The shielding effects of brand image against lower quality countries-of-origin in global manufacturing

Abstract

Two studies are conducted, based on the framework of accessibility–diagnosticity and information integration. The goals of these studies are to examine the protective effects of brand image against lower quality countries-of-origin in global manufacturing. Study 1 shows that brands with high familiarity and high quality reputations (called strong brands hereafter) have much smaller perceived-quality discounting for lower quality countries-of-origin than brands with mediocre familiarity and mediocre quality reputations ( weak brands hereafter). Study 2, conducted with a different set of brands and consumers from a different country, shows similar shielding effects of brand image as found in Study 1. The findings of judgment-weight allocation of Study 2 strongly support the hypotheses of accessibility–diagnosticity and information integration, explaining why the shielding effects of brand image occur. The authors discuss implications of the findings, especially with regard to the global manufacturing/country-of-origin management, and the brand management for strong and weak brands.