Skip to main content
Log in

Global brand value in developed, emerging, and least developed country markets

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Brand Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper examines how a brand’s perceived globalness creates value across three different market types: developed, emerging, and least developed country markets. The author proposes that differing normative institutional environments across these three market types induce differing consumer values with respect to global brands. Utilizing nonstudent samples from countries which represent each market type (USA, India, Madagascar), the results show that the relationship between perceived brand globalness and perceived brand quality is significant and positive in a least developed country market, only marginally significant in an emerging market, and not significant in a developed market. The relationship between perceived brand globalness and perceived brand prestige is significant and positive in an emerging and a least developed country market, and not significant in a developed market. Finally, the relationship between perceived brand prestige and perceived brand quality is positive and significant across all three markets. These findings advance international marketing theory and practice by providing further insight into how MNEs should promote their brands across different market types.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akaka, M.A., and D.L. Alden. 2010. Global brand positioning and perceptions: International advertising and global consumer culture. International Journal of Advertising 29 (1): 37–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alden, D.L., J.B.E. Steenkamp, and R. Batra. 1999. Brand positioning through advertising in Asia, North America, and Europe: The role of global consumer culture. Journal of Marketing 63 (1): 75–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baek, T.H., J. Kim, and J.H. Yu. 2010. The differential roles of brand credibility and brand prestige in consumer brand choice. Psychology and Marketing 27 (7): 662–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. 2002. Social cognitive theory in cultural context. Applied Psychology 51 (2): 269–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batra, R., V. Ramaswamy, D.L. Alden, J.B.E. Steenkamp, and S. Ramachander. 2000. Effects of brand local and non-local origin on consumer attitudes in developing countries. Journal of Consumer Psychology 9 (2): 83–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brucks, M., V.A. Zeithaml, and G. Naylor. 2000. Price and brand name as indicators of quality dimensions for consumer durables. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 28 (3): 359–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chakravarti, D. 2006. Voices unheard: The psychology of consumption in poverty and development. Journal of Consumer Psychology 16 (4): 363–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, M., and M. Laroche. 2007. Acculturaton to the global consumer culture: Scale development and research paradigm. Journal of Business Research 60 (3): 249–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, B.L., S.T. Certo, R.D. Ireland, and C.R. Reutzel. 2011. Signaling theory: A review and assessment. Journal of Management 37 (1): 39–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Contractor, F.J., S. Lahiri, B. Elango, and S.K. Kundu. 2014. Institutional, cultural and industry related determinants of ownership choices in emerging market FDI acquisitions. International Business Review 23 (5): 931–941.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuervo-Cazurra, A., and M. Genc. 2008. Transforming disadvantages into advantages: Developing-country MNEs in the least developed countries. Journal of International Business Studies 39 (6): 957–979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawar, N., and P. Parker. 1994. Marketing universals: Consumers’ use of brand name, price, physical appearance, and retailer reputation as signals of product quality. Journal of Marketing 58 (2): 81–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Der-Karabetian, A., and Y. Ruiz. 1997. Affective bicultural and global-human identity scales for Mexican-American adolescents. Psychological Reports 80 (3): 1027–1039.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., M. Diener, and C. Diener. 1995. Factors predicting the subjective well-being of nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69 (5): 851–864.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dimofte, C.V., J.K. Johansson, and I.A. Ronkainen. 2008. Cognitive and affective reactions of US consumers to global brands. Journal of International Marketing 16 (4): 113–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunning, J.H., C. Kim, and D. Park. 2008. Old wine in new bottles: A comparison of emerging-market TNCs today and developed-country TNCs thirty years ago. In The rise of transnational corporations from emerging markets: Threat or opportunity, ed. K.P. Sauvant, 158–180. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, J.L., and P. Scholder Ellen. 2013. Transparency in pricing and its effect on perceived price fairness. Journal of Product and Brand Management 22 (5/6): 404–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forbes. 2016. The world’s most valuable brands. Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/. Accessed 26 Sept 2016.

