The Compensatory Influences of Country Stereotypes and the Global/Local Nature of Brands: An Extended Framework

International marketing literature indicates that both the global and/or local nature of a brand and the image of the brand’s origin influence consumer attitudes. However, only limited research has examined these influences in combination. This paper contributes to this research direction by investigating the independent as well as the interactive effects of globalness/localness perceptions and country stereotypes. Results from two studies conducted in different countries and across multiple product categories suggest that stereotypical country judgments may substitute or complement brand globalness and localness perceptions. These results are obtained after controlling for the effects of important brand-, product-, and consumer-specific characteristics, representing a stricter nomological network in relation to extant studies. The findings partially confirm the existence of a compensatory mechanism between (a) brand globalness and country warmth, and (b) brand localness and country competence, leading to new implications regarding brand positioning strategies under different conditions.