In three studies, we show that semployee accent directly, indirectly (through intelligibility and trust), and/or conditionally affects customer participation (CP) in services positively or negatively, depending on the type of accent and its valence, the customer’s need for interaction, and the type of CP, i.e. voluntary, mandatory, or replaceable CP.

This research introduces the construct of perceived brand local connectedness (PBLC) that captures the extent to which a (domestic or foreign) brand is associated with and connected to a consumer’s home culture. Together with perceived brand globalness (PBG), PBLC is linked to purchase intention (PINT) through consumer-brand identification (CBI) and perceived brand quality (QUAL). Across two studies in mature and emergent market settings, findings provide evidence that both constructs matter, although PBLC’s effects are relatively stronger than those of PBG. Results further indicate that global identity moderates the effects of PBG on CBI while consumer ethnocentrism (CET) moderates the corresponding effects of PBLC. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are considered.