Title: Joint role of corporate communication budget allocation and internet penetration in multinationals' corporate brand equity cross-national effects: a hierarchical three-way interaction

Authors: Lukas Zimmer; Bernhard Swoboda

Addresses: University of Trier, Trier, Germany ' University of Trier, Trier, Germany

Abstract: Due to the changing global digital environment, multinational corporations (MNCs) face challenges in their corporate communication budget allocations. However, little is known about whether it is useful to allocate existing budgets according to countries' digital environments and thus more effectively impact consumer corporate brand behaviour equally across nations. The authors fill this gap by cross-nationally analysing the joint role of corporate communication budget allocation and internet penetration in the effects of consumer-based corporate brand equity, thereby linking managerial decisions, national digital environments and individual responses. They refer to 31,951 evaluations of an MNC in 43 countries and a hierarchical three-way-interaction. The results show that corporate communication budgets allocated according to a host country's internet penetration explain most of the variance in corporate brand equity's effects on consumer loyalty. Non-linear moderations emerge with direct managerial implications for understanding in which countries' MNCs can strengthen consumer responses through a more effective allocation of otherwise unchanged budgets.

Keywords: corporate brand equity; corporate communication budget allocation; internet penetration.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2026.155287

European Journal of International Management, 2026 Vol.29 No.4, pp.610 - 636

Received: 29 Jan 2024
Accepted: 30 Jun 2024
Published online: 30 Jul 2026 *

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