Country of Origin Effect: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Welcome to the special issue—“Revisiting Country of Origin Effects” of Journal of Promotion Management. In the contemporary environment, businesses and customers are increasingly developing multifaceted relationships nurtured by global drivers, such as international brands, as well as embedded elements, such the impact of specific geographical networks on creativity. As a result, the impact of country-of-origin (COO) effects is, once again, a key topic in the global marketing field. In light of the recent developments involving “food scares” and the importance of “food safety labels,” COO cues have become a striking issue for many consumers throughout the world. From product development to design, to branding and packaging, the COO effect is a powerful tool that can be used to gain competitive advantage in international marketing. In an ever-changing, overcrowded marketplace of multiproduct offerings, the new trend in cultivating COO effectiveness is to address the issue of safeguarding locally owned products and formulating marketing strategies to raise the profile of country-authentic brands. The COO research has expanded from branding products and services to branding entire countries, continents, and regions. More recently, studies investigating the effects on a brand’s changing heritage have sparked renewed interests in this area of research. How is the COO effect affected should there be a change in the ethnic ownership of the brand? Furthermore, the notion of authenticity in ingredient branding has made its mark with several media headlines covering Prada, one of the world’s leading fashion houses, campaigned under new “COO” labels (e.g., “Prada Milano Made in India,” delicate dresses with “chikan embroidery,” or gloves handmade with Alpaca wool from Peru). This demonstrated a bold move to promote provenance and authenticity in the company’s products. Thus, the effect that COO has on consumers has continued, if not increased, as one of the focal points of research in this area. We believe that the first step in the process will be to promote greater clarity to reduce consumer confusion and scepticism about genuine COO claims.