In a world focused on science and new technology, brands help to explain why several of the world's multinational corporations have little to do with either. Rather they are old firms with little critical investment in patents or copyrights. For these firms, the critical intellectual property is trademarks. Global Brands explains how the world's largest multinationals in alcoholic beverages achieved global leadership; considers the predominant corporate governance structures for such firms; and looks at why these firms form alliances with direct competitors. Brands also determine the waves of mergers and acquisitions in the beverage industry. Global Brands contrasts with existing studies by providing a new dimension to the literature on the growth of multinationals through the focus on brands, using an institutional and evolutionary approach based on original and published sources about the industry and the firms.
                 
            
            
            
            
                
                    1  Brands and the Evolution of Multinationals  1 
2  Leading Firms - The Historical Legacy  23 
3  Growth and Survival  43 
4  Family Ownership and Managerial Control  67 
5  Channel Management  87 
6  Diversification Strategies  107 
7  Acquiring Brands  129 
8  The Life of Brands  148 
9  Conclusion  180 
App. 1  Value-Added Chain in Alcoholic Beverages  191 
App. 2  Brands Owned by the Leading Multinationals in 2005  198 
App. 3  Annual Sales for Each Firm in Alcoholic Beverages  202 
App. 4  Selection of the Sample  216 
App. 5  Biographies of the World's Largest Multinationals in Alcoholic Beverages  218 
App. 6  Types of Governance Structures in Distribution, 1900-2005  232 
App. 7  Schematic Representation: Alliances as Dynamic Processes for Acquiring Marketing Knowledge  238 
App. 8  Diversification Strategies  242 
App. 9  Patterns of Diversification within Alcoholic Beverages  249 
App. 10  Schematic Representation: Brands and Marketing Knowledge in Mergers and Acquisitions  251 
App. 11  Evolution of Sales of the World's Leading Brands by Beverage Type