A Stage Model of International Brand Development: The perspectives of manufacturers from two newly industrialized economies - South Korea and Taiwan

A review of the literature has revealed that insufficient attention has been paid to the international branding process. Following in-depth interviews with eight manufacturers from South Korea and Taiwan, a stage model of international brand development is therefore proposed. This model is a composite of three extant literatures, i.e., international branding, the Small Business Growth Stage Model, and the Internationalization Process model. The model highlights four successive and progressive stages underpinning international brand development: Pre-international, Lead Market Carrying Capacity, International Branding and Market Succession, and Local Climax. According to the proposed model, firms begin with the development of a strong brand in home markets, then, utilize OEM brands to expand and become familiar with international markets. A gradual decrease in OEM contracts and more concentration on international branding in the three global lead markets (i.e., the USA, Japan, and the EU) follow. The stage model ends with brand development deploying localization in the Third World countries. The article concludes by providing research implications as well as future research directions.