017) considers that National Branding is vital for attracting investment, exports, attracting tourists and attracting a talented workforce. The same is claimed by the researches conducted by Aronczyk, (2013) and Dinnie (2008). There is a clear distinction between National Branding and commercial Branding and the element of difference lies in the role that national identity plays in the international audience (Dinnie, 2008). Fan's (2010) research has shown that there are more differences between National Branding and trade Branding than commonalities. National Branding has become so necessary in the globalization of markets to the point that some states consider it as an antidote to their problems (Aronczyk, 2013; Kaneva, 2012). In the field of healthcare even a small unit of care can acquire National Branding because consumers of healthcare services are now looking for a reliable brand (Mangini, 2002). Consumers of health care services trust Branding which, however, must be based on codes of ethics, morality and social responsibility (Sirisha, & Babu, 2014). Gianduzzoetal's (2016) research conducted in Australia and New Zealand and examining the impact of Branding on a healthcare unit found that Branding increases public understanding. Branding in the competitive environment of healthcare is of particular importance (Divianietal, 2015). Medical services utilize Branding to expand their competitiveness, to differentiate themselves from other providers and for their effective treatments (Berry & Seltman 2007). National Branding is an important element in attracting customers to healthcare (Joshi, 2018) and to be built it must be based on patient experiences, emotional connections and lifestyle (Maher, 2014). Creating Geo-Branding requires sufficient knowledge of the goal it promotes as it addresses a wide audience interested in different aspects (Freire, 2005). A typical case is the attempt of many countries to acquire National Branding in medical tourism. (Ganguli, & Ebrahim, 2017; Viladrich, & Baron-Faust, 2014; Heung, etal, 2011). Among the emerging potentials that are developing in Greece for the acquisition of National Branding is medical tourism and the production of generic medicines. However, in alternative forms of tourism, there is a need to overcome various obstacles in exploiting government funds (Apostolopoulos et al, 2020a) and this can create delays in building and promoting a national product. This article focuses on these two areas and examines the possibility and the necessary conditions to acquire National Branding.