Much previous research has studied high brand equity acquiring high brand equity or high brand equity acquiring low brand equity. However, very little research has been conducted to understand how that low brand equity acquiring high brand equity changes the low brand equity especially in China. This paper is on the case of Geely Group acquiring Volvo Car which was a typical acquisition of a high brand equity company by a low brand equity company. The aim of the paper is to verify whether this type of acquisition could increase the acquirer’s brand equity evaluated by consumers. This paper selects two brand strategies, ‘the house of brands strategy’ and ‘the endorsed brand strategy’, as the study objects of post-acquisition brand integration, and attempts to find the differences on consumers’ expectations and what is better suited for the new joint company. Therefore, a survey research strategy was used in this paper. A conceptual framework which included brand loyalty and perceived quality was developed from a review of the existing literature. Samples of data collected from Chinese consumers have been analyzed for the changes of consumers’ evaluation on the brand equity of Geely after its successful acquisition. Our research result proved that, a low brand equity company could enhance its brand value through acquiring an internationally known brand. After the acquisition, no matter what brand strategy applied, consumers had a more positive attitude towards the brand. The conclusion reached was that firms should be careful to choose an acquisition strategy by considering its strengths. But when faced with a decision of acquisition, the most important thing is to focus on the final success of the acquisition, while the brand integration strategy might be adjusted flexibly.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-202174 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Zheng, Xiaoshu, Shi, Yuan |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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