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This research distinguishes between abstract brand concepts built through the development of diverse product portfolios (i.e. portfolio abstractness) and those built through establishing human-like images (i.e. image abstractness), and investigates the joint effect of the two types of brand abstractness on building brand equity.

The three studies presented use experimental design with participants in a laboratory setting and members of an online participant panel.

Three studies demonstrate that while building abstractness by expanding a brand’s product portfolio can generate favorable brand evaluations, this positive effect is marginal compared to when the brand is imbued with human-like characteristics. Furthermore, the favorable effects on brand equity because of abstractness associated with a human-like brand image are evident in protection from brand dilution in the face of negative publicity.

The findings suggest that a consideration of different forms of abstractness is key to unlocking the complexities of understanding customer-based brand equity.

This research shows that although building abstractness through a diversified product portfolio or a symbolic, human-like brand image can favorably impact customer-based brand equity (i.e. attitudes and responses to negative publicity), the former strategy has a marginal effect compared to the latter.

This is the first research to conceptualize brand abstractness as stemming from broad portfolios or from human-like brand images. Additionally, it provides a holistic understanding of how these two forms of abstractness jointly influence brand evaluations and responses to negative publicity.

The purpose of this paper is to propose cultural equity as a construct to better understand the characteristics that define a culturally symbolic brand and the downstream consequences for consumer behavior and nation branding in the era of globalization.

This paper is an empirical investigation of the knowledge and outcome aspects of cultural equity with a total of 1,771 consumers located in three different countries/continents, 77 different brands as stimuli, and using a variety of measures, surveys, lab experiments, procedures and consumer contexts.

Cultural equity is the facet of brand equity attributed to the brand's cultural symbolism or the favorable responses by consumers to the cultural symbolism of a brand. A brand has cultural equity if it has a distinctive cultural symbolism in consumers' minds (brand knowledge aspect of cultural equity: association with the central concept that defines the culture, embodiment of culturally relevant values and embeddedness in a cultural knowledge network), and such symbolism elicits a favorable consumer response to the marketing of the brand (outcome aspect of cultural equity: favorable evaluations and strong self-brand connections).

This paper offers a framework that allows marketers to develop cultural positioning strategies in hyper-competitive and globalized markets and identify ways for building and protecting their brands' cultural equity.

This paper advances our understanding of brands as cultural symbols by introducing cultural equity and integrates prior research on brand equity, cross-cultural differences in consumer behavior, country-of-origin effects and nation branding.

The purpose of this paper is to comment on the conceptual framework highlighting the reinforcing nature of global consumer culture.

The approach is conceptual with illustrative examples.

The authors integrate the conceptual framework that highlights the reinforcing nature of global consumer culture with recent findings about the psychology of globalization. Specifically, the authors bring attention to the perceptual, cognitive and motivational consequences of globalization, as well as its effects on consumer identification. The authors illustrate how this integration provides insights for better predicting consumer behavior in a globalized world.

One key aspect of globalization is the creation of multicultural spaces in contemporary societies. Taking a psychological approach, the authors discuss how consumers respond to the process of culture mixing at the heart of globalization. This has consequences for marketers’ global endeavors and provides a nuanced understanding of consumer behavior in a globalized world.

The paper integrates a novel framework with recent findings about the psychology of globalization, opening avenues for future research on global consumer cultures.

The purpose of this paper is to comment on the article by He et al., and to propose a framework for the worldwide dissemination of a nation brand image as a way to understand the nature and resilience of nation brands.

The approach is conceptual with illustrative examples.

By integrating research on the dissemination of cultural narratives in a power structure with the literature on shared reality and consensual perceptions, this paper develops a framework for future research on the factors that impact the emergence of a consensual image about a nation brand. These factors include the nation’s political and economic power, the widespread adoption of the nation’s language and the nation’s cultural attractiveness. The framework further proposes that these factors positively affect the likelihood that people would develop an image of what they perceive is widely shared about a nation brand, or the shared reality about the image of such nation brand. The framework also elaborates on some of the consequences for perpetuating the nation brand image and for reinforcing brand-affiliative consumption behaviors.

This paper offers a framework that allows marketers to further understand the worldwide dissemination of nation brands.

The paper integrates a novel framework with recent findings about the psychology of globalization, opening avenues for future research on nation branding.

To introduce the concept of cultural equity and provide a theoretical framework for managing cultural equity in multi-cultural markets.

Recent research on the social psychology of globalization, cross-cultural consumer behavior, consumer culture, and global branding is reviewed to develop a theoretical framework for building, leveraging, and protecting cultural equity.

Provides an actionable definition for a brand’s cultural equity, discusses consumer responses to brands that relate to cultural equity, identifies the building blocks of cultural equity, and develops a framework for managing cultural equity.

Research conducted mainly in large cities in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Generalizations to less developed parts of the world might be limited.

A very useful theoretical framework for managers interested in building cultural equity into their brands and for leveraging this equity via new products and the development of new markets.

The paper integrates past findings across a variety of domains to develop a parsimonious framework for managing cultural equity in globalized markets.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate cultural variations in the qualities that White Americans and Hispanic Americans believe power-holders should embody, and the situations in which these norms influence consumer satisfaction.

Two experimental studies (n1=130 and n2=121) and one field study (n=241) were conducted with White American and Hispanic participants. Results were analysed using ANOVA and regression.

White Americans are predisposed to apply to power-holders injunctive norms of treating others justly and equitably, whereas Hispanics are predisposed to apply injunctive norms of treating others compassionately. These cultural variations in the use of injunctive norms were more evident in business or service contexts in which power was made salient, and emerged in the norms more likely to be endorsed by White American and Hispanic participants (Study 1), their approval of hypothetical negotiators who treated suppliers equitably or compassionately (Study 2), and their evaluations of powerful service providers in a real-life, on-going and consequential interaction (Study 3).

This research suggests key implications for our theoretical understanding of the role of social norms in carrying cultural patterns, as well as for cross-cultural theories of consumer satisfaction with service providers.

Marketers should pay attention to signals of fairness (compassion) in their services, as perceptions of fairness (compassion) by White American (Hispanic) consumers can boost satisfaction ratings. This is particularly important in service encounters that might be characterized by power differentials, such as those in health care and financial services.

As consumer markets grow more culturally diverse, it is important for marketers to understand how distinct notions of power impact the attitudes and behaviors of consumers from different cultures. This research investigates the implications of distinct power concepts for multi-cultural consumers’ evaluations of service providers, an important and under-researched area with implications for global service management.

This paper aims to study English as second language (ESL) consumers in the USA. The authors seek to focus on consumers who are literate in their native country, yet akin to fish out of water due to language difficulties and unfamiliarity with the marketplace.

Using qualitative interviews of 31 informants and shopping observations of a small subset, the authors examined cognitive predilections, decision making, emotional trade‐offs, and coping strategies of ESL consumers.

The findings relate to cognitive predilections, decision making and emotional trade‐offs, and coping strategies of ESL consumers.

The authors analyze ESL consumers from a situational literacy perspective, viewing the situations faced by ESL consumers in terms of functional literacy skills. The findings provide a variety of new insights, and have important theoretical and practical implications for theory and practice.