Multidimensional Structures of Brand and Country Images, and Their Effects on Product Evaluation

Abstract

Marketers are interested in how consumers perceive product cues in order to build an appropriate marketing mix. Country and brand images are some of the cues proven to be of significant impact on consumer behaviour. This paper studies country and brand image multidimensional structures across several brands, countries and products. A model relating country image to brand image and then to product evaluation was built with country and brand image as multidimensional concepts. A within-subject intercultural investigation serves as a basis for data collection (1,400 consumers). The investigation was done in Japan, France and Tunisia. Three products were investigated, with three brands for each product: computer (Dell, Sony and Acer); hand cream (Shiseido, Nivea and L'Oréal); and sports shoes (Nike, Asics and le coq sportif). Results show a conjoint effect of country and brand images on product evaluation in addition to their separate effects. Country image structures differ across countries and influence differently product evaluation. Similarly, brand image structures differ across brands, across countries and across products.