Countering negative country‐of‐origin effects: The role of evaluation mode

Purpose – As multinational firms seek to acquire competitive cost advantages through global sourcing, it is also important for them to develop effective strategies to reduce possible damage of a negative country‐of‐origin (COO) effect. This study aims to examine whether brand image and evaluation mode could alleviate a negative COO effect.Design/methodology/approach – A 2(COO)×2(brand)×2(evaluation mode) experimental design was employed in order to examine whether brand and COO effects on product evaluation vary under different evaluation modes. The data were analyzed by a repeated measure MANOVA.Findings – The results showed that products made in favourable countries were rated higher in joint evaluation mode than in separate evaluation mode. Conversely, products made in unfavourable countries were better evaluated in separate evaluation mode than in joint evaluation mode. The results of the study are not in favour of the notion that a strong brand image could overcome the negative effect of COO.Research...

[1]  M. Hui,et al.  Country‐of‐manufacture effects for known brands , 2003 .

[2]  John O. Summers,et al.  An assessment of country of origin effects under alternative presentation formats , 1994 .

[3]  Vern Terpstra,et al.  Country-of-Origin Effects for Uni-National and Bi-National Products , 1988 .

[4]  Soyoung Kim,et al.  Predicting purchase intentions for uni‐national and bi‐national products , 2000 .

[5]  Jikyeong Kang,et al.  Benefits and challenges of global sourcing: perceptions of US apparel retail firms , 2001 .

[6]  Louise A. Heslop,et al.  Impact of country-of-origin cues on consumer judgments in multi-cue situations: a covariance analysis , 1991 .

[7]  Christopher K. Hsee.  Attribute Evaluability and its Implications for Joint-Separate Evaluation Reversals and Beyond , 2006 .

[8]  J. Chiou.  The impact of country of origin on pretrial and posttrial product evaluations: The moderating effect of consumer expertise , 2003 .

[9]  D. Maheswaran,et al.  Country of Origin as a Stereotype: Effects of Consumer Expertise and Attribute Strength on Product Evaluations , 1994 .

[10]  A. d’Astous,et al.  Country-of-Origin and Brand Effects: , 1996 .

[11]  Dana L. Alden,et al.  Country-Of-Origin, Perceived Risk and Evaluation Strategy , 1993 .

[12]  Ikujiro Nonaka,et al.  Assessing the Impact of Country of Origin on Product Evaluations: A New Methodological Perspective , 1985 .

[13]  L. W. Murray,et al.  Global Sourcing, Multiple Country-of-Origin Facets, and Consumer Reactions , 2000 .

[14]  Bernd H. Schmitt,et al.  Foreign Branding and Its Effects on Product Perceptions and Attitudes , 1994 .

[15]  Zoran Krupka,et al.  Assessments of country of origin and brand cues in evaluating a Croatian, western and eastern European food product , 2007 .

[16]  Alan D. J. Cooke,et al.  The Role of Task and Context in Preference Measurement , 1996 .

[17]  C. P. Rao,et al.  The effect of country‐of‐origin related stereotypes and personal beliefs on product evaluation , 1997 .

[18]  W. Bilkey,et al.  Country-of-Origin Effects on Product Evaluations , 1982 .

[19]  C. Okechuku.  The Importance of Product Country of Origin , 1994 .

[20]  Victor V. Cordell.  Competitive context and price as moderators of country of origin preferences , 1991 .

[21]  R. Peterson,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Country-of-Origin Effects , 1995 .

[22]  William B. Dodds,et al.  Effects of Price, Brand, and Store Information on Buyers’ Product Evaluations , 1991 .

[23]  N. Anderson.  Integration theory and attitude change. , 1971 .

[24]  Stephen L. Vargo,et al.  The Use of Price and Warranty Cues in Product Evaluation , 1999 .

[25]  J. Quelch,et al.  How global brands compete. , 2004, Harvard business review.

[26]  Julie M. Pharr.  Synthesizing Country-of-Origin Research from the Last Decade: Is the Concept Still Salient in an Era of Global Brands? , 2005 .

[27]  R. Teas,et al.  The effects of extrinsic product cues on consumers’ perceptions of quality, sacrifice, and value , 2000 .

[28]  Manoj Hastak,et al.  Country‐of‐origin effects on product quality judgments: An information integration perspective , 1991 .

[29]  Robert J. Trent,et al.  Achieving Excellence In , 2005 .

[30]  C. MIN HAN.  Country Image : Halo or Summary Construct , .

[31]  Christopher K. Hsee,et al.  The Evaluability Hypothesis: An Explanation for Preference Reversals between Joint and Separate Evaluations of Alternatives , 1996 .

[32]  I. Simonson,et al.  Attribute–Task Compatibility as a Determinant of Consumer Preference Reversals: , 1997 .

