The Role of Country of Origin in Celebrity Endorsements: Integrating Effects of Brand Familiarity

ABSTRACT

With the advent of globalization and open economies in the developing nations, the consumers in the same are experiencing entry of more and more foreign products. The traditional practice of having country of origin (COO) cues to influence consumer attitudes is being juxtaposed with COO cues of celebrity endorsers to influence consumers. In that context, the present study investigates whether (a) a global celebrity would be more applicable for a brand regardless of its COO (local or global); (b) a global celebrity would have a more favorable impact on the consumer attitudes for a third country (TC) brand; and (c) brand familiarity would moderate the effects of celebrity endorsements on consumer attitudes. Based on a detailed literature review, four hypotheses were developed and tested through two experimental designs using nonstudent participants. The independent variables used in study were celebrity endorser COO and brand COO. Major findings indicate a celebrity–brand COO match to create favorable impact on consumer attitudes. Findings also supported the effectiveness of a global celebrity for a brand that does not share the same COO. Brand familiarity was found to moderate the effect of the endorser on consumer attitudes. The study has implications for academia and practitioners.     

The Effects of Corporate-Brand Credibility,Perceived Corporate-Brand Origin,and Self-Image Congruence on Purchase Intention: Evidence From China's Auto Industry

This study aims to investigate the effects of corporate-brand credibility, perceived corporate-brand origin, and self-image congruence on purchase intention. A cross-city survey of China's automobile industry was conducted in four major Mainland cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu). Results reveal that corporate-brand credibility, perceived corporate-brand origin, and self-image congruence have direct positive impacts on purchase intention. Furthermore, corporate-brand credibility and self-image congruence both act as moderating variables in the relationship between corporate-brand origin and purchase intention. Corporate-brand credibility is more significant in influencing consumers’ purchase intention toward the brand than perceived corporate-brand origin.     

The Moderating Influence of Country of Origin Information Seeking on Homophily and Product Satisfaction

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the research was to investigate when consumers concurrently select a range of retail products online, what percentage of products need country of origin (COO) identification. Moreover, will COO information seeking positively moderate the relationship between homophily and product satisfaction. Participants were recruited through an online survey platform (MTurk). The results appear to be the first to quantify the number of retail products within a basket that need some form of country of origin (COO) identification. Electronic word of mouth (eWOM, e-reviews) has become an important factor in the purchasing process for consumers. When COO information is unavailable, consumers will search online reviews to determine the COO of products. When reading the e-reviews, consumers will also evaluate the reviewer and the similarities they share. If they are not similar (low in homophily) their satisfaction with the product is low. By contrast, when homophily is high, product satisfaction is high. Specifically, as homophily increases, an individuals' need for COO information seeking has a positive moderating effect on their perceived product satisfaction. Online retailers promoting their products could benefit from sales increases due to their ability to provide COO information at a low cost, which in turn, provides ease, peace of mind and purchase satisfaction for consumers.     

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.     

绿色农产品原产地效应与品牌策略初探

产品原产地是影响消费者购买决策的重要因素之一。绿色农产品具有明显的地理区域特征,其产品质量特征与特定生产加工区域的地理环境和自然资源条件密切相关,原产地效应更加突出。本文在分析绿色农产品原产地效应及其特点的基础上,提出了绿色农产品原产地品牌构建的意义和策略。     

The Country of Origin Effect on Brazilian Beef Trade in Europe: The Moderating Role of Gender,Age, and Product Involvement

Stereotypes of individuals in relation to countries may affect their attitudes toward products from these nations (the country of origin effect). The objective is to analyze the country of origin effect for Brazilian beef in Europe, considering the role of moderators such as gender, age, and product involvement. It was concluded that beliefs in relation to countries and their impact on attitudes toward products from these countries may differ according to demographic issues. We also conclude that aspects related to communication, distribution, and differentiation of Brazilian products have received the worst evaluation by consumers who participated in the survey.     

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.      

