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The purpose of this paper is to offer a new conceptual model for nation branding, rooted in the marketing literature, with associated tasks for the nation brand marketer.

The paper draws on the extant literatures on brand identity systems, cultural branding and brand equity to develop a conceptual model for nation branding. The author also identifies five key challenges faced by the nation brand marketer.

Nation branding has captured the attention of policy makers around the world, but has only received limited attention by international marketing scholars. Much of the work on nation branding is done by practitioners who regard nation branding as a separate field of inquiry. The author argues that nation branding is an important emerging new form of branding, and that we should use and adapt the rich branding literature to deepen our understanding of nation branding and develop plans for action. The author proposes a model for nation branding, which consists of six stages. Furthermore, the author identifies five issues that keep the nation brand marketer awake at night.

The paper integrates three streams of work on branding to develop a new, six-step model for building strong nation brands. For each stage, the key tasks for the nation-branding marketer are identified.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a different perspective on the global consumer culture (GCC) phenomenon and identify new avenues for future research.

The paper is a thought piece.

The unprecedented globalization of the marketplace in the last 50 years has given rise to the emergence of GCC, and the rise of global companies and global brands, among others. Yet, as one surveys the globalscape, there are developments on the horizon that might threaten continued globalization. In this paper, the author discusses these developments and their implications around three interrelated, yet distinct, components of globalization: global integration of world economies, GCC and global brands.

The paper identifies unique research opportunities to study GCC in an emerging business context in which continued global integration is not guaranteed, and where globalization headwinds could reduce the contribution of perceived brand globalness to brand value.

The purpose of this paper is to present a response to papers written by Professors Samiee, Belk and Özsomer as commentary pieces on my original paper, “The uncertain future of globalization: implications for global consumer culture and global brands.”

The paper is in the form of an essay.

The commentaries highlight many areas of agreement with the overall thrust of the original paper, and also pinpoint novel and important additional avenues for reflection and research.

The paper builds on the commentaries, identifying additional ways forward for the field.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework – the 4V model – for better understanding how global brands create firm value. Organized around the global brand value chain, the 4V model includes four sets of value-creating activities: first, valued brands; second, value sources; third, value delivery; and fourth, valued outcomes.

The approach is conceptual with illustrative examples.

The sources of global brand value and the processes through which global brands contribute to firm value differ systematically across types of global brands. This paper highlights interrelations and how different activities built upon and reinforce each other.

The 4V model ties together broad strands of research conducted to date and offers insights into ways the paper might better understand and study global brands. It should inspire empirical research on the associations between the 4Vs.

International marketing managers should be able to develop and evaluate global brand strategies more effectively using the 4V model described in this paper. Linking their strategies to valued outcomes puts marketers more firmly at the level in the organization they deserve, namely, the C-Suite.

The framework offered in this paper is unique in that it blends insights obtained from multiple sources, namely, academic research, articles that appeared in the business press, case studies, and interactions with managers and policy makers around the world.

Reviews and discusses the role of national culture in international marketing research. Special emphasis is given to national cultural frameworks. The two main national cultural frameworks – the Hofstede and the Schwartz – are discussed. Their interrelations are examined and four comprehensive national‐cultural dimensions are derived – autonomy versus collectivism, egalitarianism versus hierarchy, mastery versus nurturance, and uncertainty avoidance. The usefulness of national culture as an analytical basis in international marketing research is discussed and the construct of national culture is placed in the context of layers of culture, ranging from global cultures to micro cultures. Acculturation processes to other national cultures and antecedents of national culture are examined. The paper ends with concluding remarks and suggestions for future research.

This paper aims to present a review of extant literature representing attempts to define perceived quality and to propose a new definition. Perceived quality (PQ) is a well-researched, yet vaguely defined subject. Despite a plethora of PQ definitions suggested by various scholars, there is no consensus among researchers on what it really is. The main purpose of this study is to offer a conceptualization of PQ that different researchers and practitioners would agree upon.

This study adopted Garvin's five approaches to defining quality as a frame of reference. The paper utilizes a continuum of approaches to underscore the fact that PQ is neither totally subjective nor wholly objective. After a comprehensive analysis of available conceptualizations, the paper then proposes a new definition that captures the intricate nature of PQ and aligns its various perspectives.

The paper proposes a new definition of PQ as an impression of quality. Such a conceptualization of PQ aligns the various researcher perspectives of it. It also highlights the fact that PQ relies on quality cues under conditions of limited product knowledge by the consumer, a situation known as information asymmetry.

The study contributes to the understanding of the elusive concept of PQ by suggesting a new definition of PQ.

This paper has two overall goals. The first is to serve as a broad overview of the literature on the subject theme, with three main objectives in mind: to highlight the complexities of international market selection or segmentation as a field of study and as a strategic decision by international firms; to explore the various ways and perspectives from which this area has been studied; and to suggest areas for future research by drawing on the preceding discussion. The second goal of the paper is to act as an introduction to the IMR special issue on the title theme, by outlining the special issue's objectives and the contributions to it.

Drawing on the relevant literatures, the paper begins by outlining the factors that make the field complex in both theoretical and applied terms, moves to consider the research streams that comprise its main components, and concludes by drawing conclusions and implications for future research.

A large part of the complexity characterizing this field arises from the fact that it is closely intertwined with the broader area of internationalization and a number of other decisions related to it, such as the “go/no‐go” decision and the firm's choice of mode of entry. From the research perspective, theory development has been impeded by a high degree of fragmentation, which has resulted in various different streams studying the same general issues from widely different perspectives.

The paper identifies a large number of directions for potential future research, not the least of which is the need for integrative research that addresses the fragmentation identified in the study.

Although this is primarily a theoretical paper directed at researchers, practitioners can gain useful insights from it by examining the various factors that have a bearing on their internationalization decisions.

The objectives of the main part of the paper will have been met if it succeeds in stimulating interest in further research and discussion on the core issues. The second part summarizes the contributions to the special issue and draws attention to the main message that each aims to convey.

This study examines consumer brand associations, focusing on the differences between association held for western brands and eastern brands by young Singaporeans under the country‐of‐origin umbrella. The study also examines consumer ethnocentric tendencies (CET), finding very low levels of ethnocentrism among respondents, and results indicate CET had no effect on brand preference or purchase intention.