The Research on Post-Merger Brand Strategies of Chinese Local Brands´ Cross-Border M&A - From Weaker Brands Perspective

In this financial crisis, Chinese Local Brands (CLB) M&A many foreign famous and strong brands to accelerate their internationalization. However, "the weaker mergers the stronger" of cross-border M&A leads to consumers\´ cognitive dissonance (CCD). The extant research concerned is silent on the cross-border M&A of the weaker brands on stronger ones. Thus, based on cognitive assonance and customer-based brand equity (CBBE) theories, this study, from weaker brands perspective, find the way how to attenuate the CCD on the stronger ones. Consequently, it uses focus group, in-depth interview, and experiments to shed light on brand strategies to mitigate CCD, i.e., maintaining country of origin, price and one brand of stronger acquired brands like those before the merger, and its solution mechanism to enhance brand equities of the merger and acquired, that is, brand fitness mediates the interaction effects between brand identity strategy and supporting marketing programs on brand equity of stronger acquired brands. The conclusions enrich the research on cross-border brand strategy and CLB internationalization and offer vital implications for the prevalent cross- border M&A of CLB at present.