Country-Specific Associations Made by Consumers: A Dual-Coding Theory Perspective

Abstract

Extant country-of-origin research has focused on the deliberate use of country-specific associations (CSAs) as a cognitive cue, captured by consumer responses to direct questioning. However, such responses only capture rational and verbally held aspects of CSAs and do not reveal emotional and nonverbally held aspects. Drawing from dual-coding theory, the authors (1) develop propositions about the existence of two distinct types of CSAs (rational and emotional) and the differences in consumers’ communication of these associations, (2) apply a three-stage qualitative design in two complementary studies to test these propositions, (3) link the identified CSAs to brand origin recognition and brand ownership, and (4) generate a consumer typology on how CSAs are communicated. Their results indicate that people tend to communicate rational CSAs verbally and emotional CSAs nonverbally. Whereas both rational and emotional associations positively affect consumers’ brand origin recognition accuracy, only emotional associations affect brand ownership. The authors consider theoretical and managerial implications in light of recent criticism on country-of-origin research and offer suggestions for further research.