Revitalising suffering multinational brands: an empirical study

Purpose – This study explores factors influencing the revitalisation of a multinational brand that is perceived negatively by local consumers because of various reasons such as past poor quality or negative publicity. Design/methodology/approach – This study conceptualises brand revitalisation as a second order construct, arguing that brand revitalisation is comprised of improved brand image, brand associations, and brand attitudes. Innovative product improvements, warranty programs, third‐party appraisals, and advertising communications are hypothesised to play a role in revitalising multinational brands plagued by negative perceptions. In addition, the moderating effect of the management's local market knowledge is tested on several proposed relationships. Findings – According to the results, international brand revitalisation is positively influenced by innovative product improvements, warranty programs, and advertising communications. Practical implications – While overall brand perceptions play an important role in influencing consumer decisions, understanding what improves the consumer's perception of multinational brands is of vital importance to marketers. The empirical results suggest that product innovations, warranty programs, third‐party appraisals, and advertising communications all help revitalise a firm's damaged brand in international markets. These findings offer multiple strategic implications to managers for their multinational brand revitalisation/management. Originality/value – The value of this research lies in its goal to go beyond the general brand recovery guidelines suggested in the literature and to offer potential marketing strategies that could actually motivate the consumer to change his or her negative opinion about a multinational brand. This is one of the first empirical studies on multinational brand revitalisation.