Rethinking Public Administration and the Importance of Urban Marketing

This article analyses the role of urban marketing in the governance of local governments in Ecuador in line with the Organic Code for Regional, Autonomous and Decentralized Organization (COOTAD). The governance debate demonstrates the potential that local governments may have to assume the competence to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). It also highlights the importance of urban marketing in the construction of Ecuador’s branding or of Ecuador’s image and its economic positioning in the regional and international sphere. The paper arrives at the conclusion that local government is coordinating commercial and institutional agendas to ensure economic, socio-political and technological development in Ecuador.