  • Frieswijk, N., B.P. Buunk, N. Steverink, and J.P. Slaets. 2004. The effect of social comparison information on the life satisfaction of frail older persons. Psychology and Aging 19 (1): 183–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, J.K., C.E. Cryder, and A. Cheema. 2013. Data collection in a flat world: The strengths and weaknesses of Mechanical Turk samples. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 26 (3): 213–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamzaoui Essoussi, L., and D. Merunka. 2007. Consumers’ product evaluations in emerging markets: Does country of design, country of manufacture, or brand image matter? International Marketing Review 24 (4): 409–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, C.M., and V. Terpstra. 1988. Country-of-origin effects for uni-national and bi-national products. Journal of International Business Studies 19 (2): 235–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R.P. 2005. Do the poor deserve less than surfers? An essay for the special issue on vulnerable consumers. Journal of Macromarketing 25 (2): 215–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R.P., K.D. Martin, and L.N. Chaplin. 2012. A tale of two marketplaces: Consumption restriction, social comparison, and life satisfaction. Marketing Letters 23 (3): 731–744.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hitt, M.A., M.T. Dacin, E. Levitas, J.L. Arregle, and A. Borza. 2000. Partner selection in emerging and developed market contexts: Resource-based and organizational learning perspectives. Academy of Management Journal 43 (3): 449–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoskisson, R.E., L. Eden, C.M. Lau, and M. Wright. 2000. Strategy in emerging economies. Academy of Management Journal 43 (3): 249–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huq, S., H. Reid, M. Konate, A. Rahman, Y. Sokona, and F. Crick. 2004. Mainstreaming adaptation to climate change in least developed countries (LDCs). Climate Policy 4 (1): 25–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joseph, M. 2011. India faces a linguistic truth: English spoken here. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/world/asia/17iht-letter17.html?_r=0. Accessed 15 May 2016.

  • Kasser, T. 2002. Sketches for a self-determination theory of values. In Handbook of self-determination research, ed. E.L. Deci, and R.M. Ryan, 123–140. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katyal, R. 2015. India census exposes extent of poverty. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/02/asia/india-poor-census-secc/. Accessed 25 Jan 2016.

  • Keller, K.L., and D.A. Aaker. 1992. The effects of sequential introduction of brand extensions. Journal of Marketing Research 29 (1): 35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotler, P., and D. Gertner. 2002. Country as brand, product, and beyond: A place marketing and brand management perspective. Journal of Brand Management 9 (4): 249–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumaraswamy, A., R. Mudambi, H. Saranga, and A. Tripathy. 2012. Catch-up strategies in the Indian auto components industry: Domestic firms’ responses to market liberalization. Journal of International Business Studies 43 (4): 368–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindell, M.K., and D.J. Whitney. 2001. Accounting for common method variance in cross-sectional research designs. Journal of Applied Psychology 86 (1): 114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludlow, C. 1997. The global identity crisis in the airline industry. Journal of Brand Management 5 (2): 85–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y., and R.L. Tung. 2007. International expansion of emerging market enterprises: A springboard perspective. Journal of International Business Studies 38 (4): 481–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie, S.B., and P.M. Podsakoff. 2012. Common method bias in marketing: Causes, mechanisms, and procedural remedies. Journal of Retailing 88 (4): 542–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnusson, P., S.A. Westjohn, A.V. Semenov, A.A. Randrianasolo, and S. Zdravkovic. 2013. The role of cultural intelligence in marketing adaptation and export performance. Journal of Marketing Research 21 (4): 44–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, K.D., and R.P. Hill. 2012. Life satisfaction, self-determination, and consumption adequacy at the bottom of the pyramid. Journal of Consumer Research 38 (6): 1155–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthiesen, I., and I. Phau. 2005. The ‘HUGO BOSS’ connection: Achieving global brand consistency across countries. Journal of Brand Management 12 (5): 325–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, V.V., and K. Loess. 2002. An institutional analysis of the US foreign sales corporation. International Business Review 11 (6): 753–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özsomer, A., and S. Altaras. 2008. Global brand purchase likelihood: A critical synthesis and an integrated conceptual framework. Journal of International Marketing 16 (4): 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özsomer, A. 2012. The interplay between global and local brands: A closer look at perceived brand globalness and local iconness. Journal of International Marketing 20 (2): 72–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paolacci, G., J. Chandler, and P.G. Ipeirotis. 2010. Running experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Judgment and Decision Making 5 (5): 411–419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, M.W., D.Y. Wang, and Y. Jiang. 2008. An institution-based view of international business strategy: A focus on emerging economies. Journal of International Business Studies 39 (5): 920–936.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P.M., S.B. MacKenzie, J.Y. Lee, and N.P. Podsakoff. 2003. Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology 88 (5): 879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salomon, R. 2016. Globalization: A cautionary tale. In Rotman management magazine, 1 May: pp. 57–61.

