Consumers´ perception of the internationalism effect on symbolic value: Brand prestige as a mediator

Seeking symbolic value has become one of the most important reasons that drive the consumers choose brands. The study is intended to confirm the relationship between perceived brand internationalism, brand prestige and symbolic value. Symbolic value includes three factors, such as prestige value, self-expressive value, and social expressive value. The survey was conducted in four mobile stores. In contrast to the general notion that there is only interaction between perceived brand internationalism and perceived quality, perceived brand internationalism was found to be positively related to the symbolic value in an international branding context which was mediated by brand prestige except social expressive value. The findings have managerial implications for marketing managers and limitations of the study have also been discussed.