品牌来源国和产品制造国对消费者产品质量评价和购买意愿的影响

This research explores the different effects of brand origin country and made-in country on consumers’ product evaluations and purchase intention. It is found that made-in cues have significant impacts on quality evaluation while brand origin cues influence purchase intention more prominently. Product quality is perceived lower when a brand from developed country is manufactured in developing countries, however, this may not affect consumers’ purchase intentions.      

Effects of Country-of-Manufacture and Brand Image on Korean Consumers' Purchase Intention

ABSTRACT

In this study, a theoretical framework is developed to explain the differential effects of country-of-manufacture (COM) and brand image on the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of Koreans' consumer decision making. Although effects are product specific, findings, overall, indicate that brand image has a stronger effect than COM on Koreans' perceptions of hybrid global products. Moving the production of an electronic product (TV) to a developing country, however, negatively affected Koreans' evaluation of product performance, prestige (brand and technical), and purchase attitudes. The findings have interesting marketing implications for hybrid global brands and contribute to building a theory of COM.     

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.     

An investigation into the perceptions of Chinese consumers towards the country‐of‐origin of dairy products

The dairy incident in 2008 influenced Chinese residents’ attitudes towards domestic and foreign brands in the market. This paper highlights the strong consumer perceptions existing in the Chinese dairy market towards the country of origin of dairy products. Chinese residents generally believe dairy products from foreign countries are superior than those from China. A new theoretical framework is developed to explore the driving factors of country‐of‐effects and its corresponding impacts. Consumers’ image of different countries and national stereotypes, consumer ethnocentrism and animosity, product familiarity and experience, product involvement and some cultural value differences were found to drive country‐of‐origin effects. These effects directly impact on consumer's perceived quality, brand awareness, brand association and loyalty towards the related goods in the market, then influence the brand equity of products from different countries. This study provides a better understanding of country‐of‐origin effects on consumer behaviour, and will help relevant domestic and foreign firms improve their business strategies in China.     

The influence of anthropomorphic appearance of artificial intelligence products on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different product types

While artificial intelligence products are widely used in the market, their anthropomorphic appearance design is becoming a frontier issue in product strategy and consumer behavior research. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of anthropomorphic appearance on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different AI product types. It was conducted in China, a new but rapidly-growing country in the field of Internet, AI technology and AI product consumption. This study conducted four situational experiments with a 2 (anthropomorphic design: anthropomorphic vs. non-anthropomorphic) × 2 (product type: hedonic vs. utilitarian) between subjects’ experimental design. Data was collected from 1172 Chinese “Digital Natives” by using a structured questionnaire. The findings revealed that for hedonic AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived entertainment, and intelligence level significantly moderates the mediating effect of perceived entertainment; while for practical AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived usefulness, and intelligence level does not significantly moderate the mediating effect of perceived usefulness. There is no significant moderating effect of intelligence level on perceived usefulness. The study contributes to development and validation of a more comprehensive understanding and theoretical foundation of anthropomorphism, and furthermore explores the impact of anthropomorphic appearance on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different AI product types. This study also provides insights for companies to apply anthropomorphic strategies.     

Country of origin: A competitive advantage?

Country of origin has been identified in the literature as an important cue that might be used by global marketers to influence consumers' valuation of the brand. Its effect on consumer perceptions, affect and behavioral intentions has been widely documented, based on consumer surveys and laboratory experiments. Despite this empirical evidence, we argue that country of origin is only one extrinsic cue among many extrinsic and intrinsic cues available to the consumer in a real purchase situation. Furthermore, in real life, consumers are likely to engage in some level of information search, which would further dilute the country of origin effect in the marketplace. Based on these arguments, we conclude that country of origin might not necessarily lead to a competitive (dis)advantage in terms of a price premium or discount. For a sample of products, we show that the objective product quality varies significantly by country of origin, and that these differences are consistent with extant research on country of origin effects on consumers' perceptions. After controlling for quality differences across brands, we demonstrate that marketers from different countries charge prices that are justified by differences in product quality. Price premiums or discounts are therefore explained by differences in product quality rather than the image effect produced by the country of origin cue.     

Weakening the Effect of Unfavorable Country of Origin: A Process- and Parameter-Associated Theoretical Framework

ABSTRACT

The consequence of strategic decisions of Western brands to source their products from offshore countries, largely from the Far East, has added a lot of unfavorable origin countries to their products' labels. Thus, scholars and marketing practitioners are becoming aware of the negative downstream consequences of unfavorable countries of origin in consumers' product evaluation. This research work suggests that, depending on the parameters (cues) that consumers consider along with the country of origin cue, their product evaluation can follow either cognitive, affective, or normative processing. This research study offers a unique framework associated with process-specific parameters that are manifested in weakening the effect of unfavorable country of origin in previous research.     

