“Turning the Tables”: Building Strong Local Brands to Compete Against Global Rivals

This paper investigates brand localness as a basis for strategy development for brands competing against global rivals. The authors (a) conceptualize perceived brand localness as a multidimensional profile construct, (b) develop hypotheses highlighting the differential effects of the identified localness dimensions on global vs. local brand preference, and (c) identify the preference-generating
mechanisms underlying these effects. An empirical study tests the proposed hypotheses using consumer responses to real local brands across six product categories. Results show that brand perceptions of (a) local iconness, (b)
domestic production, (c) regional availability and (d) national origin boost local vs. global brand preference by fulfilling consumers’ motivations to acquire culturally-tailored product offerings, support their local economy, feel national pride, and oppose product homogenization. Implications for theory and practice are discussed and future research directions identified.