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International Review of Management and 
Marketing

ISSN: 2146-4405

available at http: www.econjournals.com

International Review of Management and Marketing, 2023, 13(3), 9-15.

International Review of Management and Marketing | Vol 13 • Issue 3 • 2023 9

Brand Name Language: Is it True That Foreign Brand Names are 
More Quali ied, Luxurious and Modern?

Sutisna*, Tata Rustandi

Master Management, Bina Bangsa University, Serang, Indonesia. *Email: sutisna0902@gmail.com

Received: 16 January 2023 Accepted: 07 April 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.14231

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to see whether product brand names that use foreign languages, especially English, are perceived as higher quality, more 
luxurious, and more modern than product brand names that use local languages by consumers in developing countries. The population in this study were 
residents of Banten Province, Indonesia. Data collection using a questionnaire distributed via google form and collected as many as 275 respondents’ 
answers. The analysis method uses paired sample mean difference test. The results showed that foreign brand names that use foreign languages are 
perceived as higher quality, more luxurious, and more modern than brand names that use local languages. Therefore, giving product brand names 
whose markets are consumers in developing countries, using foreign language brand names, especially English, will be preferred by consumers.

Keywords: Brand Name, Foreign Language, Quality, Luxurious, Modern 
JEL Classification: M31

1. INTRODUCTION

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) based on the 2020 Population 
Census recorded that Indonesia’s population in September 2020 
was 270.20 million people. Since Indonesia held its first Population 
Census in 1961, the population has continued to increase. The 
SP2020 results compared to SP2010 showed an increase in the 
population of 32.56 million people or an average of 3.26 million 
every year. In the last 10 years (2010-2020), Indonesia’s population 
growth rate was 1.25% per year. Indonesia is categorized as a 
middle-income country (World Bank, 2022) with a per capita 
income of IDR 62.2 million or US$ 4,349.5 (BPS, 2022). The 
large population, although still categorized as a middle-income 
country, and still categorized as a developing country, is certainly 
a potential market for various types of products offered. Those 
who can offer better value to consumers will be the winner. 
Consumer preferences for the various products available are 
influenced by many variables. Among the many variables that 
influence consumer choice is brand name. As a developing country, 
consumer behavior in purchasing also always refers to products 

from developed countries. Consumers in Indonesia consider that 
brands of products from abroad are better than local products, and 
consider domestic product brands to have a lower image (Sulhaini 
et al., 2019; Sutisna et al., 2020).

Consumer brand choice of product brands is influenced by many 
variables, ranging from price, product quality, brand image, price, 
and advertising (Adnan et al., 2019; Sudaryanto et al., 2019) and 
of course, the brand name matters too (Bulle and Cengel, 2020). 
The brand name is one aspect that is taken into consideration 
in deciding to buy a product (Shehzad, 2014). The brand name 
contains certain values felt by consumers, such as feelings of 
pride, feelings of security, and feelings of luxury (Han et al., 
2010). Therefore, in giving brand names, companies need to be 
careful and consider brand names from various aspects, ranging 
from ease of pronunciation, (Kim, 2017) and ease of remembering 
(Khurram et al., 2018) to the brand language used.

Giving brand names using certain brand languages will have a 
different impact. Consumers in developing countries, tend to judge 

This Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License



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International Review of Management and Marketing | Vol 13 • Issue 3 • 202310

that brand names that use foreign languages are better than brand 
names with local languages (Ergin et al., 2014) Research on how 
consumers in developing countries tend to prefer brand names with 
foreign languages, especially English as an international language 
has been widely done. However, the aspects that are the reason 
why consumers in developing countries prefer foreign brands have 
not been done. In addition, this study wants to see whether brand 
names using foreign languages differ in perception between the 
categories of consumer products and shopping products. Therefore, 
this study will reveal what aspects are the reasons for consumers 
to judge that brands in foreign languages, especially English, are 
perceived better than brand names using local languages.

