Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of consumers’ perceived brand globalness (PBG) on their brand attitudes in the emerging market that has experienced rapid growth and transition. We also examine the moderating effect of the age difference on the relationship between PBG and brand attitude. Building from prior research in global branding, we develop a framework to illustrate how motivating factors drive consumers’ desire for global brands in the emerging market of China. A scale is developed and tested on a national sample of Chinese consumers using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that perceived globalness of brands affects consumers’ attitude indirectly through three factors, namely, perceived brand quality (PBQ), perceived social prestige (PSP), and perceived association of consumption trend (PACT) associated with owning or consuming a global brand in emerging market. PACT is the strongest pathway, which suggests that Chinese consumers are more interested in keeping up with the world fashion and being modern whereas the influence of quality and social prestige is decreasing. In addition, various effects of these factors are examined in different generations of consumers.

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