UNIVERSAL BRAND PERSONALITIES: A Cross-Cultural Examination of adidas Brand Managers and Consumers in Italy and Germany. Type of paper: Master Thesis Students: Cecilia Angelika Wiesböck & Francesca Galli Student numbers: 106415 & 108200 Name of program: MSc in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.) Concentration: Brand & Communications Management Date of submission: 13th September 2018 Name of supervisor: Jesper Clement Number of characters/number of pages: 235584 / 115 = 2049 characters per page Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. ii Table of Figures .................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... v Abstract ................................................................................................................................. vi 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Relevance ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Context: adidas ................................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Scope .............................................................................................................................. 10 1.4 Structure ......................................................................................................................... 10 2 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework .......................................................... 11 2.1 A Review of Branding .................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 The Four Eras of Brands ........................................................................................................ 11 2.1.2 Contemporary Views of Brands .............................................................................................. 13 2.1.3 Contemporary Views of Brand Management ......................................................................... 14 2.2 The Angles of Brand Management ................................................................................. 15 2.2.1 Managerial Angle: The Importance of Brand Personality ..................................................... 17 2.2.2 Consumer Angle: Brand Personality Perception ................................................................... 21 2.2.3 Bridging the Gap .................................................................................................................... 25 2.3 The Impact of Cultural Differences on Brand Personality ............................................. 27 2.3.1 The Importance and Relevance of Cultural Studies in Brand Management ........................... 27 2.3.2 Review of Cultural Research in the Brand Personality Field ................................................. 30 2.3.3 Measuring Brand Personality through Cultural Models ........................................................ 32 2.3.4 Cultural Dimensions Relevant for Brand Personality: Hofstede (2001) and Schwartz (1992, 2004) .......................................................................... 33 2.3.5 Cultural Dimensions applied to Brand Personality Dimensions ............................................ 37 2.4 Identifying Cultural Differences and Similarities: Italy and Germany .......................... 40 2.4.1 Cultural Profile of Germany................................................................................................... 40 2.4.2 Cultural Profile of Italy and Comparison with Germany ....................................................... 41 3 Contextual Background: Brand Management at adidas ............................................ 45 ii 3.1 Strategic Business Plan .................................................................................................. 45 3.2 Adidas Brand Portfolio ................................................................................................... 46 3.3 Core Belief & Mission ................................................................................................... 47 3.4 People, Culture and Values ............................................................................................ 48 4 Formulation of Research Questions ............................................................................ 49 4.1 Primary Research Question ............................................................................................ 49 4.2 Managerial Angle: Sub-questions .................................................................................. 50 4.3 Consumer Angle: Sub-questions .................................................................................... 51 5 Research Methodology ................................................................................................. 52 5.1 Research Plan ................................................................................................................. 53 5.2 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 54 5.2.1 Construct validity ................................................................................................................... 55 5.2.2 External validity ..................................................................................................................... 56 5.2.3 Reliability ............................................................................................................................... 56 5.3 Fieldwork and Analysis Preparation .............................................................................. 56 5.4 Evidence Collection and Timeline ................................................................................. 63 5.5 Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 65 5.5.1 Choice of Qualitative Data Analysis Tool: NVivo .................................................................. 65 5.5.2 Using NVivo to Analyze and Interpret the Findings ............................................................... 68 6 Presentation and Analysis of Findings ........................................................................ 71 6.1 Managerial Angle: ............................................................................................................. Intended adidas Brand Personality Profile Across Italy and Germany .......................... 71 6.1.1 Constructing the Intended Brand Personality Profile of Adidas ............................................ 73 6.1.2 Brand Personality Profile Differences between Italian and German Brand Managers ......... 81 6.1.3 Personal Conflicts, Cultural Risks, German Heritage ............................................................... and Expectations of Research Outcome ................................................................................ 83 6.2 Consumer Angle: ............................................................................................................... Actual adidas Brand Personality Profile Across Italy and Germany .............................. 90 6.2.1 Constructing the Actual Brand Personality Profile of Adidas ................................................ 90 6.2.2 Actual adidas Brand Personality Profile Differences between Italy and Germany ............... 98 6.2.3 German adidas Brand Personality Profile ............................................................................. 99 iii 6.2.4 Italian adidas Brand Personality Profile and Comparison .................................................... 99 6.2.5 Self-identification, German Heritage and Expectations of Research Outcome .................... 100 6.3 Comparison of Brand Personality Profiles ........................................................................ between Germany and Italy Across Angles ................................................................. 105 6.3.1 Comparison of Angles .......................................................................................................... 105 6.3.2 Comparison of Cultures ....................................................................................................... 106 7 Discussion: The Concept of Universal Brand Personalities .................................... 108 8 Limitations and Future Research .............................................................................. 112 8.1 Limitations.................................................................................................................... 112 8.2 Future Research ............................................................................................................ 113 9 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 115 10 References ............................................................................................................... 117 11 Appendices .............................................................................................................. 130 iv Table of Figures Figure 1: Definitions: