1 Introduction.............................................................................................1
1.1 Problem statement ............................................................................1
1.1.1 Chinese companies in changing business environments ...........1
1.1.2 Role of brand management when going-international...............4
1.1.3 Insufficient research ..................................................................7
1.2 Limits and aims of the study...........................................................10
1.3 Theoretical und empirical access....................................................13
1.3.1 The basic theoretical framework .............................................13
1.3.2 Development of hypotheses.....................................................14
1.3.3 Why case studies?....................................................................15
1.3.4 Choice of data gathering methods ...........................................17
1.3.5 Chosen research objects...........................................................19
1.4 Structure of study............................................................................21
2 Theory of international brand management ......................................23
2.1 Aims of global brand building........................................................23
2.2 Strategic brand decisions when going-international.......................25
2.2.1 Brand positioning ....................................................................25
2.2.2 Mode of market entry ..............................................................31
2.2.3 Decision influencing factors....................................................35
2.3 Operative brand decisions when going-international .....................42
2.3.1 Branding ..................................................................................42
2.3.2 Brand communication..............................................................49
2.3.3 Brand distribution....................................................................55
2.3.4 Brand organisation...................................................................58
2.4 Control and adaptation of brand decisions .....................................65
2.4.1 Brand control ...........................................................................65
2.4.2 Brand adaptation......................................................................69
3 The who is who of Chinese branded companies.................................71
3.1 Domestic brand management experiences......................................71
3.1.1 Landscape of Chinese brands ..................................................71
3.1.2 Chinese consumer behaviour towards brands..........................81

3.1.3 Chinese organisational behaviour towards brands ..................91
3.2 Experiences with developed markets............................................102
3.2.1 Learnings from multinationals in China................................103
3.2.2 China’s presence in developed markets.................................112
3.3 Brief evaluation of both areas of experience ................................125
4 Hypotheses – How to enter developed markets................................129
4.1 Aims of global brand building......................................................129
4.2 Strategic brand decisions when going-international.....................130
4.3 Operative brand decisions when going-international ...................135
5 Empirical study...................................................................................143
5.1 The global household appliances & consumer electronics
industry ...............................................................................................143
5.2 The case studies ............................................................................156
5.2.1 Case study 1: 海尔集团 Haier Group....................................157
5.2.2 Case study 2: TCL 集团 Corporation....................................186
5.2.3 Case study 3: 海信集团 Hisense Group................................211
5.2.4 Case study 4: Lenovo Group联想集团.................................234
6 The Chinese way of international brand management ...................269
6.1 Cross-case comparisons................................................................269
6.1.1 Aims of global brand building...............................................269
6.1.2 Strategic brand decisions when going-international..............274
6.1.3 Operative brand decisions when going-international ............282
6.2 Test of hypotheses ........................................................................296
6.2.1 Aims of global brand building...............................................296
6.2.2 Strategic brand decisions when going-international..............297
6.2.3 Operative brand decisions when going-international ............299
6.3 Development of a descriptive model ............................................303
7 Summary and future research...........................................................313
Appendix.................................................................................................317
List of abbreviations ..............................................................................331
Glossary of Chinese terms.....................................................................335
References...............................................................................................339