2. THEORETICAL REVIEW

The brand name is an important part of a product. Brand names 
are advised not to be too complicated, not difficult to pronounce, 
easy to remember, and simple because brands are the basis for 
developing brand awareness and brand image (Soto et al., 2009). 
The brand name contains several meanings such as brand image, 
quality symbol, product characteristics, and product quality (Kohli 
and LaBahn, 1997; Wang, 2012). The brand image includes 
several aspects such as brand territory that show competence, 
brand quality that shows how high quality the product is offered, 
product differentiation, and brand personality (Kapferer, 2008). 
Brands also have two types of benefits: functional benefits and 
symbolic benefits. Functional benefits of product brands relate to 
product performance, physical justification, the effectiveness of 
use, value for money, availability, and habit reliability. Meanwhile, 
symbolic benefits are in the form of compatibility with lifestyle, 
can express themselves, can show self-identity, helping order and 
structure life, social acceptance, feeling prestige, and show likes 
and dislikes (del Rio et al., 2001). The brand name is the foundation 
for consumers’ Foreign Brand and Local Brand Perception.

Foreign brands, especially in developing countries, are often 
perceived as better product brands (Yu et al., 2022 ; Kashi, 2013) and 
can be used as social status (Millan and Mittal, 2017) and symbols 
of luxury (Inwon et al., 2022). Therefore, consumers in developing 
countries prefer foreign brands for purchasing their products (Yu 
et al., 2022). Many consumers from developing countries feel cool 
when using products whose brands come from abroad. Products 
labeled with foreign brands can make consumers make product 
choices.

The reason consumers choose foreign brands is that foreign brands 
have product features that local brands do not have, good product 
quality, and a positive brand image (Momen et al., 2022). Large 
product variations, different colors, shapes, and sizes are the main 
product features that attract consumers to buy foreign products 
(Haque et al., 2015). Consumers in developing countries perceive 
that products originating from abroad have premium quality 
compared to local products. Meanwhile, according to Khashi 
(2013), consumer purchasing behavior toward foreign brands is 
due to seeking uniqueness, perceived quality, and emotional value. 
Apart from product features and product quality, foreign brands 
are preferred by consumers also because of brand image.

Foreign brands are valued more highly by consumers from 
developing countries. Research by Dao and Heit (2018) conducted 
in Vietnam shows that consumers rate Sony and Honda brands 
better than local brands. Brand image has three dimensions, namely 
affective and conative cognitive components. Country image and 
product confidence A study on Indonesian consumers conducted 
by Sulhaini et al. (2020) found a very surprising situation. The 
research respondents were 233 young students in Mataram 
Lombok Indonesia. The results revealed that young people have 
negative emotions and a passive hatred for domestic brands, and 
therefore a reason for them to worship foreign brands more.

Meanwhile, foreign brands are perceived by consumers in 
developed countries as less qualified, or in other words, consumers 
in developed countries perceive their domestic brands as better 
than brands from abroad (, Ahmed and d’Astous, 2008; Bilkey 
and Nes, 1982; Samiee, 1994).

2.1. Phonetic Symbolism and Brand Names
A common method of categorizing vowel sounds is to distinguish 
front versus back mentions. This distinction refers to where the 
tongue is positioned when a word is spoken. Consider tee, tin, 
and toot. When saying tee, the tongue is more towards the front 
of the mouth than when saying tin. Conversely, when saying toot, 
the tongue is more towards the back of the mouth than it is when 
saying tin (Klink, 2000). Yorkson and Menon (2004) studied a 
phenomenon known as sound symbolism, where the sounds of a 
word convey meaning. In particular, brand names are made up of 
individual sounds called phonemes and it was analyzed how the 
phonetic structure of these brand names influences consumers’ 
evaluation of the product and its attributes. The results show that 
consumers use the information they gather from the phonemes 
in brand names to infer product attributes and evaluate brands. 
The analysis also shows that the phonetic effect of brand names 
manifests automatically while it is uncontrollable, unconscious, 
and effortless. Lowrey and Shrum’s (2007) experimental results 
show that brand names are preferred when their vocal sounds have 
attributes that have positive connotations.

