Transnational organization and symbolic production: Creating and managing a global brand

In recent years, there has been sustained debate pertaining to how global markets should be conceptualized, enacted, and addressed. The purpose of this study was to expose the pivotal managerial thought processes and practices of senior managers at Guinness and the actions of symblic workers involved in the reconciliation of trends toward increasing global cultural convergence and a need for local cultural differentiation within the “global culture industry.” Our findings reveal the strategic processes and mechanisms involved in the creation of a series of polysemic, multi-vocal texts positioned to allow multi-level interpretation of the brand in ways that permit simultaneous engagement with, and negation of, local idiosyncrasies.