Integrating country-of-origin image and brand image in corporate rebranding: the case of China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies entering the Chinese market integrate brand image and country image, how they redefine this integration in the corporate rebranding process adopted to develop the new market, and what impact they achieve in terms of commercial and economic results. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on the analysis of the cases of Alpha and Beta. Alpha is a multinational company specialized in the production of chocolate, while Beta is one of the world’s largest companies in the tyre industry. These cases are emblematic for the way the two companies combine brand attributes and country image attributes. Findings – The case analysis shows that: initially in the corporate rebranding strategy defined in China, brand image is created independently from the country image; the impact of the integration on brand attitude is sought by producing a cross-fertilization between the meaning of brand attitude and of country image attitude; the level of integration (country-of-manufacture, country-of-design) embodies the aim of the integration itself; and the differentiation of the country image for different brands passes through a phase of focalization. Originality/value – The study identifies practices that managers can consider in the definition of the integration strategies involving brand image and country images that accompany their rebranding processes in the Chinese market. The analysis of these practices together with the results may help managers to arrive at pondered decisions concerning integration.