How Product Category Shapes Preferences toward Global and Local Brands: A Schema Theory Perspective

Abstract

Unlike the abundance of research on brand-and consumer-related determinants of global/local brand preference, little is known about whether/how the product category affects consumer choices between local and global brands. Drawing from schema theory, the authors (a) argue that consumers rely on their product category schemata to form perceptions of global vs. local brand superiority, (b) introduce a compact scale to measure these perceptions, and (c) identify their key antecedents and consequences. Two studies in developed and emergent markets empirically support the hypotheses across multiple product categories, for both real and fictitious brands.Results indicate that consumers perceive global brands as superior to local in product categories with strong functional character and extensive symbolic capacity. Moreover, brands congruent with category superiority perceptions are preferred because of their justifiability, while brands deviating from these perceptions are avoided due to their proneness to normative criticism. The findings imply that global/local brand preference is largely formed at the product category level and advocate category-specific strategies for global/local brand management.

The relational value of perceived brand globalness and localness

“…and posit that their consumption is motivated by consumers' willingness to appear cosmopolitan in the eyes of their reference groups. Xie et al 2015identify identity-expressiveness as a key preference generating mechanism for global (and local) brands, while Davvetas and Diamantopoulos (2016) find that global brands hold an advantage over their local counterparts in product categories where social signaling is a primary consumer motivation.…”

Lit Up or Dimmed Down? Why, When, and How Regret Anticipation Affects Consumers’ Use of the Global Brand Halo

“…Finally, the direction of the halo's use following regret anticipation (i.e. whether it will intensify or weaken) is expected to depend on consumers' product category schema and whether it is dominated by global or local brands (Davvetas and Diamantopoulos 2016). We find support for our hypotheses through testing a serial moderated mediation model across two complementary studies that experimentally manipulate anticipated regret through priming the irreversibility of consumers' brand choices.…”

“…Thus, beyond soothing the regret experienced following a suboptimal brand choice by focusing on its globalness or localness, consumers actively forecast this possibility and adjust their brand choices by reconsidering the weight they put on such perceptions. The specific nature of such adjustments depends on consumers' product category schema and whether it is congruent with the "global equals better" heuristic (Davvetas and Diamantopoulos 2016). In essence, the category schema operates as a reality check raised after regret anticipation that keeps consumers' decision making strategy on watch and determines whether the "global equals better" heuristic will be assessed as a regret immunizer or catalyst.…”

Assessing the predictive validity of perceived globalness and country of origin of foreign brands in quality judgments among consumers in emerging markets

“…In particular, consumers might perceive well-known brands as representative of their countries of origin, while perceiving lesserknown ones as less conspicuous in their countries of origin. As Davvetas and Diamantopoulos (2016) noted, the nature of a category schema is largely determined by its dominant brands and their attributes. Han (2016) argues that well-known global brands tend to be perceived as being more representative of the brands' countries of origin.…”

“…These theories have received increasing attention in recent research with respect to the conceptualizations of country image and brand globalness and localness as well. Specifically, Halkias (2015) and Davvetas and Diamantopoulos (2016) applied schema theory in international brand research. In addition, Davvetas and Halkias (2018) used categorization theory in consumer categorizations of products triggered by brand globalness and localness.…”