This paper aims to examine how the brand integration process in a multinational enterprise is implemented, after the acquisition of many different brands, in different countries and the main factors influencing the implementation process. Brand integration can be initiated by MNEs after mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of brands, a common strategy for firms seeking rapid international growth. Connecting internationalization and branding literature, this study offers findings that explain how the brand integration process was implemented at an MNE, and its barriers cross borders. It also describes the strategies implemented to improve communication between the company’s employees and customers and the difficulties to deal with national and industry institutions during the process. Moreover, it provides a framework that illustrates the particular differences and barriers in emerging and developed regions, especially caused by institutional constraints. This paper contributes to the increasing interest in international branding and rebranding in acquisitions. This study views the rebranding process as an essential asset for a company’s development across borders. 

PurposeThis study describes how a multinational enterprise (MNE) gains acceptance after rebranding acquired brands from different countries among its internal and external stakeholders and identifies factors that influence this process.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a single case-study approach, including 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with employees of a firm involved in the rebranding process in six countries. The countries are Sweden, Germany, the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.FindingsThe findings reveal how the MNE integrated brands it acquired in different international markets into one overarching corporate brand. The study shows that in emerging countries, external legitimation (external implementation process, country profiles and customer buy-in) constitutes the most significant challenge. By contrast, in developed countries, internal legitimation (employee buy-in and internal implementation process) is more challenging.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to and extends the rebranding literature by using a legitimation lens to analyze the rebranding process. This lens shows how internal and external stakeholders are both crucial to successful rebranding. The study provides a comprehensive perspective of the process, identifies challenging factors and differentiates between their importance in emerging and developed countries.Originality/valueTo address the dearth of research on how firms legitimize a new brand in different national contexts, the study compares the rebranding process in multiple countries and discusses the factors influencing the rebranding process.

Purpose: This study describes how a multinational enterprise (MNE) gains acceptance after rebranding acquired brands from different countries among its internal and external stakeholders and identifies factors that influence this process.

Design/methodology/approach: The study employed a single case-study approach, including 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with employees of a firm involved in the rebranding process in six countries. The countries are Sweden, Germany, the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

Findings: The findings reveal how the MNE integrated brands it acquired in different international markets into one overarching corporate brand. The study shows that in emerging countries, external legitimation (external implementation process, country profiles and customer buy-in) constitutes the most significant challenge. By contrast, in developed countries, internal legitimation (employee buy-in and internal implementation process) is more challenging.

Research limitations/implications: The study contributes to and extends the rebranding literature by using a legitimation lens to analyze the rebranding process. This lens shows how internal and external stakeholders are both crucial to successful rebranding. The study provides a comprehensive perspective of the process, identifies challenging factors and differentiates between their importance in emerging and developed countries.

Originality/value: To address the dearth of research on how firms legitimize a new brand in different national contexts, the study compares the rebranding process in multiple countries and discusses the factors influencing the rebranding process.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand relationships between a mega-sports event, the Olympic Games, and its branded main sponsors, using the lens of brand personality. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the internet-based website communications of the sponsor and event brands to assess congruence in brand personality identity exhibited in the communications of sponsors and how these relate to the event brand itself. A lexical analysis of the website text identifies and graphically represents the dominant brand personality traits of the brands relative to each other. Findings: The results show the Olympic Games is communicating excitement as a leading brand personality dimension. Sponsors of the Olympics largely take on its dominant brand dimension, but do not adapt their whole brand personality to that of the Olympics and benefit by adding excitement without losing their individual character. The transference is more pronounced for long-running sponsors. Practical implications: Sponsorship of the Olympic Games does give brands the opportunity to capture or borrow the excitement dimension alongside building or reinforcing their own dominant brand personality trait or to begin to subtly alter their brand positioning. Originality/value: This study is the first to examine how the sponsor’s brand aligns with the event being sponsored as a basis for developing a strong shared image and associative dimensions complimentary to the positioning of the brand itself.

In this study we gathered data from 220 professional users of information via a survey. Twitter is perceived as a service for useful information but not for the reason one may expect, not because the content of the tweets give valuable information, but because of what can be derived and extracted from the information that is being tweeted and not tweeted. Professional users are aware that tweets are being manipulated by communication departments so they adjust for this in their understanding of the content that is being delivered. For the same reason “fake news” is not seen as a problem either by professionals. Twitter is seen as valuable alongside other social media software (additional software solutions) and used directly together with other software (integrated software solutions). As a stand-alone service it is found to be of less value to experienced users and there are no signs that Twitter is a valuable tool for learning. 

In this study we gathered data from 220 professional users of information via a survey. Twitter is perceived as a service for useful information but not for the reason one may expect, not because the content of the tweets give valuable information, but because of what can be derived and extracted from the information that is being tweeted and not tweeted. Professional users are aware that tweets are being manipulated by communication departments so they adjust for this in their understanding of the content that is being delivered. For the same reason “fake news” is not seen as a problem either by professionals. Twitter is seen as valuable alongside other social media software (additional software solutions) and used directly together with other software (integrated software solutions). As a stand-alone service it is found to be of less value to experienced users and there are no signs that Twitter is a valuable tool for learning.