Broad and Narrow Country-of-Origin Effects and the Domestic Country Bias

ABSTRACT

Across three studies and three countries, this research specifies the effect of consumer ethnocentrism on domestic country bias. Extending extant research, it distinguishes the moderating effects of broad (country image, country production image) and narrow (country product category image) country-of-origin effects, demonstrating that the latter mitigate domestic country bias more strongly than the former. Moreover, nationality emerges as an antecedent of consumer ethnocentrism and domestic country bias. The findings enable international marketers to predict domestic country bias in different country markets. Additionally, this research advocates using a finer-grained, narrow view of country-of-origin effects, instead of a broad perspective.     

Exploring Country Bias in a Retailing Environment:

The importance of source countries' influences as predictors of consumer attitudes and behavior toward products originating in the respective countries has been amply acknowledged in the global marketing literature, where it is considered a major research stream-known as "country-of-origin" research. Furthering discovery in this domain, the present study compares consumer perceptions of an electronics store originating in an industrially-developed country known for its technological capabilities in this domain (Germany), with perceptions of a similar store from a developing country (Mexico). In the process, differences between managerial and clerical customer groups in terms of store expectations are also assessed and suggestions are advanced for future research.     

The effect of country-of-origin related stereotypes and personal beliefs on product evaluation

The country-of-origin effect has been the focus of numerous studies in international marketing. The concept of stereotypes assumes importance in the study of country-of-origin effects. However, past research has failed to consider the cognitive structures that influence a person's use of the country-of-origin factor in product evaluation. This article attempts to fill this gap through a conceptualization that suggests that the country of origin may be an outcome of a combination of two processes—cultural stereotypes and personal beliefs. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Country image,product image and consumer purchase intention: Evidence from an emerging economy

In offering fresh insights on the country-of-origin effect literature, this article provides evidence to suggest that cognitive country image (CI) is not necessarily consistent with affective country image. Based on a large scale consumer survey conducted in China, the findings reported provide empirical support for a hypothesized decomposing effect. In particularly, the results demonstrate that cognitive and affective CI have a different impact on the intention to purchase, with the former influencing purchase through product image, and the latter having a direct influence, independent of product image. Such a decomposing effect has important theoretical and managerial implications surrounding the mechanics of country image and the impact on purchase intention which are extracted from this study along with directions for future research.     

Ethnocentrism and Its Effect on the Chinese Consumer: A Threat to Foreign Goods?

This study examines ethnocentric tendencies including consumer ethnocentrism, country of origin, product judgments, willingness to buy, and animosity toward foreign products among a sample of economically progressive Chinese college students in a coastal port city in northern China. Survey results suggest that these Chinese consumers held a rather positive view of, and little animosity toward, the United States. They also did not show high levels of ethnocentrism or country-of-origin effects. These results would suggest openness toward foreign products. While Chinese consumers report little animosity or ethnocentric tendencies toward U.S. products, animosity, country of origin, and ethnocentrism are significantly correlated with willingness to buy. This suggests managers need to carefully position foreign products with respect to Chinese consumer expectations. Impacts of traditional collectivist views of the Chinese culture are suggested as an avenue for future research with respect to ethnocentrism and willingness to buy foreign products.     

Advancing the country image construct

In today's globalized markets a favorable country-of-origin image (CoI) has a considerable impact on consumers' evaluation of products originating from different countries and therefore influences their subsequent buying decisions. The current paper seeks to extend our conceptual understanding of the nature and functioning of the CoI construct. The aim is threefold, namely to provide a succinct state-of-the-art picture of country image research in international marketing, to contribute to a better measurement of the country image construct, and, finally, to develop an agenda for future research.     

Spatial heterogeneity of country-of-origin effects within a country: analysis of online review ratings in the US car market

We investigate spatial heterogeneity of country-of-origin effects (COEs) within a country and its determinants. Drawing on the literature of COEs and information economics, we maintain that COEs are heterogeneous across regions within a country, which bears important implications to better understand subnational heterogeneity of consumer preferences. We employ a geographically weighted regression model, a spatial analysis to estimate varying COEs across regions in the USA, and analyze online review ratings of US and foreign car bands in the US market during the 2008–2014 period. The results show that (1) COEs of car brands from Germany, Japan, Korea, and the UK are heterogeneous across regions in the USA; (2) geographic distance from the country-of-origin exerts negative influences on COEs; and (3) the proportion of population born in the country-of-origin positively influences COEs.     

The asymmetric dominance of cognitive versus affective country image in driving purchase: Conditioning roles of cognition-affect intra-valence nature and product type

Despite the vast amount of research on country image, extant country-of-origin (COO) literature remains ambiguous about which of the country image dimensions, cognitive country image (CCI) or affective country image (ACI), is more important in driving purchase. Drawing on the primacy of affect theory, this research develops a nomological framework that clarifies this ambiguity and explains whether, when, and why ACI/CCI takes precedence in determining purchase decision. With a large-scale study on Chinese consumers responding to two types of products from four countries, the findings unveil the asymmetric dominance of CCI and ACI in influencing purchase intention via consumer cognitive product judgment and affective product evaluation, which is conditioned by the dyadic effects of country cognition-affect intra-valence nature and product type. This research contributes through illuminating the differential roles of CCI and ACI in influencing consumer reactions to foreign products, the boundary conditions and underlying mechanism of the differences.     