Making a brand name must be in line with the attributes contained 
in the product. For example, the brand name of ice cream must 
contain meaning, sweet, cream, and rich flavor. In other words, 
the brand name must contain the symbolic meaning of the product 
category. For example, a snack brand name would be more 
suitable if the brand name contains the meaning of taste, crispy, 
crunchy, and savory. Still according to Yorkson and Menon (2004), 
creating a successful brand name depends not only on creating a 
name that fits the product category, but a name that phonetically 
matches the positioning of the brand in the product category. 
The congruence between the product category and the brand 
name affects consumers’ memories, preferences, and conclusions 
(Lowrey et al., 2003). Brand perception can be enhanced by 
matching product attributes with sound symbols. The better the 
match between the sound symbol and the product attribute, the 
more positive the perception of the brand.

From the above explanation, it appears that the easier the brand 
name is to pronounce, the more preferred it will be by consumers. 



Sutisna: Brand Name Language: Is it True That Foreign Brand Names are More Qualified, Luxurious and Modern?

International Review of Management and Marketing | Vol 13 • Issue 3 • 2023 11

Meanwhile, the more the brand name matches the product 
characteristics or product attributes, the more favored it will be 
by consumers compared to the brand name whose sound symbol 
does not match the product attributes.

2.2. Language of Brand Name
Language is part of the culture (Ahimsa-Putra, 2011) and every 
culture produces cultural artifacts in the form of goods (Oktaviany 
et al., 2019). Language as part of culture is also a means of 
communication both interpersonal and between entities. Language 
has become very broad in its dimensions in human life activities, 
including in terms of product brand naming. Product brand names 
are one of the cultural artifacts. Language is very important in 
business and marketing activities. Language becomes a strategic 
tool for managing impressions on target consumers to build brand 
equity (Luna et al., 2018), therefore language becomes a very 
important tool in building brand positioning. One of the important 
functions of language is brand naming. Brand naming is both an 
art and a science (Luna et al., 2018). In consumers in developing 
countries, the use of local language is less preferred, and prefers 
nonlocal brands (Batra et al., 2000). Therefore, marketers need 
to pay attention to this aspect of language use for brand names so 
that their marketing strategies can be successful. Even for local 
products, when naming their product brands in foreign languages, 
especially English, consumers will be preferred (Citra and 
Syahlani, 2008). The results of research by Soto et al. (2009) on 
Jeans, Cameras, and Mouthwash brands show that jeans products 
with English brand names are more hedonic. Even for all product 
categories, the use of brand names in English. The results of this 
study are different from the results of research conducted by 
Diantanti et al. (2018) which states that the use of product brand 
names using foreign and local languages does not affect attitudes 
towards products and purchase intentions. The respondents even 
suggested that when branding local products, they should use 
brand names based on the characteristics of the product origin.

3. HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

3.1. Language of Brand Name and Quality Perception
Product brand names using foreign language names, especially 
English, are perceived to have better quality (Porto and da Silva 
Soyer, 2018). Consumers consider that product brands that are in 
foreign languages have better quality than brands that use national 
languages. This is shown by the results of the research (Yu et al., 
2022). Which found that consumers in developing countries prefer 
foreign brands, and product quality is a moderating variable for 
the effect of decision focus (buying for others or themselves) on 
consumer choice. In other words, when consumers decide to buy 
products for others, they will choose foreign brands over national 
brands. Consumers in developing countries such as Bangladesh 
also perceive that foreign brands are better than domestic brands in 
particular they consider that foreign brands have more brand value, 
and better product features (Momen et al., 2022). However, in 
some groups of consumers who have a high level of entrocentrism, 
they consider that the quality of domestic product brands is better 
than the quality of foreign brand products, even though objectively 
the quality of foreign product brands is better than domestic 
product brands. The perception that domestic brand products are 

