Perceived brand localness and globalness as drivers of brand coolness across consumer cultures

Although global brand preference has been widely studied, the role of perceived localness as a multidimensional symbolic cue shaping brand coolness remains less explored. Drawing on signaling theory and consumer culture theory, this study examines how consumers’ perceptions of brand globalness and localness relate to brand coolness, and how attitudes toward global and local consumer culture moderate these associations. Using survey data from 932 consumers across three culturally diverse countries selected according to Inglehart’s cultural dimensions, we estimated a PLS-SEM model on a common global retailer (Amazon), the only brand evaluated across all three national samples. This approach captures how globalness and localness-related cues embedded within the same brand influence coolness perceptions across cultural contexts. Results show that perceived localness exhibits a stronger association with brand coolness than perceived globalness. Attitudes toward global consumer culture significantly moderate the relationship between perceived globalness and coolness, whereas attitudes toward local consumer culture do not moderate the localness–coolness link. Overall, the findings highlight the strategic relevance of glocalization by suggesting that locally meaningful cues within global brands are associated with higher perceived coolness and cultural relevance and are consistent with prior research linking localness perceptions to sustainability-oriented values.