双语品牌名称的呈现顺序对消费者品牌评价的影响

文章探究了中国市场大量出现的“品牌名称双语化”现象，检验了双语品牌名称的水平呈现顺序对消费者品牌评价的影响及其中介机制。两个研究结果表明，双语品牌名称的水平呈现顺序和有利的来源国形象对消费者品牌评价的交互作用显著。具体而言：当双语品牌名称的“左中右英”(vs.“左英右中”)呈现顺序对应于有利的中国来源国形象，或当“左英右中”(vs.“左中右英”)的呈现顺序对应于有利的欧美来源国形象时，能够提高消费者的品牌评价。其中，当双语品牌名称的不同呈现顺序与消费者相应的有利来源国心理图式相匹配时，图式一致性效用发挥中介作用。文章丰富了品牌命名理论，同时为企业根据消费者的来源国形象感知调整双语品牌名称的水平呈现顺序提供了导向性参考。     

The country-of-origin lie: impact of foreign branding on customers’ willingness to buy and willingness to pay when the product’s actual origin is disclosed

If you think about the last television commercial for an Italian pasta brand you have seen, are you sure it is really Italian? In many cases, especially in the food sector, neither the company nor the product originate from the advertised country, meaning that the company is pursuing a foreign branding strategy and is trying to benefit from positive stereotypes customers have about the specific foreign country. By collecting both quantitative and qualitative data through a point-of-sale intercept survey, this article assesses the impact of alleged origins on customers’ willingness to buy (WTB) and willingness to pay (WTP) if the actual origin is disclosed. The sample consisted of 200 German customers who were asked to answer questions related to one of two hedonic products they had just bought. It is empirically shown that foreign branding has a positive impact on the brand’s performance. However, as soon as customers find out that they were misled with regard to the origin of the product, both their WTB and their WTP decrease. This study contributes to the knowledge on the role of products’ origins on customers’ WTB and WTP. In contrast to the vast majority of the studies in this field, the communicated origin of the product is based on a foreign branding strategy and not on the product’s actual origin. Consequently, it was possible to manipulate within-subject variables by disclosing the actual origin of the product. The results of our study suggest that foreign branding may be a successful strategy for companies to increase their customers’ WTB and WTP. At the same time, our results raise concerns about the suitability of foreign branding as a long-term marketing strategy, unless a company can successfully maintain its foreign image. Future research opportunities include the choice of consumers with a different cultural background, of other hedonic products or of utilitarian products.     

Brand Identification by Product Design: The Impact of Evaluation Mode and Familiarity

Distinctive product design is a cornerstone of sustainable branding. Ideally, consumers will be able to identify brands by product design without seeing any logos. Once companies have established strong associations between product designs and brands in consumers’ minds, they seek protection against imitation as well as consistency in product lines. This research discusses methods for measuring consumers’ abilities to identify brands by product design. Study 1 shows that brand identification depends on the evaluation mode that the identification task evokes. Compared to a task that presents products side by side (comparative mode), participants are more likely to confuse copycats with an original design when they see only one product (noncomparative mode). Study 2 replicates findings of Study 1, demonstrating some robustness of effects across three countries (United States, Spain, Germany) and across three different product categories (beer, smartphones, cars). Study 2 further investigates how familiarity with the product influences brand identification. Although consumers with high (compared to low) familiarity are more likely to accurately identify an original product in a noncomparative evaluation mode, they are also more likely to confuse a copycat with the original product in this mode. Overall, this research extends knowledge about brand identification by product design and provides information brand managers may need for legal decisions in trademark or design patent cases. This research also provides information for brand managers making decisions regarding new product development, for example, product line extensions.     

An examination of the effects of partitioned country of origin on consumer product quality perceptions

This paper deals with the effects of partitioned country‐of‐origin associations on consumer product quality evaluations. The main objective of this research is to examine the cognitive processes by which country‐of‐origin information influences the consumer's evaluation of a product. To study the psychological process by which the country‐of‐origin associations are integrated in the formation of related behavioural deliberation, a hypothetical structural model was developed. The model contains seven theoretical constructs, i.e. country of design, perceived product sophistication, country of assembly, perceived manufacturing excellence, country of parts, perceived product quality and perceived product design. Data were analysed via structural equation models using Analysis of MOment Structures (AMOS) 5.0. Results show that countries that already have positioned themselves around a reputation for technological innovation related to product development and manufacturing may expect consumers to transfer those associations to new products from the country.     

The role of product type and country‐of‐origin in decisions about choice of endorser ethnicity in advertising

Two experiments examine the effects of endorser ethnicity and product country of origin on consumer responses toward ad and brand, and investigate the moderating role of utilitarian versus hedonic product type. In Experiment 1, for utilitarian products, participants showed more favorable responses when the endorser's ethnicity was incongruent with the product's country of origin compared to when it was congruent, supporting an attribution‐theory explanation. For hedonic products, however, participants preferred ads that featured an endorser whose ethnicity matched their own, irrespective of the product's country of origin. In Experiment 2, building on the attribution explanation, two endorsers of different ethnicities generated more favorable responses than two of the same ethnicity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Brand origin and country of manufacture influences on brand equity and the moderating role of brand typicality

This research investigates how country macro and micro images associated with both brand origin (BO) and country of manufacture (COM) impact two main dimensions of brand equity-brand image and brand quality. Whereas BO images relate positively to both dimensions of brand equity, COM images exert an impact on brand quality, not on brand image. The typicality of the brand as a representative of the country of origin moderates the impact of BO on brand equity, such that the effects of BO on brand equity are stronger when the brand is more typical. The authors explore implications for theory and practice.     