better than foreign products when in fact the opposite is true, is 
referred to as domestic product quality syndrome. This bias occurs 
because consumers have a high ethnocentric spirit (Bakti et al., 
2020). The results of other research related to foreign branding 
show that strategies that combine foreign branding and experiential 
value produce better product quality perceptions (Azzahra and 
Balqiah, 2017). Therefore, around the world, many apply product 
brand naming using foreign languages to create better quality 
perceptions. Brands from developing countries use many foreign 
brand strategies to attract consumer interest (Zhou et al., 2010). The 
effect of this has an impact on the likelihood of purchase. Domestic 
products that are labeled abroad (incongruent) result in a decrease 
in consumer purchase interest, especially for hedonic products, and 
utilitarian products, the incongruity between domestically made but 
foreign branded products (for example, made in Indonesia given an 
English brand name) does not have a significant effect on consumer 
purchase interest (Melnyk et al., 2012).

H1: Product brand names that use foreign languages are preferred 
over brand names using national languages.
H2: Product brand names that use foreign languages are more 
qualified than brand names that use national languages.

3.2. Language of Brand Name and Modernity
Mandal (2001) states that globalists promote English as 
synonymous with economic growth, technology, and modernity. 
English becomes a means of globalization and modernity (Paolo, 
2012). In Indonesian society, English is very important and English 
is a requirement for many things, for example, applying for a job, 
as a symbol of education, modernity, and technological progress 
(Gunarwan, 1998; Lauder, 2008). English for Indonesians has 
functioned as an identity of modernity for educated urban people 
and for those who aspire to be part of urban modern society 
(Lowernberg, 2007) Therefore the use of English for product brand 
names will be able to imply a sense of modernity to consumers. 
Brand naming is very important because it will have an impact on 
brand value. Consumers will make the brand name as a reference in 
assessing a product. Product brand names that use foreign languages 
are considered to have better quality, cutting-edge technology, 
and reliability, are more modern and have a contemporary appeal 
compared to product brands with local languages (Gupta and 
Verma, 2017). This research also produces findings that by buying 
foreign brands, there is a feeling of superiority in consumers. They 
consider foreign brands to be of higher quality, more durable, and 
safer. The pronunciation of brands using foreign languages and 
therefore sounding foreign creates the illusion of reputation and 
status. Among the foreign languages used as brand names, the use 
of Italian is the most preferred, and English is next. Consumers 
perceive that local product brand names are perceived as selling 
counterfeit products (Gupta and Verma, 2017).

H3: Foreign Language Brand Names are perceived as more modern 
than national brand names.

3.3. Language of Brand Name and Luxury
Luxury is an elusive cultural concept (Ott, 2018). At one 
time, certain products could be categorized as luxury goods, 
motorcycles in the 1970s were included in luxury goods. Mobile 



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International Review of Management and Marketing | Vol 13 • Issue 3 • 202312

phones in the mid-1990s were categorized as a luxury. Even 
soap in medieval times was considered a luxury (Chevalier and 
Mazzalovo 2008). This is what is referred to as the concept of 
luxury, where these goods go above and beyond what is needed 
in life (Sombart, 1913). The concept of luxury is different from 
luxury brands. Looking back at the examples above, today the 
three products are still considered luxury goods, but it is no longer 
determined by the type of product, but by the brand and type 
of product. Harley and BMW brand motorcycles are currently 
included in luxury goods. iPhone cell phones and Samsung with 
its S-type are included in luxury goods. Jo Malone Blackberry 
and Jo Loves Pomelo bath soaps are currently included in luxury 
goods. The luxury is obtained from the distinction based on the 
brand. Luxury can also differ from one individual to another. For 
the lower class, eating at a fast food restaurant is a luxury, but 
for the middle class, it is an ordinary thing. Therefore, what is 
considered a luxury and what is not, will depend on the individual 
and the context. Something that is initially considered a luxury 
by someone at some point will turn into something ordinary 
(Virgneron and Johnson, 2004).

 Luxury can also come from the country of origin (COO) of a 
product’s brand name. External brands are perceived as more 
luxurious than domestic brands (Kinra, 2006). Even for unknown 
brand names, as long as they do not use national or domestic brand 
names, they are perceived to show more luxury (Meng and Clark, 
2007). The perceived origin of the brand name has a strong impact 
on perceived luxury, and subsequently, the willingness to pay a 
premium price, regardless of whether the brand is fictitious and 
only sounds as if it comes from a certain country, or a real brand 
(Krupka et al., 2014).

