Impact Of Country Of Origin Research Articles

Measuring country of origin effects in online shopping implicitly: a discrete choice analysis approach

PurposeTo examine whether the country of origin (COO) effect actually exists in an e-commerce context, the authors intend to contribute to the ongoing debate by measuring the COO effect through a series of connected studies.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on cue utilization theory, the authors emphasize the urge to investigate the COO effect in multiple cue settings in order to reveal a more realistic picture of its actual effect size. In contrast to most prior research, which often does not analyze COO using methodological plurality and neglects important contextual factors, the authors employed a four-staged research design in an attempt to trigger and measure the COO’s implicit effect size in today’s pervasive context of online shopping. The importance of brands (inhering the COO) is decompositionally calculated relative to other extrinsic cues by applying a Hierarchical Bayes estimation, with the COO impact being extracted subsequently.FindingsThe results deepen concerns that the COO effect actually does not exist, particularly in the more contemporary context of online shopping. Specifically, preferences for previously favored German products faded when controlling for brand attitude for both high-involvement (p = 0.003) and low-involvement products (p = 0.024).Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on consumers of Generation Y, as they represent one of the most important segments in online shopping. Findings might be replicated for other consumer generations. The study focused on Chinese consumers, as the Chinese e-commerce market represents the world’s largest one. Future studies might investigate other markets.Practical implicationsAs brands, rather than a COO effect, impacted consumer preferences, companies selling their products to Chinese consumers online need to establish a reputation for quality early on. Chinese companies should emphasize their COO to make use of the ethnocentrism detected. Companies profit from the Best-Worst Scaling investigation revealing which product categories Chinese consumers most preferably buy online from German companies.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to capture the importance of COO in the contemporary context of ubiquitous online shopping. Moreover, a more realistic and less biased way of measuring the importance of COO is enabled by building upon three pre-connected studies. The findings allow to develop a generalization for both high- and low-involvement products.

Use of Chemometrics for Correlating Carobs Nutritional Compositional Values with Geographic Origin.

Carobs unique compositional and biological synthesis enables their characterization as functional foods. In the present study, 76 samples derived from fruit and seeds of carobs, with origin from the countries of the Mediterranean region (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Jordan and Palestine) were analyzed for their nutritional composition, in order to identify potential markers for their provenance and address the carobs’ authenticity issue. Moisture, ash, fat, proteins, sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose), dietary fibers and minerals (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) were estimated following official methods. Due to the large number of data (76 samples × 17 parameters × 7 countries), chemometric techniques were employed to process them and extract conclusions. The samples of different geographical origin were discriminated with 79% success in total. The carobs from Cyprus, Italy and Spain were correctly classified without error. The main discriminators were found to be the dietary fibers, the carbohydrates and Cu, Zn and Mn, which emphasize their specific nutritional added value to the product and the country of origin impact. The results suggest that the proposed analytical approach is a powerful tool that enables the discrimination of carobs based on their country of origin. This research contributes to authenticity of carobs, adding value to local products.

Integrative Global Branding, Competitive Approach for Economic Growth and Positioning of Products

We have explored buying preferences of the consumers towards foreign verses domestic products by screening the literature available from 1995 to 2019. The emergence of economic progress has unified the markets worldwide eventually amending the process of consumer behavior. This process helps the consumers in evaluating the benefits of product choices available to them in the market. This detailed analysis is to help the examination of the buyer’s behavior and products availability through Country-of-Origin (COO) setting. COO impacts the consumer’s product assessments. The presence of external and inherent item product information prompts (for example, value, guarantee, structure, quality or accessibility) and individual elements (like customer information), may empower or compel the dependence on COO. There has been a progression of the focal point of COO idea, since it has a bit by bit moved from the negligible thought of country of origin to an increasingly unpredictable build, in regard to the picture of the nations. COO impact is hard to comprehend and fathom yet at the same time a significant determinant with regard to understanding buyer's discernment towards an item. We infer that in light of the expanding globalization of business sectors and increment in correspondence to achieve clients, a more prominent presentation of country of origin sign exists. As the volume of global exchange develops the significance of country of origin issues gives off an impression of being developing. This demonstrates country of origin assumes a significant role in getting the item acknowledged in various world markets along with affecting the marketing communication.

