Towards an understanding advertising standardisation in the European Union: a theoretical framework and research propositions

An accelerating integration of political, economic, and cultural dimensions during the 1990s enabled multinational corporations (MNCs) to operate on a truly global basis, rather than on a multidomestic basis. The standardization of advertising is one of the most researched topics in international advertising, having been formally studied in the academic literature for over 50 years. In recent years, however, researchers have begun to recognize that the “traditional” global-versus-local debate is becoming pointless, because it has been realized that the issue is not the extent to which an ad campaign for a brand can be completely globalise, but to what degree it is possible to standardize a global brand’s campaign throughout the world. Thus, this study aims to identify the antecedents and consequences of advertising standardization. Specifically, we attempt to establish a theoretical framework in European markets where, since the seminal work of Harris (1994), little research has been conducted into how advertising standardisation by MNCs operates in this region.