I study marketing challenges related to globalization and digitalization.
My research has been published in leading academic journals in the fields of marketing and international business, including the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, and Journal of Business Research.
Global-Local Branding
Brand globalness and localness are distinct perceptual attributes that can give a brand a competitive edge.
Brand Origin Misperception
Consumers often hold wrong beliefs about the origin of brands, which may bias their brand-related attitudes.
Brand Communication in Social Media
Social media has become a crucial communication channel for brands. How can brands best engage their audience?
Marketing Standardization
International brands need to find the right balance between harmonizing and adapting their marketing programs.
Marketing × Globalization

Marketing Agility in MNC Subsidiaries
Journal of International Marketing (2023)
The main challenge of multinational corporations is to balance local opportunity-seeking initiatives with global efficiency-oriented imperatives. Only if a subsidiary develops reliable local insights and a deep understanding of local customers can it effectively manage customers and contribute to the organization’s success. At the same time, MNCs desire…

What Drives Royalty Rates in International Franchising?
Journal of International Marketing (2022)
Franchising – a business arrangement in which a firm (the franchisor) permits another firm (the franchisee) to use its brand name and business format to market goods and services – is big business. Today, the franchising industry contributes more than $2 trillion per year to the global economy and…

Not All Wrongdoing Companies Are Equal in the Public Eye
Journal of International Marketing (2021)
Corporate crises are extraordinary critical events in a company’s life that may lead to consumers’ physical and psychological harm, financial loss, or environmental damage. Today, corporate crises are omnipresent and often cause consumers’ to experience negative emotions and form intentions to retaliate against wrongdoing companies. However, not all wrongdoers are…

Global vs. Local Branding in the Era of Post-Globalization
Journal of International Business Studies (2021)
Many countries in Asia, the Middle East, and South America continue to experience substantial growth in terms of globalization and profound transformations of their consumer markets. Meanwhile, consumers in Western markets are increasingly critical of globalization and re-embrace local values. Against this background, companies must decide whether…

Brand Globalness: More Than Just Geographical Reach
International Marketing Review (2019)
The globalization of markets has led many companies to restructure their brand portfolios, favoring fewer brands that offer global business potential. Despite considerable research advances regarding the potential outcomes of brand globalness, defining what “global” means continues to challenge efforts to study global brand effects…

What We (Don’t) Know About Marketing Standardization vs. Adaptation
Journal of Business Research (2021)
In the 21st century, many firms compete on a global scale. To increase their overall efficiency and profitability, firms often consider standardizing their marketing programs and processes. To advance research on the performance consequences of marketing standardization, this study offers a systematic review of relevant literature…

What Explains Consumers’ Global Brand Preferences?
Journal of International Marketing (2019)
The globalization of marketplaces has sparked strong academic interest in the factors that affect consumer attitudes, preferences, and behavior toward global brands. Researchers have put forward various constructs that allegedly play a role in forming consumers’ global brand preferences…

How Do Consumers Respond to Brand Origin Misclassifications?
Journal of Business Research (2017)
The country-of-origin (COO) effect is one of the most widely studied phenomena in international marketing and consumer behavior research. Although COO research is abundant, findings regarding the phenomenon of brand origin misclassification remain limited and inconclusive…
Marketing × Digitalization

How Luxury Brands Can Succeed in Social Media
Journal of Business Research (2020)
Many luxury brands use social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, to communicate with consumers worldwide. Existing research generally advocates for the use of social media activities for luxury brands but offers little advice on how to design effective brand communication in social media…

What Internet Memes Tell Us About People’s Views on Environmental Issues
Ecological Economics (2021)
Environmental issues have never been so present in our everyday lives. This research contributes to the emerging literature on the mental health consequences of environmental degradation by investigating citizen-consumers’ representations of environmental issues by examining user-generated content in the form of internet memes…

Three Decades of Loyalty Program Research
Journal of Business Research (2021)
Today, loyalty programs are a multi-billion-dollar business, and digitalization is pushing forward their evolution. Although numerous studies have shed light on the adoption, design, and outcomes of loyalty programs, research that reviews the accumulated knowledge in a holistic manner is sparse…
Work in Progress
Marketing × Globalization
Political Ideology and Brand Localness
An investigation of how political ideology influences the effectiveness of local brand positioning strategies using a longitudinal dataset combining retail, voting, and survey data.
Consumer Animosity and Perceived Brand Globalness
A study that explores the question if global brand positioning strategies can help to mitigate the negative effects of consumer animosity.
Marketing × Digitalization
Drivers and Dynamics of Pre-Release Consumer Buzz
Empirical studies of how buzz for upcoming products evolves over time and how it can be effectively stimulated through key managerial levers (e.g., advertising, social media content).
Interactivity and Customer Engagement
An investigation of the role of interactivity between customers and peer service providers in driving engagement on sharing economy platforms.
Special Issue of the International Marketing Review
Together with Jun Luo (University of Nottingham Ningbo China), Natalia Yannopoulou (Newcastle University Business School), Jochen Wirtz (National University of Singapore), I co-edit a Special Issue of the International Marketing Review titled “International Marketing Perspectives on Digital Platforms & Ecosystems.”
The special issue seeks to push the boundaries of international marketing research by publishing original work on digital platforms, such as social media platforms, online marketplaces, sharing economy platforms, and hybrid platform types. We welcome any conceptual or empirical (qualitative or quantitative) work that sheds light on (1) the role of international marketing constructs in the context of international interactions and exchanges on digital platforms, (2) cross-national differences concerning relevant phenomena, such as consumer privacy and personal data protection, platform architecture and designs, and market structures, or (3) culture-specific phenomena that have been neglected by the mainstream (Western-centric) marketing literature.
The submission window closes on September 1, 2023. More information of this Special Issue are available on digital-platforms.info.
Resources for Marketing Researchers

Recommended Reading
Do you want to learn a new method or wish to refresh your knowledge about research theory? My curated reading list covers various topics related to academic writing and publishing, research design, and data analysis.

Scales
Are you looking for measurement scales for your next survey or experiment? Maybe you can find it in my personal scale repository. Chances are good if you are interested in branding or international marketing.

Data Sources
Are you looking for secondary data related to the phenomenon you are studying? I compiled various free and paid data sources that offer information about countries, firms, and brands.
Want to learn more about my courses and workshops?