Research On Brand Internationalization Strategy: A Legitimacy Perspective

Following the development of integration with the global economy and the economic take-off in China, more and more Chinese enterprises go abroad and start the journey of globalization. However, the road to internationalization for many of Chinese national brands is not a smooth one; especially the road which leads to the western countries. Therefore, how to promote the internationalization strategy and equality of Chinese national brands becomes an issue which academics should confront. The previous research about brand equality never focuses on the relationship between the enterprises legitimacy strategy and brand equality. This paper tries to explore how Chinese national brands promote internationalization strategic progress from the view of Legitimacy. From Scenarios Simulation Experiment, we discover that enterprise legitimacy strategy effects perception of legitimacy and brand equality evaluation, while perception of legitimacy has an intervening relationship between legitimacy strategy and brand equality.This paper includes three parts, which are introduction, theory development and empirical study. The first chapter is the introduction, which clarifies the research background, the significance of the selected topic and research framework. The theory development is in Chapter 2,3 and 4. It presents the theory framework on the basis of analysis of the papers about brand internationalization strategy and legitimacy. The third part, which is empirical study, includes Chapter 5 and 6. It verifies the theory and framework which are presented in the part 2, discusses the conclusion and the significance of management, points out the limitation of this study and suggestions of future research.The following is the primary content of each chapter.In Chapter 1, I clarify the research background and the significance of the selected topic. With more and more Chinese enterprises entering the international market, it becomes well concerned that how to make a successful brand in other countries by theorists and practitioners. However, the previous research about brand equity never focuses on the brand internationalization strategy from the view of the policy. As a result, this study analysis the relationship among the legitimacy strategy, perception of legitimacy and enterprise brand equity of multinational business from the view of legitimacy. This study expands the researches about the brand internationalization strategy.In Chapter 2, the previous papers about brand internationalization are inquired. By studying the literature review, we gain the basic view of what brand internationalization is and the previous study angle of international brand.In Chapter 3, I review and conclude the studies about the brand internationalization from the angle of legitimacy. Related studies have shown that enterprises will encounter the change of the system, standards and culture when they go abroad. Therefore, it is very meaningful to understand the links among the legitimacy strategy, perception of legitimacy and brand equity.In Chapter 4, on the basis of literature reviews, I propose the research framework, research method and research procedures. The hypothesis relationship of the variables is explained.Chapter 5 is the empirical study. I test the impact of legitimacy on perception of legitimacy and brand equity based on regulation, specification and cognitive aspect separately. The result shows that enterprise legitimacy strategy affects perception of legitimacy and brand equity evaluation, while perception of legitimacy has an intervening relationship between legitimacy strategy and brand equity.In Chapter 6, following the literature reviews and empirical studies, I report and discuss the conclusion of this study. According to the results of this study, I consider that Chinese enterprises should pay attention to the legitimacy of business action when they try to expand the markets in the western countries. Through adopting the pertinence legitimacy strategy, the Chinese enterprises should increase perception of legitimacy of the consumers, and ultimately ascend the brand equity evaluation.In conclusion, this paper explores the issues of brand internationalization strategy from the view of legitimacy. This study reviews the previous papers about brand and the theory of different policies, and also combines the normative research method and empirical research method. This paper aims at enriching and developing the research of Chinese national brand internationalization successfully. This study provides a reference for the enterprises which need to promote their brand into the international market.