Country-of-origin effects on product quality judgments: An information integration perspective

Functional measurement methodology is used to examine the simultaneous effects of country-of-manufacture and price information on judgments about product quality and overall product evaluation The results suggest that a simple (constant weight) averaging model adequately accounts for the cognitive algebra used by consumers to integrate country image and price cues Also, the derived scale values for country image and price suggest that these variables produce roughly equivalent (and strong) effects on product Judgments Implications of these results for future research on country-of-origin effects are discussed.     

The impact of country-of-origin on the acceptance of foreign subsidiaries in host countries: An examination of the ‘liability-of-foreignness’

This paper examines the relationship between an organization's country-of-origin and the acceptance into a host country environment by constituents such as vendors, suppliers, and distributors. This study contributes to the literature by proposing the examination and ultimate measurement of various tangible and intangible sources of the ‘liabilities of foreignness’. Additionally we show that are these sources are internal and external moderators of perceived acceptance in the host country. Manager must recognize the country-of-origin strategic options to address the negative overshadowing of the liability-of foreignness. We conclude that not doing so can create a stigma that may be attached to the overall organization, its image, products, brands, and to its employees. Further, negative attribution may be caste upon all the identifying characteristics of the foreign entity. The management of the firm must note the potential resistance to accept the organization and its products/services and must develop a proactive set of strategies to address the negativism of the host country constituents.     

The Impact of the home country on internationalization

We analyze how a firm’s home country influences its internationalization. We propose two complementary types of influence. First, we conceptualize a firm’s international trade as shaped by four drivers: comparative advantage, comparative disadvantage, country-of-origin advantage, and country-of-origin liability. Second, we conceptualize the firm’s foreign direct investment as shaped by four other drivers: institutional learning, competitive learning, institutional escape, and competitive escape. Taken together, these eight drivers help pull together recent theoretical advances on topics such as emerging-market multinationals, investment in tax havens, and cross-border acquisitions of firms in advanced countries. We also highlight other home-country related issues, such as strategic responses and home-host country links, in the spirit of fostering future research on home-country effects that warrant a more nuanced understanding.     

Is mandatory country-of-origin labelling a retrograde step in the long run?

Abstract

There is a strong push from the farming community in Australia to persuade the government to legislate the compulsory display of country-of-origin labelling on retail products. This research examines the label elements considered by grocery shoppers who are inclined to examine the country of manufacture. Shoppers are most likely to consider the brand name when choosing a product, with the odds ratio of taking note of the country of manufacture being the largest for those consumers who scrutinize the name of the product and for those who ascribe the highest importance to the product's country of manufacture. Overt identification as Australian origin, for products without a recognizable brand name, may therefore not be advantageous to Australian producers. Country-of-origin prone shoppers also seek stronger reassurance from other cues on the product label. Shoppers would have to contend with the inevitable higher prices arising from label recomposition and country-of-origin compliance. To what extent increased prices would dampen demand is a moot point.     

Consumer Responses to English Accent Variations in Advertising

Abstract

With the growing use of different types of English accents in international advertising, it is important for marketers to understand the factors that influence the credibility of the spokesperson in order to select the most persuasive character. This study investigates the effects of a spokesperson's accent on spokesperson's perceived credibility across high and low involvement products and products of different country-of-origin. Two different accents-the standard English accent and the local Singaporean English accent (Singlish)-were tested. Results indicated that accent, product country-of-origin and product involvement significantly influence the spokesperson's perceived credibility and attitude towards the ads. The accent effects appeared to be strong enough to offset the country-of-origin, gender and product involvement effects, attesting to the importance of considering this factor in advertisements. Specifically, the Standard English accent outperformed the Singlish accent in terms of spokesperson credibility, attitude towards the ad, attitude towards the brand and purchase intentions. However, the Singlish accent outperformed the Standard English accent in terms of attention to the ad. Implications for marketers are discussed.     

Export industry policy and reputational comparative advantage

Country-of-origin reputations are endogenized in this paper and it is shown that otherwise identical countries can be correctly perceived as differing in their percentage of high-quality producers. These self-fulfilling reputations determine not only the average quality of a country’s exports but also the type of products in which a country specializes. Hence, the pattern of international trade can be determined by this ‘reputational comparative advantage’. An inferior country-of-origin reputation leads to lower national welfare, therefore, several trade and industrial policies that can improve country-of-origin reputation are examined.     