The interaction between country of origin and genetically modified orange juice in urban China

Although consumer preference for genetically modified (GM) food and country of origin (COO) labeling has been studied extensively, little research has examined the interaction effect between these two attributes. Previous research has demonstrated the importance of the interaction effect between food quality attributes. Moreover, production and international trade of GM crops are increasing simultaneously. As both mandatory GM and COO labeling can be used as non-tariff barriers, there is a need to better understand the interaction effect of GM and COO attributes on consumer preference. This study uses mall intercept surveys to investigate Chinese consumer preference for COO and GM foods, as well as the impact of COO on consumer preference for GM foods. A mixed logit model is estimated to incorporate the preference heterogeneity and correlation in the alternatives of a choice experiment (mixed logit + error component model). Results show consumers have a negative willingness to pay for GM orange juice from all countries, but the discounts associated with GM orange juice vary greatly; the discount for US GM juice is the lowest followed by that from Australia, China, Brazil, and Israel. Furthermore, consumer preference is more heterogeneous for GM juice than for conventional juice, implying more uncertainty regarding GM food quality from different countries.

Country-of-origin effect in professional services – literature review

The objective of this article is to examine country-of-origin (COO) effect in relation to the professional services. The concept of COO has been broadly analyzed in the marketing literature and is strongly supported by a notable amount of empirical work. However, most COO studies have been conducted with respect to products, whereas the impact of COO in service organizations has been relatively lightly researched. The study indicates directions for future research, basing on an analysis of the literature of marketing of professional services.

Influence of COO on product evaluation of mobile phones by Indian consumers: an empirical study

Purpose– The purpose of this study is to attempt to address the effect of country of origin (COO) from three different dimensions, namely, country image (CI) effect, COO image effect and awareness level about the COO of the brand and its resultant effect on product evaluation (PrEva). Further, the brand awareness, level of involvement and the COO interaction effect on consumer PrEva has also been studied to indicate the intensity of COO impact. Due to rapid globalization and reduction in trade barriers, major emerging economics from Asia witnessed entry of cross-border brands into their markets. India, as an emerging economy, has also followed the trend. In this backdrop, the present study is proposed for a better understanding of the effect of COO on PrEva.Design/methodology/approach– The study has been conducted in India, and the mobile phone market has been taken as the hub of the study because of the presence of maximum cross-border companies in India. The study is built on existing literature on influence of COO, brand image (BI), awareness about brands, CI and product image on consumer’s evaluation of mobile phones. Seven theoretical constructs have been used to test the relationship between the COO and consumer PrEva for the selected product with the help of structural equation modeling technique.Findings– The study shows that brand awareness for the class of mobile phones selected does not affect PrEva whereas CI, which is a general perception about the country from where the product originates, significantly affects consumers’ PrEva. Results also show that COO does not act as a mediator between CI and PrEva even though COO has a significant negative direct effect on PrEva. Thus, from this study, the learning for marketers in this price segment for mobile phones in emerging markets is that consumers are more sensitive to features per price than any other influencers. So, BI and/or COO are not sufficient conditions for product success in emerging market like India.Research limitations/implications– The findings are outcomes of an empirical study conducted in mobile handset industry of India based on the sample set of urban consumers in the city of Kolkata, India. It is quite possible that there may be other issues relevant to other parts of the country. This may influence the degree of association studied herein. Hence, the results may be treated with caution in terms of the generalizations of the same to other regions and countries. The study may, in future, be done by including questions related to price sensitivity and perception about features of the mobile phone hand-sets. This may give a clearer picture about the influences of these factors on PrEva of mobile phones in emerging markets. Finally, this study should be repeated in other major emerging markets to test the general applicability of the theoretical model and the empirical results introduced in this paper.Practical implications– For the low-end mobile handset market, general country characteristics from where the product originates reduce the importance of specific product attributes in evaluating the product. We may further conclude from the present study that the country’s overall image can be an effective tool to influence the consumer PrEva process. To be competitive in an emerging country like India, multinational firms should promote the overall country’s image to cement relationship with target consumers.Originality/value– Moreover, Ahmed and d’Astous (1996) viewed that several empirical research have independently focused on the impact of COO on the country, product or brand level, but there is lack of an integrated approach in this regard to capture different propensity of effects of COO at different levels. To our knowledge, it is one of the first attempts to analyze consumers’ PrEva of mobile phones in an emerging market.

