Positioning Multicountry Brands: The Impact of Variation in Cultural Values and Competitive Set

Abstract

Building on cultural values research, the authors identify specific image attributes on which multicountry brands should position themselves consistently across markets. Leveraging prior research, they identify three life values that are most equal (benevolence, universalism, and self-direction) and two that are least equal (power and hedonism) in cross-national importance. The authors link specific brand image attributes (e.g., friendly, social, elite style, arrogant) to these life values through empirical data and semantic analysis. Using an extensive field data set on consumer perceptions and preferences from 22 countries regarding more than 1,700 brands, the authors then show that greater global consistency of a brand's image decreases overall brand attitudes if the specific image attribute is one that is not equally desired worldwide. They also find that the attitudinal impact of a multicountry brand's positioning consistency on commonly valued image attributes is greater when the set of competitors the brand faces across its markets is more homogeneous. The authors discuss implications for global brand management theory and practice.