Consumer processing of foreign advertisements: roles of country-of-origin perceptions,consumer ethnocentrism,and country attitude

This paper reports the findings of a study that examined the impact of consumers’ three cross-national individual difference variables — country-of-origin perceptions, consumer ethnocentrism, and country attitudes — on their responses and attitudes toward foreign advertisements and advertised products. A model of consumer processing of international advertising has been proposed that consolidates a dual-element thesis comprising research on consumer processing of advertising, and several streams of research on cross-national individual difference variables. Empirical analysis of the hypothetical model through structural equation modeling yields supportive results: positive effects of consumers’ country attitudes on their responses to the creative presentation of international advertising, and positive effects of consumers’ country-of-origin perceptions on their responses to the buying proposal of international advertising. However, the hypothesized negative effects of consumer ethnocentrism on their responses to international advertising was not confirmed. The study contributes to our understanding of cross-national individual difference variables that precede and determine consumers’ attitudes toward foreign advertisements. It has practical implications for standardization versus localization of international advertising strategy.     

Advancing the country image construct: Reply to Samiee's (2009) commentary

This article responds to the issues Samiee (2010-this issue) raises in his recent comment on Roth and Diamantopoulos (2009). The overall focus of the criticism (Samiee, 2010-this issue) on the missing critical considerations of the study is somewhat surprising. Samiee (2010-this issue) criticizes Roth and Diamantopoulos (2009) not on what they did but on what they did not do. Such criticism would, at least in principle, be justifiable if directed at omissions that are directly relevant to the core construct of Roth and Diamantopoulos' (2009) paper, namely the country image (CoI) construct. However, most of the critical issues Samiee (2010-this issue) raises apply to research on country-of-origin (CoO) effects in general and not to Roth and Diamantopoulos' (2009) study that provides concrete guidelines on how to conceptualize and operationalize CoI in future research. This response first highlights how Roth and Diamantopoulos' (2009) study, centering on the CoI construct, differs from studies on the CoO effect. The article then directly addresses the specific critical issues Samiee (2010-this issue) raises and also discusses the relevance of CoI and CoO research. The paper concludes by suggesting that, while demanding rigor in CoO and CoI research is indeed timely and important, completely rejecting this research stream is both premature and unwise.     

Ambivalence toward a country and consumers?? willingness to buy emblematic brands: The differential predictive validity of objective and subjective ambivalence measures on behavior

Previous country-of-origin research has treated opinions of countries as either positive or negative, even though people may in fact hold conflicting opinions about countries. The extant literature on ambivalence suggests that the coexistence of positive and negative opinions of a country should increase avoidance of objects associated with that country, above and beyond the effects of mere positivity or negativity. Data collected from French consumers who varied in degrees of ambivalence toward the US reveal that ambivalence, measured indirectly through consumers?? coexisting positive and negative views, is indeed negatively related to consumers?? willingness to buy emblematic American brands. The findings highlight the latent nature of ambivalence, the difficulty of assessing the subjective experience of the ambivalence state, and the importance and practicality of using indirect measures.     

Managing country-of-origin choices: competitive advantages and opportunities

This study investigates the effects of country-of-design/country-of-assembly combinations on consumers' evaluative beliefs about and attitudes toward buying automobiles. The effects are compared across groups of consumers differing with respect to levels of consumer ethnocentrism. Two design countries and two assembly countries (Japan or US) were considered, yielding four possible design-country/assembly-country combinations. The results suggest that manufacturing products in the country in which they are sold not only provides closer access to the market, but also allows multinational manufacturers to ‘blur the boundaries’ regarding a potentially sensitive country-of-origin issue among highly ethnocentric consumers. At the same time, they can leverage their country-brand images to appeal to those customers who recognize a particular country's ability to design high quality cars, regardless of their country of assembly.     

Willingness to work for multinational enterprises from emerging countries: The case of Chinese multinational enterprises in the Netherlands

How do perceptions of country-of-origin image (COI) relate to willingness of Western people to work for subsidiaries in advanced countries of multinational enterprises from emerging countries (EMNEs)? We seek to shed light on this question by exploring six hypotheses based on environment-processing metatheory. Applying a PLS-SEM analysis of online survey data from the Netherlands, we find that the COI and familiarity with the EMNE’s home country are positively associated with willingness to work. Additionally, we reveal a few mediating effects indicating that familiarity and individual difference are indirectly related to willingness to work. This study contributes to our understanding of the inability of EMNEs to attract talent in the Western world by adding a macro perspective to the human resource management literature. Furthermore, we extend environment-processing metatheory by expanding the focus from the perceived internal context (corporate information) to the perceived external environment (country of origin), as well as to the antecedents (familiarity and individual differences) of the perceived environment.     

Attitude Toward Globalization and Country-of-Origin Evaluations: Toward a Dynamic Theory

ABSTRACT

In theory, increased globalization should lead to greater openness to different cultures, thereby reducing consumer ethnocentrism and resulting in improved consumer perceptions and behavior with respect to foreign products. However, empirical studies testing the impact of globalization have met with mixed results possibly due to the effects of globalization occurring at different levels in the mind-sets among consumers. This notion of “multi-layered consciousness” and its effects on country of origin image are proposed and tested in a theoretical model incorporating a dynamic theory of globalization, to supplement the conventional theory of country-of-origin effects. As predicted, results showed that country-of-origin image is negatively influenced by consumer ethnocentrism, but is not positively influenced by globalization, despite consumers' self-perceived global mindsets (i.e., positive attitude toward globalization and subsequent global openness).