o:36174 Children Preferences for Global and Local Brands An Empirical Study Drawing on Symbolic Self‐Completion Theory en ABSTRACT: The marketing literature has examined extensively consumer preferences between global and local brands. However, there remains a dearth of research on the topic in the context of vulnerable consumers with insecure self‐identities. Children largely embody insecure identities and, thus, there are several factors that can influence their global versus local brand preferences. Surprisingly, however, there is still limited empirical research examining how key demographic and socioeconomic factors influence children's brand preferences, especially in developing countries. Drawing on symbolic self‐completion theory, and based on data from Serbia, we address this research gap and contribute to the social psychology and marketing literatures by showing how age, gender, poverty background, and external reference groups influence children's preferences between global and local brands. Keywords: children preferences, consumer identities, global brands, local brands, symbolic self‐completion theory 1552099 10.1002/mar.22188 1552101 0742-6046 2025-05-08T11:16:41.068Z 44 no 46 Jelena Filipović Univerzitet u Beogradu Ekonomski fakultet 0000-0003-4232-1948 Matthew Gorton person Stefan Marković person application/pdf 416272 https://phaidrabg.bg.ac.rs/o:36174 no yes 18 70 1552253 11A03 Psychology & Marketing 42 6 1456 1475 2025