International Strategic Management of Brands and Online Firms: Essays on Perceived Brand Globalness, Endorsed Branding, and E-Commerce Firms’ Internationalization

231 Pages·2022·2.844 MB·English

by  Carolina Sinning

Handel und Internationales Marketing
Retailing and International Marketing
Bernhard Swoboda · Thomas Foscht
Hanna Schramm-Klein Hrsg.
Carolina Sinning
International Strategic
Management of Brands
and Online Firms
Essays on Perceived Brand Globalness,
Endorsed Branding, and E-Commerce
Firms’ Internationalization
Handel und Internationales Marketing
Retailing and International Marketing
SeriesEditors
BernhardSwoboda,UniversitätTrier,Trier,Germany
ThomasFoscht,Karl-Franzens-UniversitätGraz,Graz,Austria
HannaSchramm-Klein,LehrstuhlfürMarketing,UniversitätSiegen,Siegen,
Germany
Die Schriftenreihe fördert die Themengebiete Handel und Internationales Mar-
keting. Diese charakterisieren – jedes für sich, aber auch in inhaltlicher Kom-
bination – die Forschungsschwerpunkte der Herausgeber. Beide Themengebiete
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inhaltlicher und methodischer Ausrichtung ein Forum. Die inhaltliche Bre-
ite ist sowohl im Sinne eines konsumentenorientierten Marketings wie auch
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die Reihe auch externen wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten offen. Diese können bei
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werden.
The book series focuses on the fields of Retailing and International Marketing.
These two areas represent the research fields of the editors—each of them as a
single research area, but also in combination. Both of these research areas are
widely understood. Consequently, the series provides a platform for the publi-
cation of doctoral theses and habilitations, conference proceedings and edited
books, as well as related methodological issues that encompass the focus of the
series.Theseriesisbroadinthesensethatitcoversacademicworksintheareaof
consumer-oriented marketing as well as the area of marketoriented management.
In addition to academic works recommended by the editors, the book series also
welcomes other academic contributions. These may be submitted to the editors
and will be published in the book series after a positive assessment.
Carolina Sinning
International Strategic
Management of Brands
and Online Firms
Essays on Perceived Brand
Globalness, Endorsed Branding, and
E-Commerce Firms’
Internationalization
CarolinaSinning
Trier,Germany
Dissertation,FachbereichIV,TrierUniversity,2021
ISSN2626-3327 ISSN2626-3335 (electronic)
HandelundInternationalesMarketingRetailingandInternationalMarketing
ISBN978-3-658-38049-6 ISBN978-3-658-38050-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-38050-2
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Foreword
The increasing interdependence but also specificities of countries, radically
changed the international business environment throughout the last decades. The
country differences are addressed in this dissertation. From a consumer perspec-
tive, the role of country differences for particular topics is examined: the effects
ofcorporatebrandsandthoseofproductorendorsedbrandsaswellastheinter-
nationalizationpathsofe-commercefirms.TheobjectiveofDr.CarolinaSinnings
thesis is to gain a deeper knowledge on such issues in three studies:
(cid:129) Paths of Perceived Brand Globalness Across Nations: Multinational corpora-
tions are perceived as global brands with advantages in influencing consumer
behavior.However,whethertheadvantagesofperceivedbrandglobalnesshold
acrossnationsordependoncountry-specificcontextfactorsremainsunknown.
This study applies accessibility-diagnosticity theory and multilevel structural
equation modeling to study the paths from globalness to repurchase inten-
tion and to identify important country-specific moderators. The results rely
onhierarchicaldatafrom22,055consumerevaluationsofamultinationalcor-
poration in 31 countries and underline an indirect-only path from perceived
brand globalness to repurchase intention through functional and psychologi-
cal value. However, the path changes with the degree of country development
and national culture. Country development weakens, whereas the degree of
embeddedness, mastery, and hierarchy strengthen the globalness-value links.
(cid:129) Endorsement of Global Product Brands by Global Corporate Brands: Many
multinationals use their corporate brand to endorse their products but thereby
attractinternationalconsumersdifferently.Therefore,itisimportanttoanalyze
whether corporations profit from endorsed branding strategies across nations
or whether they must rely on country-specific factors. This study proposes a
v
vi Foreword
theory-based framework and applies multilevel mediation structural equation
modeling with cross-level interactions to analyze the typical direct and indi-
rect effects of global corporate brand image and global product brand image
on product purchase intention across nations. The empirical results across 35
nations show that the product brand is most valuable. Importantly, the results
provide insights into country-specific moderators, i.e., the degree of country
development and national culture, and the respective country portfolio.
(cid:129) The study “EffectsofInternationalizationRhythmandSpeedonE-Commerce
Firms’Growth“ addresses the increasingly digitalizing economy and analyzes
how e-commerce firms benefit from time-based internationalization decisions
and whether they are still limited by institutional distances that are said to
lose relevance. This study also applies multilevel modeling with cross-level
interactions to provide insights into the role of institutional moderators, i.e.,
regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive distances. Based on data from
228 e-commerce firms that are operating Europe’s leading online shops and
1,702marketentriesover21years,theresultsshowthatfirmsexhibitstronger
growth due to their irregular and fast internationalization process. However,
