The Local Aspect in the Successful Brands in Latin America: Empirical Evidence of Its Prevalence, the Role of Local and Global Companies, and Its Effect on Consumers

Pablo Farías

doi:10.3390/su13020819

Abstract

Local businesses, local brands, and brand names in the local language help to preserve the local culture of a country. Through a content analysis, this study examined the 880 most successful brands in nine Latin American markets to evaluate the prevalence of local companies, local brands, and brand names in the local language among the most successful brands in Latin America. The results showed that local companies and local brands have a low prevalence among the most successful brands in Latin America. This study also revealed that global firms do not use local brands or local-sounding brand names. In contrast, local firms use local-sounding brand names for their local brands. The results showed that the use of local brands and local-sounding brand names is higher in local companies than in global companies. The results demonstrated a low prevalence of local focus among the most successful brands in Latin America, and showed that global companies are driving this low prevalence in the region. The results also indicated that a brand having a local-sounding brand name will increase its success. Therefore, the results suggest that local companies and especially global companies should include local-language brand names in their brand portfolios.

Highlights

Cultural sustainability refers to development that is carried out in a way that respects a society’s culture [1]
In each Latin American country except for Colombia, most of the most successful brands are owned by global companies
Based on 880 successful brands reported for nine Latin American markets, the results of the present analysis reveal that local companies and local brands have a low prevalence among the most successful brands in Latin America

Summary

Introduction

Cultural sustainability refers to development that is carried out in a way that respects a society’s culture [1]. Culture describes the characteristics and knowledge of a group of individuals, including language, religion, habits, beliefs, values, meanings, etc. Recent research indicates that cultural sustainability is the fourth essential dimension within the concept of sustainable development [1,2,3]. This recent research has highlighted the importance of preserving culture in different ways (e.g., the arts, knowledge) for future generations. Cultural sustainability is the concept of maintaining and transferring culture within a society between generations. Cultural sustainability seeks to generate social cohesion between the different individuals in a society [4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion