Country of Origin – Does it Matter Anymore?

Abstract

Literally hundreds of articles have examined factors related to country of origin (COO) over the past thirty years. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has mandated that “all or virtually all” of a product claiming to be “Made in USA” must be made with US parts by US laborers. The questions are, in a global marketplace, does COO still play an important role in consumers’ decision-making process, do consumers associate a COO claim as reflecting a level of parts and/or labor content from the specified country, and is the FTC’s standard still needed? This study presents an internet-based empirical analysis of factors important to 897 US consumers considering purchase of a small home appliance and their perception of a “Made in USA” claim separately and as compared to a “Made in China” claim. The results show that COO is one of the least important factors in a purchase decision and that products with a “Made in China” label are seen more favorably than those with a “Made in USA” claim. Implications and directions for future research are presented.