The Effects of Retail Banner Standardization on the Performance of Global Retailers

•The impact of retail banner standardization (RBS) on performance is studied.•RBS’ impact on profitability depends on retailer and market-level conditions.•Global penetration and status-based differentiation make RBS’ effect positive.•RBS impact also increases with a focus on emerging markets and e-commerce.•Global diversity weakens the RBS-financial performance relationship.