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Although firm growth through the acquisition of independent players is at a record high, market reports reveal a parallel increase in independent firms that enjoy noticeable consumer support across industries and threaten MNC-owned brands in several countries. Despite this evident contrast, no research has investigated how independent firms stack up against their non-independent counterparts from a consumer perspective. This study examines this standoff and proposes that independent firms outperform their non-independent contenders in fostering perceptions of product craftmanship and warmth in specific product categories and cultures.

Three experimental studies were conducted across five countries (Study 1: N = 360; USA and China – Study 2: N = 487; UK and India – Study 3: N = 323; Italy). Data were analysed using experimental techniques (Analysis of Variance) and conditional process analyses (Moderated Mediation) using PROCESS.

The findings suggest that (1) firm independence fosters perceptions of product craftmanship and warmth in individualistic cultures, (2) consumers view products sold by independent firms as warmer and more authentic than products sold by non-independent firms in hedonic but not in utilitarian product categories, (3) the positive effects of firm independence on product craftmanship and warmth are neutralized for vertically collectivist cultures (India) and reversed in horizontally collectivist cultures (China), (4) loss of firm independence leads to higher drops in perceived craftmanship and product preference when it is caused by a takeover from a foreign multinational (compared to a domestic corporation).

This research provides a first account of how perceptions of firm independence drive assessments of product craftmanship and authenticity, elicit feelings of warmth and build product preference. The findings inform decisions of multinational corporations regarding (1) how to communicate the acquisition of independent firms in local markets, (2) how to balance an international brand portfolio in culturally diverging markets and different product industries, (3) how to optimize brand architecture through the relative exposure of the corporate brand image vis-à-vis the image of standalone brands owned by the corporation and (4) offer smaller independent players an alternative positioning strategy to differentiate from global competitors enjoying the resources or support of bigger corporations.

The dominant paradigm in international branding research treats perceived brand globalness (PBG) and localness (PBL) as attributes algebraically participating in brand assessment and disregards the perception of brands as humanlike entities actively embedded in consumers’ social environments. Challenging this view and drawing from stereotype theory, the purpose of this paper is to suggest that PBG/PBL trigger the categorization of products under the superordinate mental categories of global/local brands which carry distinct stereotypical content. Such content transfers to every individual product for which category membership is established and shapes brand responses.

One experimental study (Study1, n=134) tests the process of global/local brand stereotype formation, identification and content transfer. Subsequently, two consumer surveys test the impact of brand stereotypes on brand approach/avoidance tendencies (Study2, n=328) and consumer–brand relationships (Study3, n=273). Data were analyzed with experimental techniques and structural equation modeling.

The findings suggest that upon categorization under the global or local brand class, individual brands are charged with the stereotypical content of the class. Global brands are predominantly stereotyped as competent while local brands are predominantly stereotyped as warm. Localness-induced warmth has uniformly positive effects, whereas globalness-induced competence acts as a double-edged sword which can both help and harm the brand.

This research contributes by proposing a novel conceptualization of global and local brands as groups of intentional marketplace agents stereotyped along their intentions and abilities, empirically establishing the process through which individual brands are assigned stereotypical judgments and demonstrating how these judgments impact critical brand outcomes and consumer–brand relationships.

This paper aims to respond to calls in academia for an update of the product lifecycle (PLC). Through a systematic literature review, the authors provide an updated agenda, which aims to advance the PLC concept in research, teaching and practice.

The authors started by surveying 101 marketing academics globally to ascertain whether a PLC update was viewed necessary and beneficial in the marketing community and thereafter conducted citation analysis of marketing research papers and textbooks to ascertain PLC usage. The subsequent literature review methodology was split into two sections. First, 97 empirical articles were reviewed based on an evaluative framework. Second, research pertaining to the PLC determinants were assessed and discussed.

From the results of this review and primary data from marketing academics, the authors find that the method of predicting the PLC based on past sales has been largely unsuccessful and perceived as somewhat outdated. However, a new stream of PLC literature is emerging, which takes a consumer-centric perspective to the PLC and has seen more success at modeling lifecycles in various industries.

First, the study outlines the most contemporary and successful methodological approaches to modeling the PLC. Namely, the use of artificial intelligence, big data, demand modeling and consumer psychological mechanisms. Second, it provides several future research avenues using modern market trends such as sustainability, globalization, digitization and Covid-19 to push the PLC into the 21st century.

The PLC has shown to be resolutely popular in management application and education. However, without a continued effort in academic PLC research to update the knowledge around the concept, its use as a productive management tool will likely become outdated. This study provides a necessary and comprehensive literature update resulting in actionable future research and teaching agendas intended to advance the PLC concept into the modern market context.

Despite considerable investigations of the various outcomes of perceived brand globalness (PBG), the concept itself remains ambiguous, demanding further conceptual refinement. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to global branding literature by suggesting an extended conceptualization of PBG, and empirically testing a corresponding extended model of global brand effects, relative to the conventional operationalization.

An empirical study (n=907) involving 63 brands across eight different product categories provides new insights into the composition of global brand effects by explicitly discriminating between different facets of consumers’ brand globalness perceptions (i.e. perceived market reach (PMR), perceived standardization (PST) and global consumer culture positioning (GCCP)).

The results clearly show that effects associated with global brands are not exclusively positive. While PMR and GCCP have positive effects on consumers’ brand evaluations and attitudes, PST has a strong negative effect on the same outcomes. These effects apply to both domestic and foreign global brands and occur irrespective of the perceived level of risk associated with a given product category.

The results provide managers a clearer picture of the up- and downsides of brand globalness perceptions and urge future studies on global brands to incorporate constructs that account for facets beyond a brand’s market reach to capture the phenomenon holistically.