Strategic management of Turkish brands in international markets

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to shed a light to the strategic brand management practices of Turkish multinational companies in international markets. Being at the edge of full membership to the European Union, having international or global brands that represent Turkey is very critical. Furthermore, to survive in the age of globalization and severed global competition, Turkish multinationals should move away from being a production center for worldwide known brands to being known for their high quality and value brands. This dissertation takes geographical extension of brands as a starting point and looks at strategic brand management in the global context from an emerging market perspective. There is a comprehensive literature on strategic brand management, global branding, and global marketing. This dissertation takes a look at all these dimensions in the review of literature before developing a model for strategic global brand management. The model combines dimensions of strategic brand management and global marketing to form dimensions of strategic global brand management. The antecedents that affect global brand management are drawn from Industrial Organization and Resource-based perspectives to provide a full picture. Finally, the effects of strategic global brand management are sought in brand performance in international markets. Data is collected through a survey with 94 Turkish multinational companies with branded operations in international markets. The findings indicate that Turkish multinationals apply high standardization, home-country concentrated configuration of up-stream activities, with low coordination and dispersed configuration of down stream activities with high coordination, and somewhat integration of competitive moves across countries. The drive for standardization is recognized as target market similarity for both product and advertising variables. Macro environment similarity, quality focus (on product), better customer and subsidiary relationship, innovativeness (on advertising) also have a positive effect on standardization. Technological intensiveness is negatively correlated with standardization. Standardization, contrary to findings of some other studies, has positive effects on brand performance in international markets. Configuration and coordination of brand activities do not affect brand performance in international markets. International business strength, similarity of macro environmental variables, and good customer and subsidiary relationships positively affect market presence in key markets and integration of competitive moves. In return, market presence in key markets has a positive influence on strategic and financial brand performance in international markets. Integration of competitive moves also has an effect on strategic brand performance. Finally, based on the findings, suggestions for Turkish multinational companies, the government and researchers are given.