Consumers’ Demographic Differences and the Country-of-Origin Effects on Evaluations of Product Categories: An International Study

The aim of this study is to fill in a gap in Country-of-Origin (COO) studies by assessing the relationship between COO and consumer decision-making processes in Morocco, an emerging market, and non-Western Mediterranean country and culture. Specifically, this research study demonstrates that the consumer demographic characteristic of age does make a difference in the COO influence for product categories within Morocco. Age was shown to interact with the impact of COO with regard to purchasing decisions regarding products from more industrialized/economically advanced nations, compared to products from less economically advanced/industrialized nations. These results have managerial implications in assisting multinational organizations in their market segmentations and positioning strategies.

The structural model of relations between country of origin and the perceived brand name value

The article investigates the importance of values of the perceived brand name from the external point of view perceived by the sample of consumers. Based on the stratified survey and the quantitative research the relationship between country of origin (COO), marketing mix elements and the perceived brand name value was noted. The emphasis is placed on establishing an impact of COO on the perceived brand name value and its impact on the latter compared to the selected marketing mix elements. The article presents the structural model of a conceptual relationship between the COO and the perceived brand name value. A measuring instrument and procedures used to check reliability and validity of the structural model of the product's perceived brand name value were developed. The conceptual model and the relationships within the model were evaluated by a modelling that used linear structural equations on the selected sample of respondents, which enabled verification of the conceptual model by empirical data.

The Impact of Country-of-Origin and Joy on Product Evaluation: A Comparison of Chinese and German Intimate Apparel

Abstract Consumer’s differentiated perception and appraisal of a product’s country-of-origin (COO) exerts large influence on perception of the COO-image (COI) and on the perceived product quality. At peripheral information processing COO-Image (COI) provides a basis to ease requirements for information processing in form of heuristics. Most of internationalization literature examines the COO effect with respect to high-involvement products and in context of cognitive processing. However studies from Maheswaran and Chen (2006) point out, that besides cognitive influences, also specific emotions impact on COO-effects. Whereas the influence of negative emotions like anger, sadness or frustration on processing and judgments could be exposed, the issue of positive emotions’ impact still stays open. Since the question should be answered, if emotions impact on COO-Effects, it is emphasized to focus on COO as an affective heuristic operating as a “halo” effect on attitudes towards a product. Because both marketin...

Impact of Country of Origin and Country of Brand Origin on Consumer Attitude towards Products

