Changes in the Image of Szczecin between 2013 and 2023 in Empirical Research

Purpose: Managing a city should be viewed in terms of competitive relationships. Two types of strategic resources should be identified, which are essential and often even decisive for the competitiveness of cities. The first of these is highly competent people. The second resource that shapes the competitiveness of a place is its image. It makes it possible to attract and keep human resources, which are particularly valuable and essential for the development of a place but which have their own, often above-average, expectations. In this context, this article aims to identify management students' perception of the image of Szczecin and the changes in its image over the past decade. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors conducted a study on the image of the city of Szczecin. It is one of not the largest but significant urban and academic centres in Poland. It is strongly influenced by larger cities, which results, among other things, in the loss of current and potential highly qualified staff. The study used a survey questionnaire tool. The technique used was CAWI, which PAPI replaced in individual cases (technical difficulties). Respondents were management students of all years of full-time study, both first- and second-cycle, at the Faculty of Economics, Finance and Management at the University of Szczecin. 147 completed questionnaires were obtained out of 340 students. The arbitrary choice of students as a target group aligns with the priorities in the city's development strategy where the research was carried out. The data was compared with data obtained a decade ago. Findings: The presented comparative analysis of the primary data obtained in the surveys generally revealed a slight improvement in the image of Szczecin as perceived by management students over the last decade. The terms with which respondents most identified were pretty, natural and open. For the first of these, there was a marked improvement in perception, the second a slight improvement, and the third a noticeable deterioration from the results of 10 years ago. Practical Implications: The presented results and directions of their interpretation may become a voice in the discussion on the current image of Szczecin, the use of the past decade for its building or possible changes in the strategy and directions of activities in the area of city brand management, which is integrated with the strategy of Szczecin's development until 2025. It can provide information on what needs to be done to build a strong brand for Szczecin and attract highly qualified staff. Possible directions for further research were also indicated. Originality/Value: Own research was conducted on the image of Szczecin in the eyes of students, and changes in perception of the image over the last decade were analysed. The proposed procedure seems to be useful in the case of many other cities with similar problems.