Search results
21 – 30 of over 1000Rafael Barreiros Porto, Paula Borges Gomes Akitaya and Denise Santos Oliveira
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the internationalization characteristics of companies from an emerging market (internationalized company stage and presence of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the internationalization characteristics of companies from an emerging market (internationalized company stage and presence of a sales subsidiary abroad) moderate the influence of country of brand origin positioning over the companies' financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors performed an ex-post-facto study of internationalized companies from Brazil spanning 16 years. Generalized estimating equations in panel data revealed the results with market share, return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q as dependent variables.
Findings
The result revealed that country of brand origin positioning is worth doing for internationalized companies from an emerging market, especially for multinationals with sales activity in the destination country. It positively affects all three financial metrics. For exporters, it is effective in increasing market share and returns on assets.
Practical implications
The research demonstrates the effectiveness of the image positioning of exporting and multinational companies that have internationalization initiatives and allocation of external sales activities.
Originality/value
In emerging markets, country of brand origin positioning is a branding strategy used by companies seeking to internationalize. This research shows that the contexts of the characteristics of internationalization strategies change the results, and therefore the need to be considered for testing the effectiveness of country-of-brand-origin positioning.
Details
Keywords
Mikael Andéhn and Patrick L’Espoir Decosta
Recent research has shown that the country-of-origin (COO) effect – the influence on consumers’ attitudes and purchase behavior derived from a brand’s perceived association with a…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent research has shown that the country-of-origin (COO) effect – the influence on consumers’ attitudes and purchase behavior derived from a brand’s perceived association with a country – is inextricably linked to consumer perception. The purpose of this paper is to examine this shift by considering origin as a characteristic derived from perceived association and also by proposing that this association varies by degree, rather than simply acting as a binary attribute in its effect on consumer attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from a test series in which respondents (n=100) rated 38 brand-country pairs were put to split-half multi-group analysis tests to capture the moderating influence of association strength (AS) on several facets of country image (CI) simultaneously.
Findings
AS is a variable that exerts a moderating influence on how different dimensions of CI influence consumers’ evaluation of brands.
Research limitations/implications
The findings indicate that origin, as a characteristic, should be considered an association that is variable by degree and not as dichotomous. The implications of such a shift are broad, not only for the theoretical understanding of the COO effect but also for marketing and brand management practice. Accounting for AS allows for more accurate prediction of how consumers will react to COO.
Originality/value
The paper explicitly demonstrates that the strength of country-brand association moderates COO’s influence on brand equity. Such a relationship had previously only been theoretically implied but had not been empirically tested across multiple categories of products on multiple levels of CI.
Details
Keywords
Hakim Meshreki, Christine Ennew and Maha Moustafa Mourad
Country of origin (COO) is well established as an extrinsic product cue that influences buyer behavior in the business-to-business (B2B) context. However, non-product-specific…
Abstract
Purpose
Country of origin (COO) is well established as an extrinsic product cue that influences buyer behavior in the business-to-business (B2B) context. However, non-product-specific attitudes to a COO, including the notion of animosity, have received rather less attention. This paper aims to investigate COO as a multi-dimensional construct and animosity as a normative dimension of buyers’ attitudes and intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
The work is based on data collected from industrial buyers in Egypt and Canada to enable a comparative perspective between developing and developed countries. Structural equation modeling was used to test the study’s hypotheses.
Findings
Country of manufacture was an antecedent of perceived quality and a determinant of brand evaluation in both countries. Price was an antecedent of perceived risk and value in Egypt, while its impact on perceived risk was less pronounced in Canada. Perceived value was the strongest determinant of willingness to buy, while animosity played a significant role in this respect in Canada but not in Egypt.
Research limitations/implications
Country of brand was not included as a dimension to be investigated; industry type was not controlled and may confound the results; and generalization of the results is limited given the cross-sectional approach.
Originality/value
The study’s contribution lies in four main elements, viewed individually and in combination: investigating a large number of COO constructs that have not been studied within a single research context in B2B before; including the animosity construct in a B2B setting; contrasting “benefit received” and “sacrifice given” constructs that help to shape industrial buyers’ purchase decisions; and carrying out the research in two very different countries to help improve the generalizability of results.
Details
Keywords
Maria Cristina Morra, Francesca Ceruti, Roberto Chierici and Angelo Di Gregorio
The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical comparison between the impact of social media communication (both user-generated and firm-created) and the effects of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical comparison between the impact of social media communication (both user-generated and firm-created) and the effects of traditional media communication. In particular, the components of customer-based brand equity and any difference in the effects according to brand origin associations are investigated. The target group consisted of fans and followers of beer brands on social media.