Increasing number of binational and hybrid products draws attention not only to the products’ country of origin (COO), but also to the country of brand origin (COBO). Although the impact of COO on consumers’ attitude towards products has been studied for decades, the COBO impact on consumer has become scholars’ interest only recently. Also it is important to determine, are there other moderators of COO and COBO impact on consumers’ attitude, for example, product category (low vs high involvement) and consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence (low vs high). The main purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of COO and COBO on consumer attitude towards the product, and to determine whether it depends on product category and consumer’s susceptibility to interpersonal influence. Literature research has revealed that there is no common agreement on whether product category (high vs low involvement) influences COO or COBO importance on consumers’ decisions. There are arguments that consumers are more concerned about countries of origin when choosing high involvement product, however, other data suggests that selecting low involvement products both countries of origin are also important. It suggests the need for additional research. No data was found on interaction between COO and COBO and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence, thus our research fills the gap. 135 students were asked to fill in a questionnaire, which contained questions about consumer’s attitude to two products – photo camera (high involvement category) and toothpaste (low involvement category), indicating the particular COO and COBO of both products. To avoid carry-over effects, each respondent saw only one kind of COO and COBO combination (both countries are developed; both countries are undeveloped; developed COO vs undeveloped COBO country, and undeveloped COO vs developed COBO). Consumer’s susceptibility to interpersonal influence was measured using SNI scale by Bearden et al. (1989). Results indicate, that consumers have a different attitude towards products with different COO and COBO combinations. Moreover, the consumer’s attitude towards products with different country of origin and brand origin combinations does not depend on product category. However, it is dependent on consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence. These results of the study could give useful guidelines to manufacturers that intend to change either country of manufacturing or country of corporate ownership.

Does “Made in …” Also Apply to Services? An Empirical Assessment of the Country-of-Origin Effect in Service Settings

ABSTRACT The country-of-origin (COO) effect is one of the most prominent phenomena in the field of international marketing. Its influence on consumer quality perception, as well as on purchase decision, is strongly supported by a notable amount of empirical work. However, despite the obvious managerial relevance, most COO studies have been conducted with respect to products, whereas the impact of COO in service settings is a woefully underresearched area. This article fills that void by using limit conjoint analysis to empirically test the role of COO effect for services in two experimental settings. Specifically, the study investigates how much the relative importance of COO changes if additional quality cues are available for the consumer. Results lend support for the relevance of COO effects for services and provide useful implications for ways to utilize COO effects in international services marketing.

Brand preferences and brand choices among urban Chinese consumers

Purpose – Aims to review, update, and extend the understanding of country‐of‐origin (COO) effects in China. This involves examining the nature and extent of the COO effect amongst urban Chinese consumers and the impact of COO on actual purchase behaviour.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire is used to collect COO information from a sample of 432 Shanghai consumers and a consumer panel is used to track the purchase behaviour of the same consumers over 6 months.Findings – First, Chinese consumers generally say they prefer to buy local Chinese grocery brands. Second, Chinese consumers believe it is important to buy local brands for a range of Chinese‐style and Western‐style product categories. Third, however, the stated preference for Chinese brands was generally not reflected in actual purchase behaviour.Research limitations/implications – The results support the growing view that Chinese consumers are not necessarily attracted to foreign brands. However, the disparity between stated preferences an...

Does country of origin matter for low‐involvement products?

This empirical study focusses on consumers’ attitude to low‐involvement products, bread and coffee, in a newly‐industrialized nation. Using data from 236 consumers in Singapore, the study examines the influence of country of origin (COO) relative to other product attributes in consumers’ evaluation of domestic and foreign food products. The results indicate that COO does matter when consumers evaluate low‐involvement products but, in the presence of other extrinsic cues (price and brand), the impact of COO is weak and brand becomes the determinant factor. In addition, the results suggest that a country's positive image in some product categories does not necessarily carry over to other product categories. The implications of these findings for marketing food products internationally are discussed.

Consumer Profiles and Perceptions: Country‐of‐origin Effects

Country‐of‐origin research has concentrated on the examination of consumer product perceptions or attitudes towards products made in different countries based on a variety of intrinsic or extrinsic cues. This research takes a different approach by examining the impact of country of origin, levels of foreign product ownership and consumer′s occupational status on interpersonal perceptions. Since respondents were not asked to engage in direct evaluations of various products of domestic or foreign origins, consumer normative response tendencies should be minimized. This approach also allows the examination of differential effects of country of origin on different consumer segments according to the occupational status.