Service versus product brands: Understanding international adaptation

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which service brands are adapted when going international and the reasons for adapting. A quantitative survey approach was used. A sample of 315 Australian firms involved in international business was studied to understand the antecedents of brand adaptation. Statistical tests were performed to model these firms’ brand adaptation activities and to see if the service firms’ branding was different to those of product firms. The results indicate that brand adaptation is just as, if not more, important for service firms than product firms when going international. Cultural considerations were found to be the main reason for brand adaptation. Service firms expanding internationally need to seriously plan brand adaptation if they are to be successful. The weakest service firms seemed to be too obsessed with resource costs of international activities. This is one of the few studies to examine service branding in an international context, especially in a way that contrasts the behaviour to that of international product branding.