The impact of congruity between brand name and country of production on consumers' product quality judgments

Abstract

A common hypothesis regarding interaction effects between brand name and country of production (COP) in the context of consumers' product quality judgments is that the latter are affected less by changes in COP from the brand's home country to another country for stronger than for weaker brands. However, the empirical support for this brand-strength hypothesis has been very weak. The authors propose an alternative explanation of brand×COP interactions that is based on the concept of brand-COP congruity. The latter is defined as the equality of a product's COP and the home country of the brand. Furthermore, the degree of brand-COP congruity is conceptualized as the strength with which a brand is associated with its home country. Brand-COP congruity is hypothesized to have a positive effect on product quality judgments above and beyond brand and COP main effects. In addition, the magnitude of this effect is expected to be positively related to the degree of brand-COP congruity. The results of an empirical study of consumers' evaluations of alpine skis provide strong support for both of these hypotheses.