[33]  Christopher K. Hsee,et al.  Preference Reversals between Joint and Separate Evaluations of Options: A Review and Theoretical Analysis , 1999 .

[34]  Barney G. Pacheco,et al.  Foreign Branding and Its Effects on Product Perceptions and Attitudes: A Replication and Extension in A Multicultural Setting , 1997 .

[35]  Don A. Moore,et al.  Explaining how preferences change across joint versus separate evaluation , 1999 .

[36]  D. Tse,et al.  Removing Negative Country Images: Effects of Decomposition, Branding, and Product Experience , 1993 .

[37]  Victor V. Cordell.  Interaction Effects of Country of Origin with Branding, Price, and Perceived Performance Risk , 1993 .

[38]  Saeed Samiee,et al.  Customer Evaluation of Products in a Global Market , 1994 .

[39]  M. Speece,et al.  Countering negative country‐of‐origin with low prices: a conjoint study in Vietnam , 2005 .

[40]  C. Lamb,et al.  Foreign environmental factors influencing American consumers' predispositions toward European products , 1980 .

[41]  Johny K. Johansson,et al.  Image Variables in Multi-Attribute Product Evaluations: Country-of-Origin Effects , 1984 .

[42]  Christopher K. Hsee,et al.  Will Products Look More Attractive When Presented Separately or Together? , 1998 .

[43]  Myung-Soo Jo.  Why Country of Origin Effects Vary in Consumers' Quality Evaluation , 2005 .

[44]  J. Friedman.  Being in the World: Globalization and Localization , 1990 .

[45]  Thomas J. Maronick.  An empirical investigation of consumer perceptions of “made in USA” claims , 1995 .

[46]  G. Hampton.  Perceived Risk in Buying Products Made Abroad by American Firms , 1977 .

[47]  S. Cavusgil,et al.  Consumer Attitudes towards Products of Foreign Origin: Do They Vary Across Product Classes? , 1983 .

[48]  A. Schaefer.  Consumer knowledge and country of origin effects , 1997 .

[49]  Kent Nakamoto,et al.  The shielding effects of brand image against lower quality countries-of-origin in global manufacturing , 2003 .

[50]  Lola L. Lopes,et al.  Toward a Procedural Theory of Judgment. , 1982 .

[51]  G. Gorn,et al.  An Experiment on the Salience of Country-of-Origin in the Era of Global Brands , 1993 .

[52]  B. Sternquist,et al.  Taiwanese Consumers’ Perceptions of Product Information Cues , 1994 .

[53]  Kim R. Robertson,et al.  Recall and recognition effects of brand name imagery , 1987 .

[54]  N. Anderson.  Foundations of information integration theory , 1981 .

[55]  Victor V. Cordell.  Effects of Consumer Preferences for Foreign Sourced Products , 1992 .

[56]  Jerry C. Olson,et al.  Price, brand name, and product composition characteristics as determinants of perceived quality. , 1971 .

[57]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , 1977 .

[58]  A. d’Astous,et al.  Multi-Cue Evaluation of Made-In Concept , 1993 .

[59]  W. Kamakura,et al.  Country of Origin: A Competitive Advantage? , 1999 .

[60]  Claudia González-Vallejo,et al.  The Evaluability Hypothesis Revisited: Joint and Separate Evaluation Preference Reversal as a Function of Attribute Importance , 2001 .

[61]  Robert S. Wyer,et al.  Effects of Country-of-Origin and Product-Attribute Information on Product Evaluation: An Information Processing Perspective , 1989 .

[62]  A. Tversky,et al.  Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases , 1974, Science.

[63]  Johny K. Johansson,et al.  Determinants and Effects of the Use of ″Made in″ Labels , 1989 .

[64]  Sevgin Eroğlu,et al.  Effects of Individual and Product‐specific Variables on Utilising Country of Origin as a Product Quality Cue , 1989 .

[65]  M. Roth,et al.  Matching Product Catgeory and Country Image Perceptions: A Framework for Managing Country-of-Origin Effects , 1992 .

[66]  J. Darling,et al.  A Competitive Profile of Products and Associated Marketing Practices of Selected European and Non‐European Countries , 1977 .

[67]  Martijn C. Willemsen,et al.  The role of negative features in joint and separate evaluation , 2004 .

[68]  Subhash Sharma,et al.  Consumer Ethnocentrism: Construction and Validation of the CETSCALE: , 1987 .

[69]  Gopala Ganesh,et al.  Effects of partitioned country image in the context of brand image and familiarity , 1999 .

[70]  P. Chao.  Export and Reverse Investment: Strategic Implications for Newly Industrialized Countries , 1989 .

[71]  P. Chao,et al.  Partitioning Country of Origin Effects: Consumer Evaluations of a Hybrid Product , 1993 .

[72]  C. Calkins,et al.  Country-of-Origin Labeling of Beef Products: U.S. Consumers' Perceptions , 2003 .