Research on the Growth Path and Mechanism of Regional Brands
（1.School of Economics and Management，South China Agricultural University，Guangzhou 510642，Guangdong，China ；
2.School of Economics，Central University of Finance and Economics，Beijing 100081，China）
Abstract：The cultivation of regional brands is the inevitable way to increase sales，guarantee prices，and generate income. The study on the growth path and mechanism of regional brands can provide a reference for regional brands of agricultural products in different growth stages from a strategic perspective，and promote the growth of regional brands. Based on the grounded theory method，the authors analyze the development process of the regional brand of Gannan navel orange from 1971 to 2020，and explore and reveal the growth path and mechanism of the regional brand. It is found that：the formation of regional brands can be divided into the category stage of the formation of regional core products，the quality stage of the formation of regional core capabilities，and the brand stage of the formation of regional brand ecosystems；the essence of regional brands is the integration process of brand relationship under the adaptation，recognition，certification and approval of product and region，and the integration process of various related stakeholders and various brand relationships under the PSBA mechanism and 3P growth mechanism；the growth process of regional brands is also a growth process from low to high of regional core competence；the purpose of regional brand building is to be able to build a regional brand ecosystem so as to obtain a systemic competitive advantage. Local governments should understand that regional brand building is a complex and systematic project，which can pull the development of the region as a whole；and the local governments should focus on regional brand building in the overall regional economic development and clarify the development target for different stages with the consideration of the characteristics of certain stages.
Key words：regional brand；growth path；formation mechanism；Gannan navel orange；case study