Standardization vs globalization: a new perspective of brand strategies

This paper argues that meanings given to “standardization” and “globalization” might have created some confusion and precipitated potentially misleading research results in the literature. The paper discusses the basic assumptions underlying the marketing function as a necessary point of departure to build a sounder theory around these concepts. Findings confirm the lack of formal definitions of these concepts in the marketing and management literatures. The authors “redefine” the concepts of globalization, standardization, adaptation and customization with the help of the AMA’s and Webster’s dictionaries. The new conceptualization is applied to a brand strategy framework. Preliminary results show that standardization and globalization may be at opposite ends of an evolutionary brand strategy process, whereas adaptation and customization are intermediary stages. The paper discusses the findings and suggests future research possibilities.