H4: Foreign Language Brand Names are perceived as more 
luxurious than national brand names.

4. RESEARCH METHODS

This research is a comparative study that compares differences 
in mean scores. Data were collected online and obtained 
from 275 respondents from the Banten Province area. After 
checking, 228 respondents completed the questionnaire. 
Respondents were given two fictitious product brand names 
using the Indonesian language (national) which are categorized 
as convenience goods (Kotler and Keller, 2012) namely 
MURNI for mineral water and BENING for bath soap brands, 
and two foreign brands namely PURE for mineral water 
and FRESHLIFE for bath soap. As for the shopping goods 
category (Kotler and Keller, 2012), respondents were given 
two brand names using the Indonesian language (national), 
namely SERASI for clothing and DENIS for shoes, and 
two foreign brand names, namely YOUTHFUL for clothing 
and BERTOLINI for shoes. For the overseas brand names, 
respondents were asked to rate three aspects, namely: (1) 
product quality; (2) product modernity; (3) product luxury. 
The method of analysis used is paired sample mean difference 
test to see whether the respondents’ perceptions of the various 
product brand names are significantly different or not based 
on the aspects of quality, modernity, and luxury.

5. RESEARCH RESULTS

From data processing, the characteristics of respondents were 
obtained, namely based on gender, 66.7% of men and 32.9% of 
women, and those who did not fill in their gender as much as 
0.4%. The age of the majority of respondents is <25 years old 
as much as 64%, then 26-40 years old 21.5%, and more than 
40 years old as much as 14.5%. When viewed from the education 
of respondents, 35.1% have secondary education, 47.4% 
have undergraduate education and 17.5% have postgraduate 
education.

5.1. Overseas Brand Names and National Brand 
Names
In this study, as explained above, respondents were asked several 
questions regarding brand names that use foreign languages and 
brand names that use local languages. The following are the brand 
names that use foreign languages and local languages (Table 1).

To see whether brand names using foreign languages are rated 
better than brand names using national languages, a paired t-test 
was conducted as presented in Table 2.

Table 2 explains that the average local brand value score (3.6593) 
is smaller than the average overseas brand name score (4.1296). 
This means that respondents rate overseas brand names better than 
local brand names. The t Sig value of 0.000<0.05 indicates that 
overseas brand names are rated better than local brand names, and 
therefore Hypothesis number 1 can be accepted. Furthermore, it is 
necessary to investigate further, what aspects make foreign brand 
names better than local brands.

5.2. Foreign and Local Brand Name Quality
To see more about the differences in respondents’ assessment of 
foreign and local brand names, a paired mean difference test was 
conducted between foreign brand names and local brand names. 
The following are the processing results (Table 3).

Table 3 shows that the local brand names Murni, and PURE in 
terms of quality do not appear to be different from the foreign 
brand names DENIS and Bertolini (4.4693 vs. 4.4561 and 
3.8465 vs 3.8684). Meanwhile, the local names Bening and 
Serasi appear to be rated as less qualified than the foreign brand 
names Freshlife and Youthful (3.4956 vs. 4.1842 and 3.5683 vs. 
4.0396). After testing the sig value for the brand name Murni 
versus Pure sig value is 0.907 > 0.05, for the brand name Bening 
versus Freshlife sig value is 0.000 < 0.05, for the brand name 
Serasi versus Youthful sig value, is 0.000 < 0.05 and for the 
brand name Denis versus Bertolini sig value is 0.814 > 0.05. 
Thus, hypothesis number 2 is accepted for two local brand names 
(Bening and Serasi) versus two overseas brand names (Freshlife 

Table 1: Foreign and local brand name pairs
Product type Overseas brand name Local brand name
Convenience goods Pure Pure
Convenience goods Freshlife Clear
Shopping goods Youthful Serasi
Shopping goods Bertolini Denis



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International Review of Management and Marketing | Vol 13 • Issue 3 • 2023 13

and Youthful). Whereas two local brand names (Murni and Denis 
versus two overseas brand names (Pure and Bertolini) do not 
support hypothesis number 2.