Design/methodology/approach
In all, 192 questionnaires were collected a survey link that was posted on beer brand pages that operate in the Italian market. Structural equation modeling was developed to investigate the impact of social and traditional media communication on brand equity and a multi-group analysis to examine the differences according to the brand names’ origin associations.
Findings
Results show that fans and followers cannot be considered as a collective unit. Additionally, consumers make a clear distinction between firm-created/user-generated social media and traditional media communication. Specifically, they distinguish how the effects of the two media outlets differ in relation to the brand origin associations. International brands should concentrate on both firm-created and user-generated communication, whereas national (Italian) brands should foster their firm-created communications. In both cases, however, traditional media communication loses its effectiveness on the brand equity components.
Originality/value
Contrary to existing literature, this project compares the effect of 2.0 and traditional media on various social media platforms, pointing out two different models according to the brands’ origin associations. This study develops interesting insights both for international companies with huge brand portfolios and for national firms in a complex market like those for beer.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to address the apparent controversy surrounding the relevance of country of origin (CO) and brand origin (BO) lines of research, with particular…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the apparent controversy surrounding the relevance of country of origin (CO) and brand origin (BO) lines of research, with particular reference to an article authored by Magnusson, Westjohn, and Zdravkovic (MWZ) whose research findings assert that CO matters, irrespective of whether customers can actually recall origins of brands.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the extant literature from academic and business publications, the paper offers evidence regarding the relative unimportance of origin‐related attributes in most purchasing situations. In this context, the paper examines the atheoretic nature of CO research combined with a general lack of realistic managerial relevance, consumers’ impoverished CO and BO knowledge base, and the challenges of using CO as a positioning tool in marketing strategy. Finally, the paper examines some critical research issues regarding MWZ's contribution.
Findings
Country of origin research is not as relevant in customer choice process as some scholars believe and is generally void of meaningful managerial guidelines.
Originality/value
This is a commentary about an International Marketing Review article.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of country of origin (COO) information on brand perception and brand image structure.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of country of origin (COO) information on brand perception and brand image structure.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an analytical review, research hypotheses were built. An empirical investigation was carried out among Japanese consumers. Two brands of electronics with different levels of reputation were investigated.
Findings
Results showed that COO had an effect on brand perception. This effect differs across brands and across countries of production. Brand‐origin appears to be of significant impact on consumer perception. Brand images are found to be multidimensional. Their structures differ across brands and across COO.
Research limitations/implications
COO has multiple effects on brand image perception. Brand image is multidimensional. This research dealt with one type of product among culturally similar respondents which may limit the finding.
Practical implications
Marketing actions should be customized across brands with different levels of reputation. Brand image should be assessed as a multidimensional concept incorporating multiple facets. Consumers are influenced by the brand‐origin. Marketers should be aware of this association.
Originality/value
This research tests the multidimensional aspect of brand image structure and effect of COO information on brand image structure. Results show that COO information affects both the degree of fragmentation of brand image as well as its composition.
Details
Keywords
Sherry Xueer Yu, Guang Zhou and Jing Huang
This article sought to explore the effect of brand origin on consumer preference and examine the moderating effects of decision focus (buying for self vs buying for others) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This article sought to explore the effect of brand origin on consumer preference and examine the moderating effects of decision focus (buying for self vs buying for others) and product quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted two studies to test our hypotheses. In Study 1, the authors explored consumers' general preferences for domestic and foreign brands. Based on the evidence, Study 2 further explored the moderating roles of decision focus and product quality.
Findings
In general, consumers in developing countries prefer foreign brands. The effect can be moderated by the decision focus that this preference will be more obvious when consumers buy for others than when they buy for themselves. Product quality can also moderate the role of decision focus; in other words, consumers' preference for foreign brand when buying for others will be stronger when the product quality is low than when the product quality is high.
Practical implications
Foreign brands have a natural appeal to local consumers in developing countries. Moreover, foreign brands can also invoke consumers' awareness of buying for others (such as giving gifts) to boost sales. Domestic brands are at a disadvantage comparing to foreign brands, but they can increase their attractiveness by invoking consumers' awareness of rewarding themselves. In addition, domestic brands need to improve product quality to fundamentally improve their competitiveness.
