Are global brands trustworthy? The role of brand affect, brand innovativeness, and consumer ethnocentrism

Multinational companies essentially manage their brands globally (e.g. Red Bull, Coca-Cola, Louis Vuitton), mainly because consumers tend to have similar tastes, preferences, and expectations around the world (Hassan and Katsanis, 1994; Steenkamp et al., 2003). Yet, in recent years, occurred an increase of consumers’ anti-globalization feelings as expressed in popular votes such as in the US (“America first”) or the UK (the Brexit vote), and in a growing political support towards European nationalist parties (e.g. Italy, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Bulgaria) (Hale and Held, 2017). Specifically, in France, a growing number of voters support the nationalist party which defends anti- globalization and protectionist policies (Beard, 2017). This recent tendency is relevant to both academics and practitioners who study or manage global brands, and a revised understanding of the effects of perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumer behavior is warranted.