Drawing both on international marketing literature (Steenkamp, Batra, & Alden, 2003) and value/risk research (Sweeny & Soutar, 2001; Mitchell, 1999), the current study investigates (1) how consumers’ perceptions of brand globalness/localness (PBG/PBL) influence their assessment of different dimensions of perceived value as well as the risk associated with making a purchase decision; and (2) how these value and risk assessments mediate the relationships between PBG/PBL and brand purchase intentions. We apply signaling theory (Kirmani & Rao, 2000) to relate PBG and PBL to consumers’ perceptions of risk as well as their perceptions of functional, emotional and social value. For empirical verification of the hypothesized relationships, we use comparable samples from two European countries that vary substantially in terms of economic development (Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina). Results show that only emotional value serves as a consistent mediator of PBG and PBL on purchase intentions in both countries, whereas no mediating role could be identified for perceived risk. In terms of managerial implications, our findings reveal the importance of emphasizing the emotional value of a brand, which serves as a stable facilitator through which PBG/PBL influence consumers’ purchase intentions across the distinct market settings.

The effectiveness of global brands is traditionally measured by its ability to turn the brand’s target audience into consumers. Yet the focus on consumption overlooks the significance of customer equity within non-target audiences. Studying this phenomenon has become increasingly important with the advent of the internet and cross-border mass-communications which expose brands to global non-target audiences. Yet, little is known about how consumers who have no experience with the brand anticipate such experience purely based on brand popularity? Also, little is known how are components of the global brand personality particularly active in shaping the anticipated brand/customer experience? Thus, this study examines customer anticipated experience of a global brand - Hard Rock Café, in Ukraine. The conceptual model focuses on the relationship between brand popularity with brand excitement and competence and their influence on customer perceived value of the anticipated brand experience and the impact of the perceived value on customer liking of the experience and intention to engage with the brand. Using 214 Ukrainian respondents, the conceptual module was supported with significant implications for global brand engagement in target and non-target audiences.

Since Levitt’s (1983) utopic proclamation of globalization-driven market and consumer convergence the determinants, consequences and challenges of addressing globalization have been scrutinized by academics, managers and policy makers. After more than 3 decades of research, however, “there is [still] a dearth of empirical research on its [globalization’s] impact upon consumers” (Cleveland et al., 2016, p. 1090). Such research should also be positioned within a new conceptual framework of geo-economics – resulting in “unique outcomes in different geographic areas” (Merz et al., 2008, p. 169) – where the relationship between regionalism and so-called glocal consumer identities has remained relatively unexplored (Cleveland et al., 2016). International marketers have also been increasingly moving away from country- towards customer-centric approaches (Riefler et al., 2012, p. 285). Young-adult consumers (18-30 years) are believed to be a more homogeneous cohort in terms of their consumer behavior under globalization (Carpenter et al., 2012), as they are seen as glocal citizens (Strizhakova, Coulter, & Price, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to analyze two key consumption-based variables – innate consumer innovativeness (Baumgartner & Steenkamp, 1996) and consumer ethnocentrism (Shimp & Sharma, 1987) – for FMCGs among young-adult consumers across two regions – Central and Eastern Europe (Slovenia, Croatia) and East Asia (China, Japan). Table 1 summarizes the consumer innovativeness and ethnocentrism scores from four matched student samples. Our preliminary results support young adult’s glocal consumer identity (Douglas & Craig, 2011), going beyond regional differences. 5-point ordinal scales Slovenia (n=246) Croatia (n=243) China (n=208) Japan (n=233) Con. innovativeness 4.49 (1.22) 4.70 (1.22) 4.69 (1.19) 4.33 (0.92) Ethnocentrism 2.78 (1.39) 2.93 (1.33) 2.46 (1.29) 2.87 (1.23) Pair-wise correl. 0.146 (p <0.05) 0.03 -0.151 (p <0.05) -0.03