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Objective: The objective of the article is to explore the types of brands in terms of the country of brand origin (COBO) applied by emerging markets' firms and motives for applying them. Research Design & Methods: A qualitative approach was used, i.e. multi-case study of five emerging markets' firms and data triangulation. Findings: Studied firms apply in the international market various types of brands in terms of the COBO by 1) referring to the foreign COBO, 2) referring to the origin from the home market, and 3) neutralising the COBO effect. Moreover, the firms differ in terms of their international brand portfolio: from consisting of a single brand to covering several or dozen international - even global - regional, or local brands. Implications & Recommendations: The dominant international branding strategy of emerging markets' firms in terms of the COBO is acquiring/licensing well-known international or even global brand/brands and creating 'occidental-style' brand. It is driven both by strategic and market motives. The conclusions can be applied by emerging markets' companies in their foreign expansion. Contribution & Value Added: This study develops a deeper understanding of the brand types applied by emerging markets' companies in terms of the COBO and brand use motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identify the understanding and strategic importance of the country of origin (COO) and its dimensions from the perspective of the emerging market firms. A qualitative approach was applied using in-depth interviews with 11 informants from owners of emerging market companies of household appliances brands. COO is perceived by managers of emerging markets' firms as a multidimensional construct. In addition to the COO dimensions presented in the literature, informants indicate the following: country of technology/innovation origin, country of technical culture, country of service network localization, country of organizational culture origin (COOCO), and country of brand launching (COBL). Country of manufacturing (COM)/assembly/parts is perceived as a strategic imperative, first of all, from the sourcing strategy perspective, and it is less important from the marketing perspective than the country of brand origin (COBO). This study contributes to existing literature by developing a deeper understanding of the COO dimensions from a perspective of emerging market companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]