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Consumers' evaluations of brand extensions have gained considerable attention in the marketing literature. The purpose of this study is to investigate how a brand's perceived global or local origin impacts evaluations of brand extensions and creates transfer effects of brand meaning. The paper conceptually characterizes the transference process and empirically tests the nature and extent of spillover effects of origin associations across multiple parent brands and extensions.

For the empirical testing of the conceptual model of transfer effects of origin associations we undertook a cross‐sectional consumer survey amongst a sample of 267 Norwegian respondents. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the causal relationships between the latent exogenous and endogenous variables in the conceptual model.

The present study indicates that the global and local origin framework, first introduced by Steenkamp et al. in 2003, can explain the occurrence of reciprocal transfer of brand meaning across parent brands and extensions. The paper shows that global and local origin associations operate in a manner very similar to brand associations in the transference of perceptions. It finds that distinct origin associations influence the pre‐brand image and drive the forward effect on the attitude towards the extension as well as the subsequent backward effect upon the post‐brand image of the parent brand.

This paper reveals for the first time that distinct origin associations can initiate spillover effects across parent brands and extensions. This study is therefore an important step towards the generalizability of main brand extension studies to other contexts such as extensions of global brands.

This paper compares the relative influence of perceived brand localness (PBL) and perceived brand globalness (PBG) on customer behavioral responses of brand loyalty (BL), willingness to pay price premiums (WTPP) and positive word of mouth (PWOM) towards retail banks. It further examines the mediating effects of brand trust (BT) on these relationships.

Data were collected from 320 retail banking customers in Trinidad and Tobago and analyzed with exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis (MRA).

The findings show that PBL has a more substantial impact on BL, willingness to pay a price premium and PWOM compared to PBG. The results also show that BT mediates the relationships between PBL and PBG on customer brand-related responses. The effect is more substantial for brands perceived as local.

The findings have important implications for banks in developing countries and suggest that localized positioning and branding strategies will trigger preferential brand-related responses in retail banking services. The paper ends with a discussion on the practical implications of these findings and present future research opportunities.

The paper responds to the rising skepticism and discomfort with globalization. It offers bank managers valuable insights on how global and local branding strategies affect brand-related outcomes. The study contributes to the literature by empirically comparing the effects of PBL and PBG in retail banking and demonstrating the unique contribution of BT in explaining why customers respond differently to global and local brands. It also simultaneously considers multiple customer responses.

The paper examined the impact of brand-identity expressiveness and perceived brand value that was neglected in prior literature, in addition to perceived brand quality and prestige, on behavioral intention. Research also tests if certain consumer values moderate this relationship.

Mall-interception technique was used. Also, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data and test research hypotheses.

Results indicate that perceived brand globalness (PBG) and perceived brand localness (PBL) are significantly positively associated with perceived quality and prestige. Besides, the inclusion of brand-identity expressiveness and perceived brand value was supported. PBL showed a greater association with brand identity expressiveness compared to PBG, different from previous findings. Furthermore, the total indirect effect of PBG on behavioral intentions was significant through the routes of perceived quality and prestige, compared to a weak and non-significant effect for PBL through the quality route.

This study proposes a comprehensive model testing additional pathways through which global and local brands can boost their preferences.

This research investigates if perceived brand globalness (PBG) can help mitigate the adverse effects of consumer animosity on brand evaluations and purchase intentions.

The authors analyze survey data from Chinese consumers (N = 395) and South Korean consumers (N = 420) using multi-group structural equation modeling. In both countries, the authors use Japanese products as stimuli, ensuring high comparability levels between the studies.

The authors empirically demonstrate that PBG can mitigate the negative consequences of consumer animosity by weakening the spillover effect between product–country image and brand evaluations. However, the authors find the mitigating effect of PBG only in China, not in South Korea.

By highlighting PBG's role as an actionable moderator that firms can manipulate to attenuate the negative consequences of consumer animosity toward a brand's country of origin, this work adds to the much-needed debate about how animosity-induced effects can be mitigated in times of global conflicts and tensions.

This study aims to extend current research efforts by utilizing the institutional theory to propose cross-cultural-based asymmetrical moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on the effectiveness of global, foreign and local consumer culture brand positioning strategies of high-tech products.

This study used an experimental design in the USA (developed country) and India (developing country). Print advertisements across the two countries were used to explore the proposed moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on consumer brand evaluations of a high-tech product under the three different consumer culture brand positioning strategies.

Overall, this study provided empirical evidence in support of the proposed cross-cultural asymmetrical effects. The study findings indicate that consumer ethnocentrism seems to be more important in influencing a subject’s brand evaluations across the positioning strategies in a developed country like the USA, while consumer cultural openness will be more important in influencing a subject’s brand evaluations across the positioning strategies in a developing country like India.

Despite existing research efforts on the potential benefits of positioning brands using global, foreign or local consumer cultures, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of these positioning strategies across different cultures. Theoretically, this research draws on the institutional theory to investigate the asymmetrical cross-cultural moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on the effectiveness of the three-consumer culture brand positioning strategies. Managerially, this study provides empirically based suggestions for brand managers attempting to position their brands with different segments of consumers while highlighting the importance of cultural differences between developed and developing markets.

While an increasing number of global brands are of emerging country origin, research about emerging global brands remains scare. The purpose of this paper is to provide the first theoretical effort to understand how consumers in the developed regions evaluate global brands from emerging countries. Building on globalization and social identity theory, the paper aims to shed light on the effect of global identity on consumer attitude toward emerging global brands, the process of such effect, and the boundary condition for it as well.