Originality/value
The research contributed to literature by combining decision focus and product quality in studying consumer preference for domestic and foreign brands from the perspective of construal level theory, which provides valuable insights in the field of international marketing and consumer behavior.
Details
Keywords
Rania W. Semaan, Stephen Gould, Mike Chen-ho Chao and Andreas F. Grein
Country-of-origin (COO) effects on product evaluations have been widely applied in international marketing, albeit with mixed results. One stream of research values its importance…
Abstract
Purpose
Country-of-origin (COO) effects on product evaluations have been widely applied in international marketing, albeit with mixed results. One stream of research values its importance in decision-making, whereas another stream posits that COO has little effect when compared to the greater diagnosticity of other product attributes. This suggests that how and along what other attributes (extrinsic or intrinsic) COO is presented play an important role in its relative impact. The purpose of this paper is to address these mixed results by applying one such framing perspective based on evaluation mode (i.e. separate versus joint evaluation) and preference reversals and their biasing effects to a study of COO and willingness to pay (WTP) for a product.
Design/methodology/approach
A three between-subject (joint evaluation, separate evaluation-domestic and separate evaluation-foreign) experimental design was used to assess whether evaluation mode moderates COO effects on product evaluations.
Findings
Similar results are mirrored across three/four countries. When evaluated separately, consumers value an inferior domestic-made product more than a superior foreign-made one. However, when the domestic- and foreign-made products are presented in joint evaluations, the better foreign-made product is favored.
Research limitations/implications
A number of limitations in terms of countries, consumers within the countries and products studied are addressed along with future research that may address these factors and test the robustness of domestic–foreign preference reversals.
Practical implications
The results of this study reveal practical insights to marketers. Marketing managers for better-quality foreign brands are encouraged to engage in comparative advertising appeals and sell their products in retail stores that hold both domestic and foreign products, whereas marketers for domestic products should create a selling environment that facilitate only a separate evaluation mode to enhance WTP.
Originality/value
This paper provides insights on the diagnosticity of COO when presented alongside intrinsic attributes and the role of evaluation mode in shaping consumers’ preferences. This research suggests that COO has different effects in different evaluation modes, thus explaining some of the mixed results in literature regarding its importance. On the one hand, COO has a decisive effect on product evaluations when products are presented separately. On the other hand, COO effect is overridden by intrinsic cues, which become more apparent when products are presented jointly. Overall, these results demonstrate the robustness of the preference reversal effect across countries and products.
Details
Keywords
Isaac Cheah and Ian Phau
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of economic nationalism and consumer ethnocentrism in the form of country of origin (COO) cues specifically “Made in […]” and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of economic nationalism and consumer ethnocentrism in the form of country of origin (COO) cues specifically “Made in […]” and “Owned by […]” on the product judgement of bi-national wine brands (brands with multiple country affiliations). Further, the role of consumer product knowledge is examined as a moderator of these xenophobia attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaire was designed using established scales. A convenience sample was drawn from participants attending a major wine trade exhibition in Western Australia and university students. A variety of statistical techniques were used to analyse the data.
Findings
High levels of economic nationalism and anti-foreign sentiment was so strong that respondents did not want products that had any association with a foreign country, regardless of whether the products are directly or indirectly related to a foreign origin. This suggests that Australian consumers are not any more receptive to bi-national brands; as such domestic affiliations have not diluted the economic nationalistic sentiment. Further, results confirm that Australian consumers use COO cues as part of wine evaluations. Consumers with low product knowledge are likely to rely on extrinsic country cues to reinforce their brand evaluation, whereas consumers who are more knowledgeable are found to base evaluations on intrinsic attributes rather than extrinsic cues.
Research limitations/implications
Only respondents from Perth, Western Australia were chosen, thus limiting the representativeness of the sample. Other cultural contexts and product categories based on a larger sample size should be investigated in the future.
Practical implications
This research provides useful consumer insights and new market entry implications in terms of advertising and branding strategies for international wine manufacturers and distributors who wish to expand globally. In addition, there are managerial implications for domestic market where local retailers, merchandisers, importers can avoid importing products originating from offending countries and take on opportunity to exploit and promote “buy domestic campaigns”.
Originality/value
Conceptually, this study extends the existing COO literature by introducing bi-national brands into the model; expanding on country of ownership appeals in evaluating bi-national brands; and identifying the correlation between the economic nationalism and consumer ethnocentrism constructs. Further, this research can significantly help wine marketers to develop more effective positioning strategies. It will also help in the development of pricing and promotional decisions.
Details