최근 다국적기업들의 해외진출이 활발해지면서 글로벌 브랜드에 대한 관심이 높아지고 있다. 본 연구는 브랜드 글로벌성(PBG, Perceived Brand Globalness)을 재개념화하고 개념의 다차원성에 대한 타당성을 실증적으로 분석하고자 한다. 더 나아가 글로벌 브랜드성이 브랜드 태도에 미치는 영향을 실증적으로 분석하고자 한다. 이를 위해 중국 소비자들을 대상으로 4개 글로벌 브랜드에 대한 설문조사를 실시하였다. 실증분석 결과, 브랜드 글로벌성은 단일 차원이 아닌 다차원으로 구성된 개념으로 나타났으며, 소비자의 브랜드 평가에 유의미한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이 에 본 연구는 브랜드 글로벌성의 다차원성을 검증함으로써 학문적 및 실무적 관점에서 의미 있는 시사점을 제공할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, globalized markets in North America and Europe experience a shift in public opinion toward a renunciation of globalization and a reorientation toward traditional (domestic) values. Responding to this paradigm change, multi-national corporations (MNCs) face the decision of whether (a) to continue to pursue global branding strategies or (b) to align their global brands with local consumer cultures. This decision requires an understanding of how the degree of market globalization relates to consumer preferences. The present study draws on signaling theory to empirically investigate (a) the relative impact of a brand’s globalness (i.e., perceived brand globalness) and its cultural market alignment (i.e., perceived cultural symbolism) in eliciting perceptions of brand credibility and brand quality (b) across two countries that differ regarding their degree of market globalization (Germany and South Korea). Findings indicate that the signaling value of global brands, as a function of their market reach, is greater in globalizing markets than in globalized markets, whereas the signaling value associated with cultural market alignment is greater in globalized markets than in globalizing markets. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are considered.

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.