The authors used two non-student surveys in the USA and UK in which respondents’ global identity was measured and two laboratory experiments in which respondents’ global identity was primed. The operationalization of dependent variables is also divergent, either directly measuring attitude toward the global brands from developing countries or measuring consumer relative evaluation. Convergent results were reported from four studies.

The results show that when consumers’ global (vs local) identity is accessible, those from developed regions will show more favorable evaluations of global brands from emerging countries. And this effect is mediated by the positive association between global identity and globalization. Further, this effect emerged when consumers view global and local cultures as compatible with each other but disappeared when consumers view global and local cultures as oppositional to each other.

The findings have practical implications for global brand marketers from emerging economies to enter developed country markets, and to make their brands real global. Specifically, global identity consumers should be targeted and the compatible view of global and local cultures should be pronounced.

Focusing on global brands from emerging countries, this paper examines the global identity effect in developed country markets for the first time. The finding add new knowledge to the literature of globalization, global branding, and assimilation effect of global identity, and help to reconcile the heated debate on whether country of origin is still relevant to the globalized world.

This study investigates the underlying mechanism through which perceived local iconness increases customers’ purchase intentions for culturally mixed products.

It utilizes an online survey with purposive sampling to gather data. Structural equation modeling is applied to examine data gathered from 471 Chinese customers.

Consumers’ perceived local iconness of culturally mixed products positively influences their purchase intentions, and this connection is mediated by perceptions of quality, social and emotional values.

Incorporating Chinese cultural elements that can evoke local iconness perceptions among Chinese consumers is necessary for global brands. Moreover, when creating or promoting culturally mixed products, global brands should carefully consider consumers’ perceived quality, social and emotional values.

Drawing on the signaling theory, this study advances knowledge on how local iconness increases the value of and customers’ desire to purchase culturally mixed products. It provides practical suggestions on how global brands can succeed when launching culturally mixed products in emerging markets.

The phenomenon of global brands taking a stance on crucial, yet polarizing, socio-political issues, namely global brand activism, is rising. However, how consumer views on this practice are shaped when global branding elements are factored in remains unclear. Drawing from the functional theory of attitude formation, this study investigates the relationships of consumer characteristics (political ideology, consumer ethnocentrism) and brand factors (global brand attitudes and perceived motivation of global brand activists) with attitudes toward global brand activists.

Using a survey of a UK nationally representative sample (n = 439), we test our hypothesized model via structural equation modeling and mediation analysis.

Our findings reveal direct and indirect effects of political ideology on attitudes toward global brand activists (AttGBACTIVs). While consumer ethnocentrism and global brand attitudes do not directly drive AttGBACTIVs, they do influence them indirectly. Perceived motivation of global brand activists emerges as a key mechanism activating these effects and affecting AttGBACTIVs.

First, this study constitutes a novel examination of consumer views of brand activism through a global branding lens. Second, our investigation uniquely combines important determinants of brand activism outcomes with key international marketing factors (namely consumer ethnocentrism and global brand attitudes). Third, the concurrent exploration of individual and brand factors in our mediated model reveals the complex mechanisms through which attitudes toward global brand activists are formed.

This paper aims to analyze different brand clarity levels (BCLs) of local, global and glocal types of brands in fast-moving consumer goods from the consumer's perspective. The study also intends to identify whether the consumer's previous experience with such brands may impact BCL.

Twenty-eight global and local brands were used to test the hypotheses by conducting a survey with 400 consumers in the emerging economy of Iran. The authors applied a quantitative technique of brand classification, previously proposed in the literature. After categorizing the brands as local, global or glocal, one-way ANOVA, Tukey post hoc and t-test analyses were performed to identify whether the different types of brands had different BCLs.

The results showed that brand clarity was significantly higher for local bands than for global or glocal brands and that it was higher for glocal bands than for global brands. Furthermore, the consumer's prior experience with a brand had no impact on BCL for different types of brands.

For global brand managers, it is essential to know that local brands in Middle Eastern emerging markets may have more brand clarity than global brands. Therefore, if global brands intend to enter these markets, adopting a glocal positioning appears to be a helpful strategy. Besides, the results suggest that managers should analyze brand categorization from the consumer's perspective, i.e. from a subjective instead of an objective perspective.

This was the first study analyzing the BCL of local, global and glocal brands and identifying significant differences in their BCL.

This paper aims to clarify the challenge of emerging countries’ firms regarding their brand policy. The purpose of the paper is to examine the branding options offered to emerging countries companies when expanding internationally.

After having clarified the two paradoxes faced by emerging countries’ brands by way of synthesizing various works, the author formulates a model that provides a representation for the possible brand strategy choices of emerging country companies.

The authors formulate a framework with four brand management options which may be put into practice in emerging countries’ companies and suggest how an emerging country’s company could create and develop the best-adapted international brand policy depending on its specific situation regarding localness emphasis and customers’ risk reduction acceptance.

Results lead to the conclusion that the notion that only global brands are associated with higher product quality or prestige (in relation to local brands) is not a universal truth and thus needs to be interpreted with caution. The research provides support for a branding strategy embedded in the local emerging countries context and tally with research showing that more and more firms from emerging economies are using foreign image association strategies as important components of their branding and marketing strategies.

The proposal reinforces the contingency perspective of international marketing according to which brand policy may depend on company criteria, as well as foreign market specificities. The research confirms the competitive capacity of emerging countries’ companies’ brands, broadens the scope of international branding knowledge by shifting the focus to under-researched regions of the world.