these relationships change depending on certain institutional distances, and
different explanations regarding country-specific variances are provided.
With her work, Dr. Sinning makes a significant contribution to modern interna-
tionalbusinessandmarketingresearch.Twostudieswereacceptedforpublication
inTop-Journalsandallwerenominatedfor“BestPaperAwards”atannualconfer-
ences of the Association of International Business or the European International
Business Academy, and two were awarded. Dr. Sinning also received two other
awards for “Best Reviews” and she was involved in several other article pub-
lications. She presents the nineteenth dissertation at my chair for Marketing &
RetailingattheUniversityofTrier.Iamextremelyhappywithherwork.Besides
an extremely good research and teaching, she was moreover involved in three
book projects and has organized several practical projects and two conferences.
I therefore thank her for these intensive four years in which she was working as
a research assistant at my chair. I got to know her as a very proactive, prudent,
productive and always reliable person and I wish her warmly all the best for her
future career and for her private life. I very much regret that she decided against
the offer to stay at the university.
Professor Dr. Prof. h.c. Bernhard Swoboda
Acknowledgements
This doctoral thesis was written during my time as a research assistant at the
Chair of Marketing and Retailing at the University of Trier. With the completion
of my thesis, this time has now come to an end, which gives me the opportunity
to look back and thank everybody who accompanied me along the way.
IwouldliketothankmysupervisorProfessorDr.Prof.h.c.BernhardSwoboda
for his dedication, constant support and constructive feedback on every single
paper and my entire thesis. When updating lecture materials, writing papers,
replying to reviewers, reworking books, writing practical articles, or organizing
conferencesandmeetings,hetaughtmehowtostructuremyselfandalwaysstay
on top of things. He has encouraged me to grow both professionally as well
as personally. I also thank him for the opportunity to attend many conferences
in Germany, Europe, and the USA. Presenting my work in front of an expert
audience has always motivated me to work harder and given me the necessary
understanding of researching. I am very grateful for all the people I have met,
dis-cussed with, and become friends with at these conferences. At this point, I
would also like to thank the Forschungsreferat, Referat für Gleichstellung, and
DAAD, which often financially supported my conference attendance.
IwouldalsoliketothankmysecondadvisorPDDr.ChristianFisch(Univer-
sity of Trier) for evaluating my thesis, especially in such a short time, and Prof.
Dr. JörnBlock (University of Trier) for agreeingtochair the defensecommittee.
Moreover, I would like to thank my colleagues who have accompanied me
duringmyjourney:Dr.NadineBatton,NilsFränzel,MagdalenaKlar,Dr.Amelie
Winters, and Lukas Zimmer. Over the years, we have gone through many ups
and downs together. Even though times have almost always been stressful and
challenging for anyone of us, I look back to many fun moments we shared.
I will not deny that this was also due to our always well-stocked refrigerator.
vii
viii Acknowledgements
Special thanks go to our secretary, Ursula Fassbender. I would like to express
my gratitude for her open ear, her honest words, and her support. Thank you for
always reminding me of my abilities and strengthening my confidence.
Thankyoutoallthestudentassistantswhohelpedmeeitherwithdatacollec-
tion for my thesis or with the organization of the ERASMUS+ program. Taking
responsibilityfortheERASMUS+programwasmademucheasierformebythe
manyhelpfulcontactsintheinternationaloffice,especiallyAnneFreihoff,Janina
Kröner, Jan-Patrick Proost, and Anne Schneider. Further, I would like to thank
my contacts in other administrative positions, especially Katharina Seigert who
immenselyfacilitatedtheorganizationofourconferencesandMargitBerenswho
always had an open ear for questions about our High Potentials-Program.
Finally, the biggest thanks go to my family and friends. I thank my parents,
sisters,godfather,andgrandparentsforalwaysbelievinginme.Iamverygrateful
to see how proud I made you guys. Thank you to all my friends inside and out-
side of academia. You have made these years unforgettable! Most importantly,
thankyoutomybetterhalf,withoutwhomthisjourneywouldhavebeensomuch
more difficult. From proofreading my papers and thesis, to patiently listening to
allmychallengesandprovidingrespectiveadvice,tofindingtherightdistraction
at the right moment, you were always there for me. Thank you for supporting
me by encouraging me!
Carolina Sinning
Contents
PartI Introduction
1 FocusandRelevance ......................................... 3
2 LiteratureReviewandResearchGaps ......................... 11
2.1 Overview .............................................. 11
2.2 Literature on Perceived Brand Globalness .................. 11
2.2.1 Similar Constructs to Perceived Brand Globalness .... 11
2.2.2 Perceived Brand Globalness ....................... 15
2.3 Literature on Endorsed Branding ......................... 20
2.3.1 Horizontal Image Transfer ......................... 20
2.3.2 Vertical Image Transfer ........................... 27
2.4 Literature on E-Commerce Firms’ Internationalization
Processes .............................................. 35
2.4.1 Internationalization Processes from a Traditional
Manufacturing View .............................. 35
2.4.2 Internationalization Processes of Commerce Firms ... 36
2.5 General Research Objectives ............................. 41
3 StructureandContributionoftheStudies ...................... 45
3.1 Cross-National Differences in Perceived Brand
Globalness Effects ...................................... 45
3.2 Cross-National Differences in Endorsed Branding Effects .... 47
3.3 Effects of E-Commerce Firms’ Internationalization
Processes .............................................. 49
4 FurtherRemarks ............................................ 53
ix