Drivers of Local Relative to Global Brand Purchases: A Contingency Approach

Consumers around the world are choosing between local versus global brands in the marketplace. The authors draw on the dual-drivers theory of consumer choice and global consumer culture theory to offer a sociocultural-historical perspective on purchases of local (relative to global) brands. Their framework focuses on two local–global consumer values (ethnocentrism and global connectedness) and the identity- and quality-signaling functions of local (relative to global) brands. The authors argue for a contingency approach such that the effects of these local–global consumer values are moderated by country level of economic development and product category symbolism. This research uses consumer-level data (n = 2,197) and country-level data (from Euromonitor's Global Market Information Database) from seven countries (Australia, Brazil, China, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). They find that purchases of local (relative to global) brands are predicated on local–global consumer values, mediated by perceptions of the identity function of local (relative to global) brands, and moderated by the country's level of economic development and product category symbolism.