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1. Introduction
Brands are the lifeblood of companies. They generate market share, increase customer loyalty, amplify channel power, offer the potential for higher profit margins, and guard against competitive attacks. For these key strategic reasons, virtually all marketing activities - ranging from new product development to advertising to retail placement - focus on building strong brands ([2] Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). In a world characterized by rapid globalization, "brands" increasingly mean "global brands." This is how [10] Berner and Kiley (2005) describe the global brand imperative in BusinessWeek :
It's no accident that most of the companies with the biggest increases in brand value operate as single brands everywhere in the world [...]. The goal today is to create consistency and impact, both of which are a lot easier to manage with a single worldwide identity. It's also a more efficient approach, since the same strategy can be used everywhere [...]. Given how hard the consumer is to reach today, a strong unified brand message is increasingly becoming the only way to break through [...]. [10] Berner and Kiley (2005, p. 55).
[44] Özsomer et al. (2012, p. 1) echo this sentiment when they state: "The globalization of markets has put global brands on the center stage." But while global brands make strategic sense, it is less clear how they create firm value. What is the process underlying value creation? Clearly both Apple and Gillette contribute tremendously to firm value: $98.3 billion to Apple Inc market capitalization and $25.1 billion to Procter & Gamble's market capitalization, respectively ([30] Interbrand, 2013). But the process through which this value is created, and even the metrics of brand value, may not be the same. For example, while everybody around the world recognizes Apple as a global brand, created by a near legendary founder and aspirational for millions, many consumers may not even be aware that Gillette is a global brand, and if they knew, some might not even care.
The purpose of this paper is to conceptually analyze different ways in which global brands create firm value. For this purpose, I propose a new framework - the 4V model - which distinguishes between valued brands, value sources, value delivery, and valued outcomes. The interrelations between the 4Vs can...