  • Samiee, S. 1994. Customer evaluation of products in a global market. Journal of International Business Studies 25 (3): 579–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuiling, I., and G. Moss. 2004. How different are branding strategies in the pharmaceutical industry and the fast-moving consumer goods sector? Journal of Brand Management 11 (5): 366–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, R. 1987. The adolescence of institutional theory. Administrative Science Quarterly 32 (4): 493–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spears, N., S. Ketron, and K. Cowan. 2016. The sweet taste of consistency in brand name sound & product/label shapes: Investigating appetitive responses in a dessert context and obstacles that suppress. Journal of Brand Management 23 (4): 439–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stafford, J.E., and B.M. Enis. 1969. The price-quality relationship: An extension. Journal of Marketing Research 6 (November): 456–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steenkamp, J.B.E., and H. Baumgartner. 1998. Assessing measurement invariance in cross-national consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research 25 (1): 78–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steenkamp, J.B.E., R. Batra, and D.L. Alden. 2003. How perceived brand globalness creates brand value. Journal of International Business Studies 34 (1): 53–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steenkamp, J.B.E., and M.G. de Jong. 2010. A global investigation into the constellation of consumer attitudes toward global and local products. Journal of Marketing 74 (6): 18–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strizhakova, Y., R.A. Coulter, and L.L. Price. 2008. Branded products as a passport to global citizenship: Perspectives from developed and developing countries. Journal of International Marketing 16 (4): 57–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suls, J., R. Martin, and L. Wheeler. 2002. Social comparison: Why, with whom, and with what effect? Current Directions in Psychological Science 11 (5): 159–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L.J., D.E. Thomas, and J. Cullen. 2008. The three pillars of institutional theory and FDI in Latin America: An institutionalization process. International Business Review 17 (1): 118–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Gelder, S. 2004. Global brand strategy. Journal of Brand Management 12 (1): 39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vigneron, F., and L.W. Johnson. 1999. A review and a conceptual framework of prestige-seeking consumer behavior. Academy of Marketing Science Review 1: 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCTAD. 2016. Statistical tables on the least developed countries. United Nations. http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ldc2016_Stats_en.pdf. Accessed 25 Jan 2017.

  • Wernerfelt, B. 1988. Umbrella branding as a signal of new product quality: An example of signaling by posting a bond. The Rand Journal of Economics 19 (3): 458–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. 2014. Foreign direct investment flows into Sub-Saharan Africa. Science, technology, and skills for Africa’s development. World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/505071468203651135/Foreign-direct-investment-flows-into-Sub-Saharan-Africa. Accessed 25 Jan 2017.

  • World Bank. 2016. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$). World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD?locations=XM. Accessed 25 Jan 2017.

  • World Factbook. 2017. Central intelligence agency: The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-b.html#D. Accessed 25 Jan 2017.

  • Zhang, J., C. Zhou, and H. Ebbers. 2011. Completion of Chinese overseas acquisitions: institutional perspectives and evidence. International Business Review 20 (2): 226–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge and extend gratitude to Dr. Armand Randrianasolo, Dr. Clairemont Randrianarivelo, Dr. Aro Vonjy Ramarosandratana, and Mr. Desiré Randrianasolomampionona, the president of the Ampandranety fokontany, for their assistance in data collection for this research. Also, the author would like to thank Dr. Alexey Semenov for his advice and constructive comments which contributed to this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arilova A. Randrianasolo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 8.

Table 8 Demographics for all samples

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Randrianasolo, A.A. Global brand value in developed, emerging, and least developed country markets. J Brand Manag 24, 489–507 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-017-0044-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-017-0044-6

Keywords

Navigation