The Effects of Consumer Ethnocentrism and Country of Origin on Polish Consumers' Evaluation of Foreign Manufactured Products

The admission of Poland to the European Union may be perceived as the symbolic crowning of a long period of economic transformation. Poland today is not only an emerging market but an emerging culture experiencing a strong economic development wherein old ideals are confronted with new Western values. On this background, the objective of this research is to assess the level and impact of consumer ethnocentrism and the effect of country of origin on consumers’ evaluation of and buying intentions toward foreign manufactured products. Medium-expensive consumer durables—design furniture and fashion clothes—imported from Denmark are examined. Findings show consumer ethnocentrism is present and that more than one-fifth of consumers are highly ethnocentric but also that ethnocentrism has no direct effect on the evaluation of product quality or on buying intention for either of the products from Denmark.     

品牌跨界产品联合距离对联合产品评价及购买意愿的影响

近年来品牌跨界联合的案例不断推陈出新,在品牌跨界中的联合产品差异较大,这与过去品牌联合追求匹配性存在巨大反差。企业如何提高品牌跨界联合效果成为学术界与实践界的关注热点。文章聚焦品牌跨界情境,探究产品联合距离与概念组合解释策略对联合产品评价及购买意愿的影响机制。实验研究表明,与近距离的产品联合相比,远距离的产品联合会引起更低的联合产品评价和更低的消费者购买意愿;感知风险和感知创新在产品联合距离与消费者对联合产品评价和购买意愿影响中起到中介作用;关系链接和属性映射的解释策略在产品联合距离对联合产品评价与购买意愿的影响关系以及产品联合距离对感知风险与感知创新的影响关系中起到调节作用。     

Revisiting Country Image – Examining the Determinants towards Consumers' Purchase Intention of High Technological Products

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to investigate consumers' perceptions towards a developed country image (e.g. USA) and a developing country image (e.g. China) in relation to evaluating and buying high technological products, more specifically, smartphones. In addition, the research also examines the effects of consumer aspirations and product knowledge as consumption traits towards buying behavior. A self-administered questionnaire was employed for this study using established scales with the questions formulated around two countries, USA and China. It was administered through a mall intercept method and a particular focus will be associated to the comparison of China and USA. The stark contrast between the two countries in terms of their image and stature presents an insightful inquiry into the relevancy of country image and country of origin image importance in modern day context. The results show that country image as an evaluation cue is still pertinent in a generation where globalization is present. Results further highlights that although possessing a positive country image leads to a positive evaluation of the product country image, it however does not ensure a successful purchasing intent. Additionally, it is beneficial to note that the results for both USA/IPhone and China/Xiaomi showed a significantly greater path coefficient as compared to other causal paths. Potential moderating factors such as product involvement or pricing can also be explored. Future research should attempt to account for socio economic or demographic factors such as important controls for education, social status and income that are bound to impact on the relationships at the heart of the proposed research hypotheses.     

服务来源国最近研究进展

作为品牌管理研究的重要领域之一,来源国研究成果丰富,但现有文献都集中于产品来源国研究,对服务来源国领域了解甚少。文章以国内外相关文献为基础,从服务来源国的源起、构成、效应等几方面对相关文献进行了梳理评述。认为相对与服务经济的发展,服务来源国研究还很缺乏。服务来源国的研究会深化来源国研究领域结论,并为跨国服务企业运营提供参考,将会成为来源国研究的重点。最后,给出了该领域的未来研究方向。     

农产品品牌价值评估的重要性研究

农产品"品牌"是一个国家、地区农业发展水平的综合标志,农产品品牌的发展也为农村经济发展提供了新的增长点.进行农产品品牌价值评估的重要性,主要表现在:对企业产品升级具有推动作用,可以提高企业产品附加价值,有利于企业融资扩张;农产品品牌价值评估对行业的推动作用主要有:有利于市场结构优化配置,有利于推动产业升级;有利于产品差异化;农产品品牌价值评估对社会的贡献作用主要有:有利于消费者选择;促进企业提高使命感;有利于形成主导产业,提高农业经营层次;促进品牌资源整合,提高农业经营效益.     

Consumer ethnocentrism,product necessity and quality perceptions of Russian consumers

Retail buyers in Russia have indicated that some customers have expressed a desire to purchase domestically produced products over imports. Consumer ethnocentrism has been proposed as a measure to provide retail buyers with the information necessary to market to these consumers. The purpose of this research is to determine if perceived product quality of products differs based on country of origin, product necessity and consumer ethnocentric tendency. A repeated measures ANOVA test indicates that perceived quality differs by necessity, by product, by country. A consumer ethnocentrism effect on the overall model, however, was not significant. We conclude that Russian consumers do perceive differences in product quality based on country of origin and product necessity, but that consumer ethnocentrism does not have an effect on perceived product quality.