The Global/Local Product Attribute: Decomposition, Trivialization, and Price Trade-Offs in Emerging and Developed Markets

Author(s)
Vasileios Davvetas, Christina Sichtmann, Charalampos (Babis) Saridakis, Adamantios Diamantopoulos
Abstract

Accelerating antiglobalization challenges previously undisputed assumptions about the importance of a product's globalness/localness in purchase decisions. Putting these assumptions to test, this article conceptualizes globalness/localness as a distinct product attribute and decomposes its utility into weight and preference components. Subsequently, it offers an equity-theory-based prediction of the attribute's declining relevance/trivialization and quantifies its trade-offs with other attributes by calculating global/local price premiums. Conjoint experiments in two countries (Austria and India) reveal that (1) emerging- (developed-) market consumers exhibit relative preference for global (local) products, (2) emerging-market consumers perceive higher preference inequity between global and local products than developed-market consumers, and (3) the corresponding inequity triggers consumers’ cognitive inequity regulation (manifested through attribute trivialization in developed markets) and behavioral inequity regulation (manifested through asymmetrical willingness to pay for global/local products across developed/emerging markets). In addition, attribute trivialization and price premium tolerance are moderated by consumers’ spatial identities and price segment. The findings contribute to the theoretical debate on the relevance of product globalness/localness in deglobalizing times and inform competitive strategies; segmentation, targeting, and positioning; and international pricing decisions.

Organisation(s)
Department of Marketing and International Business
External organisation(s)
University of Leeds, Universität Bern
Journal
Journal of International Marketing
Volume
31
Pages
19-40
No. of pages
22
ISSN
1069-031X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1069031X221143095
Publication date
10-2022
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
502019 Marketing
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Marketing, Business and International Management
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/c06e56c9-f3b7-401c-abf0-f0d333021458