The Impact of Product-Country Image and Marketing Efforts on Retailer-Perceived Brand Equity: An Empirical Analysis

Although both product-country images (PCI) and firm assets such as brand equity have been extensively studied in separate contexts, we know very little about the combined performance effects of these two important constructs in international research. Extant research has investigated brand equity primarily from a consumer perspective, but rarely from the point of view of a retailer. Retailers represent the ultimate participants in the value chain selling the product to consumers. They have the ability to significantly influence consumers’ evaluations and purchase decisions. Based upon existing literature documenting the contributions of PCI and marketing activities on brand equity, this study extends these findings by investigating their effects on retailer-perceived brand equity (RPBE) and ultimate brand profitability performance. Results indicate that both marketing activities and PCI affect retailer-perceived brand equity with PCI also strongly and positively influencing brand profitability performance.     

Modeling the Effects of an International Crisis on Brand Equity

ABSTRACT

This research provides an analysis of the impact of an international crisis on brand equity. More specifically, the author tests a comprehensive model that examines the joint impact of animosity as well as the social pressure to avoid brands that originate from a controversial country. He explores the impact of what came to be known as the Mohammed controversy, which involved the Danish press publishing a series of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed on a Danish brand. Data were collected using a survey from 307 consumers in Kuwait. The findings show that animosity is not related to overall brand equity but is related to brand quality; moreover, subjective norms are negatively associated with overall brand equity. These results highlight the importance of subjective norms in influencing overall brand equity in times of international crises between nations.     

The Impact of Brand Delisting on Store Switching and Brand Switching Intentions

A tool retailers often use to improve their negotiating position with brand manufacturers is to delist - or threaten to delist - the manufacturers’ brand. Because brand manufacturers rely mainly on retailers to sell their products to consumers, a brand delisting will cause a sales loss for the brand manufacturer. Therefore, many brand manufacturers feel enormous pressure to give in and improve buying conditions to favor the retailer. The question thus emerges: Can a brand manufacturer resist a retailer's threat to delist its brand(s)? If a brand delisting severely hurts retail sales, it is easier for a brand manufacturer to resist. The authors study the impact of brand delistings on store switching and brand switching using a controlled online experiment and in-store shopper survey. They develop and test a conceptual model with several antecedents of consumers’ reactions to a brand delisting and conclude that brand equity, market share, and the products’ hedonic level drive store and brand switching.     

The Effect of Word of Mouth on Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Products and Their Purchase Probability

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of word of mouth on consumers’ attitudes toward the product and its purchase probability. Furthermore, we examine the moderating influence of susceptibility to interpersonal influence, which is a personal characteristic of the receiver of word of mouth information. A quasi experiment was conducted, in which subjects were asked to evaluate a product, while being subjected to positive or negative word of mouth. Our results indicate that negative word of mouth has an impact on consumers’ attitudes and purchase probability, while the influence of positive word of mouth was not significant. Interestingly, susceptibility to interpersonal influence does not play a moderating role. While the experimental design with an unknown word of mouth source and fictitious brand allowed the comparison of results for the positive, negative, and control group, such conditions do not correspond to an actual market setting.     

Brand Actions on Social Media: Direct Effects on Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) and Moderating Effects of Brand Loyalty and Social Media Usage Intensity

Most existing social media research has been user focused. This study looks at social media from the brand's perspective by testing (1) theoretical links between brand-action antecedents and positive electronic word of mouth (eWOM); and (2) how brand loyalty and social media usage intensity moderate the relationships between the antecedents and eWOM. Using structural equational modelling from 290 Facebook users, we find empirical support for three brand action constructs (personalization, responsiveness, and transparency) to eWOM. We also find the moderating effects of social media usage intensity and brand loyalty on the relationship between responsiveness and eWOM. Theoretical and managerial implications for these findings are discussed.     

