How global brands create firm value: the 4V model

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework – the 4V model – for better understanding how global brands create firm value. Organized around the global brand value chain, the 4V model includes four sets of value-creating activities: first, valued brands; second, value sources; third, value delivery; and fourth, valued outcomes.

The approach is conceptual with illustrative examples.

The sources of global brand value and the processes through which global brands contribute to firm value differ systematically across types of global brands. This paper highlights interrelations and how different activities built upon and reinforce each other.

The 4V model ties together broad strands of research conducted to date and offers insights into ways the paper might better understand and study global brands. It should inspire empirical research on the associations between the 4Vs.

International marketing managers should be able to develop and evaluate global brand strategies more effectively using the 4V model described in this paper. Linking their strategies to valued outcomes puts marketers more firmly at the level in the organization they deserve, namely, the C-Suite.

The framework offered in this paper is unique in that it blends insights obtained from multiple sources, namely, academic research, articles that appeared in the business press, case studies, and interactions with managers and policy makers around the world.