aalto1 untyped-item.component.html
Cultural heritage branding in export: Management tool for country-of-origin effects
Loading...
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Business |
Bachelor's thesis
Unless otherwise stated, all rights belong to the author. You may download, display and print this publication for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Authors
Date
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
63 + 1
Series
Abstract
The wide scope of country-of-origin effects has been a major interest in international marketing research over many decades. However, the range of available marketing management tools for actively controlling country-of-origin effects in relation to branded products is fragmented. To address this lack in comprehensive marketing management strategies that deal with the effects of origins, the concept of cultural heritage branding is introduced. Cultural heritage branding is put forth as a well-equipped tool for turning a country-of-origin into a powerful factor for success in the competitive global marketplace.
In summary, in cultural heritage branding, a brand makes favorable strategic associations to the cultural heritage of its country-of-origin. To support this type of branding, the influence of country-of-origin effects on various kinds of marketing activities needs to be accounted for, as the country of origin would indeed be made salient. The author generally argues for the usefulness of cultural heritage as a source for branding, based on such advantages as perceived authenticity, opportunities for product differentiation and limited possibilities for appropriation.
In the proceedings of the thesis, after having defined the key terms, the author reviews impactful research findings on country-of-origin effects. Then, the author develops the concept of cultural heritage branding further from its current state, as indeed the amount of research focusing on cultural heritage branding in relation to products has been extremely limited so far. Next in the thesis, three key steps for the process of cultural heritage branding in marketing management are identified and clarified by the author.
Firstly, the author recommends adopting the right cultural heritage elements for a specific type of product, based on criteria such as the favorableness of general country stereotypes; favorableness of product-specific country image; and the match between brand personality and national personality profile of the country of origin. Secondly, the integration of cultural heritage into brand identity and marketing mix is discussed. Finally, as the author especially advocates the use of cultural heritage branding in export, she refers to factors which help determine how prominent the cultural heritage elements should be in export activities. Some of the particularly important factors are the target market’s culture in relation to the brand, ethnocentrism and animosity.
In concluding the thesis, the whole process of cultural heritage branding is summarized by making use of an illustrative framework. The previously developed guidelines for the process of cultural heritage branding are also summarized, and limitations of the research as well as opportunities for future research are identified.