品牌营销的原文以及外文翻译

Brand internationalization strategy beyond the

standardization/adaptation dichotomy. (fragment)

Nabil GHANTOUS

GREFI- Université Paul Cézanne

Aix-Marseille III, France.

ghantousnabil@http://

19 Bd Emile ZOLA

13100- Aix En Provence- France.

0033 6 72 07 04 51

presented at the Thought Leaders International Conference on Brand Management, 15-16th April 2008, Birmingham- UK.

** The author would like to thank Pr. Jean PHILIPPE for his valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper.

Brand internationalization strategy beyond the

standardization/adaptation dichotomy.

Abstract

The standardization vs. adaptation choice of international brands should no longer be seen as dogmatic nor as a rigid dichotomy. Instead, it should be regarded as a combination of these two options, depending on contingent factors at a given time on a given market. Building on a review of the different visions of consumers’ culture, we present a modelling of the

intermediate solutions combining both elements of standardization and adaptation, and that is better suited today for demand and supply driven considerations. Thus, we first delimitate the questions that need to be considered when formulating the international marketing strategy and mix, and then we present a simplified framework of two dimensions, products’ global vocation and demand’s global homogeneity, leading to a matrix of four strategic options for international branding.

Keywords: international branding, standardization/adaptation, internationalization matrix, consumers’ culture.

Brand internationalization strategy beyond the standardization/adaptation dichotomy.

While globalization and the culturescapes it is shaping (Appadurai 1990) intensify,

multinational corporations face important challenges in their international marketing efforts, especially concerning the management of their brands. In fact, taking its brand on an

international level offers great opportunities both for the survival of the firm and its expansion (Melewar and Walker 2003), but at the same time confronts it with different options concerning its strategic and operational marketing decisions.

There is no consensus today in the international marketing literature on a unique terminology for international brands (Hsieh 2002, Medina and Duffy 1998). Nevertheless, despite a

品牌营销的原文以及外文翻译

growing number of terms used in this domain (e.g. local brands, global, post-global, foreign, multi-domestic…), it is most common to oppose the global brand, that standardizes its

marketing across its different markets, to the local brand that adapts its marketing to cultural and socio-economic settings (e.g. Aaker and Joachimsthaler 1999, Kapferer 2005, Van Raaij 1997). This criterion reflects the importance of the standardization vs. adaptation question in international branding, often considered as one of the major research and managerial

problems (Prime and Usunier 2003).

However, many researchers consider this opposition between the global and the local brand as a rigid dichotomy (Buzzell 1968, Russell and Valenzuela 2005, Svensson 2002), and propose to replace it with a more realistic brand internationalization continuum (e.g. de Chernatony, Halliburton and Bernath 1995, Hsieh and Lindridge 2005, Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos 1997). For instance, Schuiling and Kapferer (2004) consider a third option between these two extremes, the international brand, which standardizes only a part of its marketing strategy and tactics.

The object of this article is thus twofold. First, building on the capital importance of

consumer’s culture for branding, we review the literature to present the social and cultural underpinnings of each of these three branding options. Then, in the second section, we present a simplified framework delimitating both the strategic questions brand managers face and the solutions they could consider when choosing the internationalization strategy of their brands. Finally we conclude by presenting the limitations of our work and future research

orientations.

Social and cultural underpinnings of international branding strategy:

The question of whether to standardize or to adapt the international marketing has received great attention during the last forty years, both options presenting positive arguments as well as serious limitations. In this framework, economies of scale are and by far the main

advantage of global brands (e.g. Aaker et al. 1999, Barron and Hollingshead 2004, Buzzell 1968, de Chernatony et al. 1995, Douglas, Craig et Nijssen 2001, Kapferer 2005, Levitt 1983, Melewar et al. 2003, Papavassiliou et al. 1997, Schuiling et al. 2004, Quelch 1999). In fact, as global brands standardize their marketing strategy and mix, this generates important cost savings in many areas of their marketing (e.g. R&D, promotion), thus allowing the brand to poor more investments into its marketing actions and/or to have more competitive prices than its local competitors. Furthermore, with distribution channels going global, global brands seem to have much better bargaining power than local ones (Barron et al. 2004, de

Chernatony et al. 1995). Important international brand equity also allows these brands to better conquer new markets (Douglas et al. 2001), launch new products (Schuiling et al. 2004) and brand extensions (Quelch 1999).

While these important advantages of global brands are mostly on the supply side (de

Chernatony et al. 1995), global standardization can also be a source of added value for

consumers. In fact, standardizing marketing strategy and mix can assure a strong, unique and consistent brand image across markets (Melew …… 此处隐藏：9077字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……