Global vs local: analysis of the consumer-brand relationships in India

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze two global brands (i.e. Benetton and Tommy Hilfiger) and one Indian brand (i.e. Wills Lifestyle) in terms of general brand impression, brand specific associations and brand commitment. In addition, the study investigates how the regional differences in India and Indian consumers' affinity towards global brands influence the consumer-brand relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe research framework has been developed based on consumer-brand relationship theory. The consumer–brand relationship is an important indicator of the success of brands, especially when brands attempt to expand to other markets (Roper and Parker, 2006; Bastos and Levy, 2012). Three brand types were chosen for this study. The choice of the US global brand is Tommy Hilfiger, the European global brand is United Colors of Benetton, and the Indian domestic brand is Wills Lifestyle. The study utilized a repeated measure (split-plot) design involving more than two independent groups. A split-plot analysis of variance analyses a design in which a repeated measure (i.e. within subjects) factor is crossed with a between-subjects (i.e. treatment variable) factor.FindingsThe results confirm the importance of global brands over local brands in the Indian apparel consumer market. This study also examined how Indian consumers' affinity for global brands influences their evaluation of the global brands and the local Indian brands.Originality/valueThe study expands the literature on Indian consumer brand preferences through the investigation of three brands. The theoretical background of the study is the consumer-brand relationship theory that explains the importance of consumer–brand relationship when brands attempt to expand to other markets.

EXPRESS: How to Go Glocal: Omni-Brand Orientation Framework

The authors develop an omni-brand orientation framework: a bi-dimensional conceptualization that allows global (local) brand elements to coexist alongside local (global) elements in creating a gloCal brand. Based on an interpretive analysis of interviews with 50 top executives, the authors offer new insights into building and succeeding as a gloCal brand. The study finds global brands trying to become gloCal by building and nurturing local authenticity. The building blocks of local authenticity are brand image local connection, local iconness, local insights, and originality. Local brands, in turn, try to become gloCal by achieving global acceptance, a perception identified closely with global brands. The building blocks of global acceptance are perceived brand globalness, innovation, product performance quality, and global brand power. Based on follow-up interviews with nineteen executives, the study dives deeper into the drivers of success and conceptualizes a GloCal Success Cycle, which identifies components and strategies that enable brands to win both globally and locally.

Applying social identity theory to the social media content strategy of a global brand: The role of brand- and user-generated content in global social identification

<p>The global marketplace is centred around products and brands that reflect certain identities. Social media can act as vehicles of meaning transfer for social identification between brands and social media users with a global social identity. Recognizing the importance of the psychological and sociological needs that draw social media users to build relationships with global brands, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the relevance of the global social identification process to global social media branding strategy. More specifically, this research considers the role and influence of social group membership dynamics to explore how brand-generated and user-generated content are part of the global social identification process. In that, this research aims to fill the gap where social identity theory has not been applied as a lens through which to understand and evaluate the social media content strategy of a global brand. This gap is important to fill due to the global social media arena’s social-centric nature and transparency in displaying social group memberships. An interpretive paradigm was used for this research, with a qualitative case study approach that consisted of interviews with global social media users/global brand representatives and a content analysis of the focal brands social media pages. The study found that the global social identification process on social media consists of two stages, global identity priming and global identity expression. Global identity priming occurs when the psychological and sociological function of global brands is transferred to brand-generated content through a semiotic meaning transfer process. Global identity expression can occur after, as a result of global identity priming, social media users with a global identity categorize the global brand into their in-group. Once in-group categorization takes place, creation and/or sharing of user-generated content with the global brand can be considered an act of identity expression and validation by those with a global identity. This has implications for a global brand’s social media content strategy, as the findings revealed that brand-generated content featuring certain symbolic global values facilitates the global social identification process on social media. Moreover, the findings revealed that user-generated content created by social media users for global identity expression purposes is of considerable value to global brands. Understanding how the global social identification process transpires on social media can guide global brands to consider how their content strategy can prime global social identification and meet the identity expression needs of those with a global identity. This has implications for content strategy design, social media interactions and ongoing global brand-user relationships.</p>

Applying social identity theory to the social media content strategy of a global brand: The role of brand- and user-generated content in global social identification