5.3. Foreign and Local Brand Name Validity
Another aspect that can differentiate the assessment of foreign 
and local brand names is luxury. Just like the differences 
based on quality, this study used four pairs of fictitious 
foreign and local brand names. The results show the average 
respondents’ assessment of the four pairs of brand names as 
follows (Table 4).

Table 4 shows the respondents’ perceptions of the luxury of 
overseas and local brand names. The average perception of 
respondents for the overseas brand names Pure, Freshlife and 
Youthful is higher than the brand names Murni, Bening, and 
Serasi. Meanwhile, the local brand name Denis and the overseas 
brand name Bertolini appear to be no different. After significance 
testing, it was found that the sig value for the difference between 
the local brand names Murni, Bening, and Serasi versus the 
overseas brand names Pure, Freshlife, and Youthful was 0.000 
<0.05. This means that the overseas brand names represented by 
Pure, Freshlife, and Youthful are perceived as more luxurious 
than the three local brand names Pure, Bening, and Serasi. 
Therefore hypothesis number 3 is supported by the research data. 
As for the pair of local brand names Denis versus Bertolini, the 
significant value is 0.285 > 0.05, which means that there is not 
enough evidence to say that foreign brand names are considered 
more luxurious than local brand names. For the Denis versus 
Bertolini brand name pair that shows no difference in perception, 
it is very likely due to respondents’ perception of the Denis brand 
name as a domestic brand name. From the descriptive statistics 
of the perception of certain brand names as foreign-origin brand 
names, the average score of the Denis brand name as a foreign-
origin brand name of 3.48 far exceeds the perception of the Pure, 
Bening, and Serasi brand names (2.7719, 2.6053, 2.6344). Thus, 

the reason why there is no difference in the perception of luxury 
for the brand names Denis and Bertolini is because respondents 
give the same assessment of the two brand names, which have a 
luxurious impression.

5.4. The Modernity of Foreign and Local Brand 
Names
The final aspect assessed was the modernity of the brand 
name. Processing the data using comparative statistics, it 
appears that three fictitious foreign brand names and their 
pairs show different results. As for one overseas brand name 
and its counterpart, the results do not appear to be different as 
follows (Table 5).

Table 5 shows that the foreign brand names (Pure, Freshlife, and 
Youthful) have a greater mean value of perceived modernity than 
the three local brand names (Murni, Bening, and Serasi). As for 
the brand names Denis and Bertolini, respondents’ perceptions do 
not appear to differ in terms of the luxury aspect. The significance 
test results for the difference in perceptions of the brand names 
Murni, Bening, and Serasi versus Pure, Freshlife, and Youthful 
have a significance value of 0.000 <0.05 which indicates that 
the foreign brand names are perceived as more modern than the 
local brand names. As for the Denis and Bertolini brand names, 
there is no difference in the perception of modernity (0.294 > 
0.05) from the respondents. Again, specifically for the brand 
names Denis and Bertolini, they are perceived to be no different 

Table 3: Average quality of Foreign and local brand names
Brand Pair  Mean n SD
Pair 1

Perceived quality of pure brand name 4.4693 228 1.51466
Perceived quality of pure brand name 4.4561 228 1.44588

Pair 2
Perceived quality of bening brand name 3.4956 228 1.58878
Perceived quality of freshlife brand name 4.1842 228 1.37994

Pair 3
Perceived quality of serasi brand name 3.5683 227 1.57369
Perceived quality of youthful brand name 4.0396 227 1.45833

Pair 4
Perceived quality of denis brand name 3.8465 228 1.48060
Perceived quality of bertolini brand name 3.8684 228 1.55381

SD: Standard deviation

Table 4: Average luxury of foreign and local brand names
Brand Pair Mean n SD
Pair 1

Perceived luxury pure brand name 3.8684 228 1.55097
Perceived luxury pure brand name 4.3070 228 1.46998

