ABSTRACT
Marketing and brand managers in companies whose market offerings span multiple cultures and borders are faced with the difficult task of coordinating resources and strategies to serve broad global markets profitably. In addition to this challenge, many are unsure about what the globality of their brands means to their consumers or even whether this globality is a brand attribute that should be mentioned or perhaps concealed in marketing communications. Academic research on the topic is modestly informative. Several recent studies have provided some evidence of a positive relationship between the perceived globality of a brand and its perceptions of quality (Holt, Quelch, and Taylor 2004), prestige (Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden 2003), and esteem (Johansson and Ronkainen 2004). Even when other factors are controlled for, researchers have argued that this global brand effect influences brand purchase intentions through higher quality and status ratings (Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden 2003).
