東道國公眾情緒對跨國公司溝通營銷本土化策略的影響

Abstract

In the context of economic globalization and intensified market competition, public sentiment has become a critical consideration for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in their decision-making processes. Public sentiment refers to the collective opinion or attitude of society toward a specific topic. In the global business environment, MNEs must consider and respond to local public sentiment when implementing localization strategies to enter new markets. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, to deeply explore how public sentiment influences the localization strategies of enterprises. First, using grounded theory and case analysis, a theoretical model was developed to analyze the localization strategies adopted by MNEs in foreign markets and their influencing factors. The study discusses how these strategies respond to different market environments and concludes that public sentiment, as an informal institution, significantly impacts MNEs’ localization strategies. Subsequently, the study employs experimental methods to examine the effects of different public sentiment tendencies on the localization of marketing communication strategies and the moderating role of product country image. The experiment utilizes a 2 (public sentiment tendency: negative vs. positive) × 2 (product country image: negative vs. positive) between-subjects factorial design. Through random grouping and scenario simulation, the experiment validates the significant influence of public sentiment and product country image on brand localization strategy decisions. The results reveal that negative public sentiment is more likely to drive companies to adopt localization strategies compared to positive sentiment. Moreover, the study identifies the mediating role of legitimacy pressure in the relationship between public sentiment, product country image, and brand localization strategies. A moderated mediation analysis reveals that the mediating effect of legitimacy pressure in the public sentiment-localization strategy relationship is moderated by product country image. When the product country image is positive, the influence of public sentiment on localization strategies via legitimacy pressure is significant; however, when the product country image is negative, this influence is not significant. These findings provide theoretical foundations and practical guidance for companies to develop effective localization strategies in new markets.

Date of Award	2 Dec 2024
Original language	Chinese (Traditional)
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Zhilin YANG (Supervisor)