绿色属性中心性对消费者购买意愿的影响机制研究：产品类型的调节作用与收益感知的中介效应

以往关于产品绿色属性对消费者购买意愿影响的研究尚未达成一致结论。文章通过两个情境实验系统性地探讨了不同产品类型情境下产品绿色属性对消费者购买意愿的影响机制。结果表明,对于享乐型产品,高绿色属性中心性相较于低绿色属性中心性会激发消费者更强烈的购买意愿。对于实用型产品,低绿色属性中心性相较于高绿色属性中心性会激发消费者更强烈的购买意愿。此外,在享乐品情境下,自我表达收益在高绿色属性中心性提升消费者购买意愿的过程中起中介作用;在实用品情境下,环境功利收益在低绿色属性中心性提升消费者购买意愿的过程中起中介作用。     

Word of mouth: products,conversations and consumption

While there is a rich collection of studies of consumption and identity, the role of buying practices in ordinary conversations has been largely neglected. Minor items and major purchases regularly play a key role in furnishing our talk with topics, news, jokes and formulations of what kind of people we are. This paper unpacks the idea of post-purchase conversations contained within the common phrase “word of mouth.” What happens when products are examined in ordinary talk is pursued through the close analysis of a series of conversations around a significant purchase (a mountain bike). Drawing on the work of Harvey Sacks, and conversation analysis more broadly, this paper documents how products as a topic provide not only resources for small talk, but also an opportunity to consider our identity and its transformation. In conclusion, this paper argues that the knowledge and experience that circulate outside of the actual marketplace or point of purchase are part of a domain of economics as ordinary practice.     

The effect of negative online customer reviews on brand equity and purchase intention of consumer electronics in South Africa

This study investigated the effect that negative online customer reviews have on brand equity and purchase intention. This research examined the influence of negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on brand equity, as influenced by customer review quality, product involvement and source credibility. A 3 (high quality review versus low quality review versus no review) × 2 (high product involvement versus low product involvement) factorial experiment with 236 respondents was conducted. The results revealed that the presence of negative eWOM has a significant detrimental effect on brand equity and purchase intention. Furthermore, the effect of negative online customer reviews is more detrimental to the brand equity of a high involvement product than a low involvement product. The results also revealed that high quality reviews are more influential than low quality reviews with respect to brand equity, and the difference between the levels of eWOM source credibility has no significant effect on brand equity.     

The Role of Retailer Trust and Word of Mouth in Buying Organic Foods in an Emerging Market

ABSTRACT

This study has twin objectives. Firstly, it explores the antecedents of retailer’s trust and its effect on organic food purchase intention. Secondly, it explores the relationship between word of mouth and retailers trust and the effect of word of mouth (WOM) in organic food purchase intention in the context of a developing economy. Cluster sampling method combined with judgement was used for survey in India. 541 usable questionnaires were analyzed. Findings indicated that Trust in retailer develops on the basis of perceived food quality, perceived service quality and perceived fairness in price. Perceived fairness in price is more important for building trust followed by perceived service quality. Both trust and WOM lead to purchase intention of organic foods. Among the two predictors of purchase intention, trust in retailer emerged as a bigger explanatory variable as compared to WOM. The current study adds word of mouth as a significant antecedent in developing purchase intention for organic foods along with the role of retailer trust. Implications for managers and researchers are emphasised.     

The Effects of Credible Online Reviews on Brand Equity Dimensions and Its Consequence on Consumer Behavior

Consumers are using social media platform to gain and share knowledge on brands. In the virtual environment, consumers are exposed to various online reviews on brands that leave an impression of brands on the minds of the consumers. The present study combines Yale attitude change model and attribution theory to examine the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions. The present study views, through the lens of Yale attitude change model, the various factors that affect credibility evaluation of online reviews. Further, attribution theory is used as the theoretical backbone to analyze the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions and finally on purchase intention. This study uses structural equations modeling (SEM) to investigate the impact of online credible reviews on customer based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions and its consequence on consumer behavior (purchase intention). Results indicate that source and review quality are the most important factors that affect consumer's credibility evaluation of a review. Online credible reviews have more significant impact on brand awareness, perceived value and organizational associations and thus leads to consumer's purchase intention in the context of consumer electronic products in India.     

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.     

网络口碑传播与数码产品销售研究

网络口碑传播对数码产品的销售工作有着显著的影响,通过不同传播形态流转的网络口碑对消费者的影响也各不相同。基于已有的研究成果,按照传播形态的不同对现有网络媒介进行划分,探讨不同传播形态之间发挥作用的差异。研究发现相比训话形态与注册形态,对话形态与协商形态的网络媒介对网络口碑受众的影响更深。     

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.