<p>The global marketplace is centred around products and brands that reflect certain identities. Social media can act as vehicles of meaning transfer for social identification between brands and social media users with a global social identity. Recognizing the importance of the psychological and sociological needs that draw social media users to build relationships with global brands, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the relevance of the global social identification process to global social media branding strategy. More specifically, this research considers the role and influence of social group membership dynamics to explore how brand-generated and user-generated content are part of the global social identification process. In that, this research aims to fill the gap where social identity theory has not been applied as a lens through which to understand and evaluate the social media content strategy of a global brand. This gap is important to fill due to the global social media arena’s social-centric nature and transparency in displaying social group memberships. An interpretive paradigm was used for this research, with a qualitative case study approach that consisted of interviews with global social media users/global brand representatives and a content analysis of the focal brands social media pages. The study found that the global social identification process on social media consists of two stages, global identity priming and global identity expression. Global identity priming occurs when the psychological and sociological function of global brands is transferred to brand-generated content through a semiotic meaning transfer process. Global identity expression can occur after, as a result of global identity priming, social media users with a global identity categorize the global brand into their in-group. Once in-group categorization takes place, creation and/or sharing of user-generated content with the global brand can be considered an act of identity expression and validation by those with a global identity. This has implications for a global brand’s social media content strategy, as the findings revealed that brand-generated content featuring certain symbolic global values facilitates the global social identification process on social media. Moreover, the findings revealed that user-generated content created by social media users for global identity expression purposes is of considerable value to global brands. Understanding how the global social identification process transpires on social media can guide global brands to consider how their content strategy can prime global social identification and meet the identity expression needs of those with a global identity. This has implications for content strategy design, social media interactions and ongoing global brand-user relationships.</p>

Explicating Brand Equity in the Information Technology Sector in Vietnam

Vietnamese IT businesses have expanded internationally and have reached a turning point with opportunities and challenges typical when establishing a global brand. To assist Vietnamese IT firms in the development of branding strategies, this study investigated the direct influences of various firm competencies, such as innovation, marketing, networking, and dynamic capabilities, on brand equity in the business-to-business (B2B) information technology (IT) industry. In addition, the study examined whether the enterprise’s capabilities indirectly affected B2B brand equity via value co-creation and customer value. By employing PLS-SEM to analyze a sample of 182 questionnaire responses from IT firms in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the study found that innovative, networking, and dynamic capabilities had a direct, positive effect on brand equity. The mediating effect of value co-creation and customer value on the association between marketing capability and brand equity was also reported. The research also recommended branding strategies for enterprises that seek to improve their internal competencies and abilities to innovate and respond swiftly to market dynamics. In a successful marketing strategy, all stakeholders must be involved in the value co-creation and brand equity building process, and this is particularly critical in a knowledge-intensive industry such as IT.

Tom F. Wright's Transatlantic Rhetoric as an American Studies Teaching Resource

I first read Tom F. Wright's Transatlantic Rhetoric: Speeches from the American Revolution to the Suffragettes in late summer 2020, while drafting the syllabus for a new undergraduate rhetoric course in my university's Writing major. I proposed “Writing across Cultural Differences” several years ago and had been waiting eagerly to teach it, only to find myself delivering the inaugural version over Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic. As I write this essay in December 2020, I am in the midst of syllabus-building email exchanges with a now-frequent teaching partner (Victorian literature specialist Linda Hughes), as we prepare to offer a graduate seminar in nineteenth-century transatlantic literature for the fourth time. (Our first foray into collaborative transatlanticism was in 2010.) While we plan for the upcoming class (also – sigh – being taught over Zoom), I am rereading Wright's book, this time focussed more on the “transatlantic” side of his title. A generative resource for my teaching in both these classes, Transatlantic Rhetoric enacts a global brand of American studies, modeling content and methodologies crucial to the field today. To illustrate, I will revisit some ways in which Wright's anthology is informing my pedagogy in this challenging COVID-shaped year.

Airport Luxury Retail

The evolution of luxury retailing in the airport has followed the growth in air travel resulting from globalisation, the privatisation, and the deregulation of air transport and the rise of low-cost airlines. Airport luxury retailing serves a resilient global market and it is an important source of sales for luxury-brand companies. Moreover, luxury brands have recognised the commercial significance and public relations value of an international airport location where they deploy a sophisticated visual language to promote their global brand identity. The distribution of luxury goods in international airports through luxury-brand stores and multibrand duty-free outlets is investigated and consideration is given to the future of luxury in the airport.