Pair 2
Perceived luxury bening brand name 3.4035 228 1.60791
Perceived luxury of freshlife brand name 4.1886 228 1.40623

Pair 3
Perceived luxury of serasi brand name 3.4693 228 1.54633
Perceived luxury of youthful brand name 4.0658 228 1.44505

Pair 4
Perceived luxury of denis brand name 3.8114 228 1.50899
Perceived luxury of bertolini brand Name 3.9211 228 1.53172

SD: Standard deviation

Table 5: Average modernity of foreign and local brand 
names
Brand Pair Mean n SD
Pair 1

Perceived modernity pure brand name 3.8553 228 1.50802
Perceived modernity pure brand name 4.4123 228 1.45905

Pair 2
Perceived modernity bening brand name 3.3421 228 1.61124
Perceived modernity of freshlife brand 
name

4.3377 228 1.31577

Pair 3
Perceived modernity serasi brand name 3.4956 228 1.57205
Perceived modernity youthful brand name 4.2061 228 1.43172

Pair 4
Perceived modernity denis brand name 3.8333 228 1.46270
Perceived modernity bertolini brand name 3.9386 228 1.52677

SD: Standard deviation

Table 2: Average difference between foreign and local 
brand names
Pair Mean n SD
Local brand name 3.6593 227 1.24634 
Overseas brand name 4.1296 227 1.11396
SD: Standard deviation



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International Review of Management and Marketing | Vol 13 • Issue 3 • 202314

in the aspect of modernity because respondents consider both 
brand names to be from abroad, so they are equally perceived as 
modern brand names.

6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The results show that all research hypotheses are accepted, 
although several pairs of foreign and local brand names show no 
difference in quality aspects, namely the Pure and Pure pair and 
the Bertolini and Denis pair. For the Bertolini and Denis pair, the 
results were not significantly different because the majority of 
respondents considered that both brand names were from abroad. 
For the Pure and Purni brand name pair for mineral water products, 
the absence of differences in perception from respondents is 
very likely due to the convenience goods product category. For 
consumer goods products, consumers no longer prefer brand names 
based on quality. Consumers consider that the quality of global 
and local brand products is no longer too different (Siswati et al., 
2020). The results of this study are in contrast to those conducted 
by Fahmi and Chairy (2020) which show that local brands (Murni) 
will be preferred by consumers over foreign brand names (Pure). 
As for the aspects of luxury and modernity, all pairs of brand names 
analyzed show significant differences in perception, that foreign 
brand names are perceived better than local brand names. This is 
in line with research conducted by Soto et al (2009) which shows 
that brand names using foreign languages, especially English, are 
better than local languages for hedonic, hybrid, and functional 
products. Thus the results of this study strengthen previous findings 
conducted (Porto and da Silva Soyer, 2018; Yu et al., 2022), as well 
as having better product features (Moment et al., 2022). English 
for Indonesians has become a symbol of modernity (Gunarwan, 
1998; Colluzi, 2011). Meanwhile, product brand names that use 
foreign languages, especially English, are considered to show 
more modernity than local languages (Gupta and Verma, 2017). 
Another aspect of foreign brand names is luxury. The results of 
this study strengthen previous studies on the perception of foreign 
brand names which show that foreign brand names are considered 
to show more luxury (Kinra, 2006; Meng and Clark, 2009; Krupka 
et al., 2017).

Thus, giving brand names that use foreign languages, especially 
English in developing countries, will affect consumer perceptions. 
The use of brand language is very important to increase consumers’ 
positive perceptions of the brand name of the product offered. In 
developing countries, the use of foreign languages or appearing 
to come from abroad is an important aspect considered in entering 
the market.

Brand names that use foreign languages, especially English, are 
considered better than brand names that use local languages. 
In addition, brand names using foreign languages, especially 
English, are considered more qualified than brand names using 
local languages. Brand names that use foreign languages, 
especially English, are considered to show more luxury than brand 
names with local languages. Finally, brand names using foreign 
languages are considered more modern than brand names using 
local languages.

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