Purpose: The recent increase in the presence of emerging-market firms (EMFs) in global
markets requires a closer examination of their international marketing strategies (including
branding). This paper examines the factors behind the standardization or adaptation of global
marketing strategies adopted by EMFs for their cross-border acquisitions.
Methodology/Approach: This paper examines the determinants of the marketing strategies
adopted by Indian and Chinese firms for their cross-border acquisitions. The drivers of the
standardization/adaptation of marketing strategies (including branding) are identified using
both quantitative data collected in 168 cross-border acquisitions conducted by the EMFs
mentioned above and the institutional theory and organizational identity literature.
Findings: Institutional factors have a stronger effect than organizational identities on global
marketing strategies, including branding. The standardization of the EMFs’ marketing
strategies is driven by the private statuses of the acquirers, legal distances, target countries’
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economic development, and the ethnic ties that exist between the home and host countries.
The acquirers’ decisions to retain the targets’ brand identities, thus adapting their global
marketing strategies, is related to the cultural distances, economic freedom distances and
sizes of the targets.
Research limitations/implications: In this study, two large emerging markets—India and
China—are used to gather the empirical data; future works can expand upon this line of
research and examine other EMFs.
Practical Implications: The acquiring companies have to decide whether to adopt an
adaption marketing strategy, with reference to the acquired targets’ local stakeholder
requirements, or to incorporate their targets’ brands into their own global marketing
strategies.
Originality/ Value: Typically, previous work on the adaptation versus standardization of
global marketing strategies adopted in the wake of cross-border deals has focused on
acquisitions involving companies from developed countries; this paper extends the field of
research to the EMFs of two of the most important developing countries: China and India
