The Interplay Between Perceived Brand Globalness, Domestic Brand Origin, and Brand Attitude

Abstract

We argue that conflicting results of global branding studies with regard to the impact of globalness of brands may be due to a crucial distinction that has been left out in these studies: the distinction between domestic global and foreign global brands. By using consumer data from thirty different countries and cross-classified random effects modeling, we empirically test the effect of and the interplay between perceived brand globalness and domestic brand origin on brand attitude across countries with varying economic development levels. Our results show that both perceived brand globalness and domestic brand origin are significant determinants of positive brand attitude, and these effects are stronger in less economically developed countries. We also find that the effect of a domestic brand’s being perceived as global has a greater positive effect on brand attitude for consumers from less economically developed countries than those from more-economically developed countries.