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The study seeks to quantify the ability of consumer knowledge (both objective and subjective) and personal self‐confidence to moderate consumer reliance on price and country of origin (COO) when evaluating wine quality, when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory perceptions.

Taste testing experiments were conducted (N = 263) using unwooded chardonnay wine as stimulus, in a three (COO) × three (price) by three (acid level) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design. Specific measures were employed to quantify consumer objective knowledge, subjective knowledge and personal self‐confidence as clearly delineated constructs, in order to investigate the ability of each to moderate extrinsic cue usage.

Analysis revealed price and COO were both stronger contributors to perceptions of wine quality than taste, irrespective of knowledge (objective or subjective) or self‐confidence levels. Reliance was found to remain extremely consistent although objective product quality was manipulated to three differing levels in a controlled laboratory environment. The research clearly demonstrates that consumer belief in the price/value schema dominates quality assessment for consumers, with COO also found to be a strong influence. This is in spite of varying knowledge and self‐confidence levels.

Results show that marketers cannot assume that intrinsic product attributes, even when experienced, will be weighted and interpreted accurately by consumers – even those considered “knowledgeable”.

The research significantly advances our understanding of consumer knowledge (type and level) and their use of extrinsic cues (price and COO specifically), in relation to their respective influence in their determination of both expected and experienced quality.

This paper aims to investigate the respective influences of price and country of origin (COO), as extrinsic cues, on consumer evaluations of product quality when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory (taste) perception.

Taste‐testing experiments were conducted (n = 263) using Brie cheese as the test product and a 3(COO) × 3(price) × 3 (fat content) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design.

Price was clearly found to be the most important attribute contributing to perception of Brie quality, followed by fat content. COO also exerted a substantial influence on respondents’ evaluation. In the case of this sensory experiment, reliance on the extrinsic cues tested was found to remain extremely robust even when all intrinsic cues (through sensory experience) were available for respondent evaluation when objective product quality was manipulated to three differing levels.

The research presents a number of limitations. Convenience sampling was employed, limiting one's ability to generalize results. Further, the use of conjoint analysis for taste‐testing experiment methodology is limited, particularly with a sample of this size with objective quality manipulations that are quantified and precise. A laboratory environment is also a limitation.

The research demonstrated that, even when evaluating a relatively low involvement product, consumer belief in the price value schema dominates quality assessment. These findings mean that marketers cannot assume that intrinsic product attributes, even when experienced, will be interpreted or used accurately when evaluated by consumers. Hence results provide an illustration to managers of the importance of ensuring that consumers take the intended meaning from communicated intrinsic cues in particular.

The research significantly advances understanding of consumers’ use of extrinsic cues (price and COO specifically), and their respective influence in their determination of both expected and experienced quality.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the response of members to a rebranding strategy implemented by a member‐owned organisation. More specifically, the authors examine the impact of rebranding awareness and attitude towards rebranding on the members' perceived value of their memberships, their satisfaction and, subsequently, their commitment to the organisation.

The research employed in‐depth interviews followed by a quantitative survey. Data were collected online from 264 current members of Dogs SA and data analysis employed SEM principles.

Findings demonstrate that the members' awareness of a rebranding attempt can significantly enhance perceived membership value, leading to increased levels of satisfaction. With both perceived value and satisfaction antecedents of membership commitment, the importance of such improvements cannot be underestimated.

Despite a high response rate of 88 per cent, only ten per cent of the membership base was included in the initial sample. Limitations relate to the single context, a canine association, and single rebranding attempt examined in this paper. Only three outcome measures were included, namely membership value, satisfaction and commitment.

While non‐profit member‐owned organisations play an increasingly important role in our economic and social environment, participation rates are dropping in many such organisations. If they are to remain viable, the commitment of existing members must be improved. The study provides managers with important insight into a potentially powerful strategy to increase underpin membership dedication by means of satisfaction and enhanced perceived value.

This paper successfully integrates relationship marketing and rebranding literature domains, producing significant implications for non‐profit membership organisations.

Although international product-harm crises have become more common, the influence of the country image (CI) associated with foreign goods in such crises remains under researched. This study aims to investigate the extent to which the CI of a foreign made product influences consumers’ attribution of blame and trust and, ultimately, their future purchase intentions after the product is involved in a crisis.

A 2 (country) × 3 (crisis type) quasi experimental design was used, with data collected from Australia (n = 375) and China (n = 401).

CI can influence attribution of blame, subsequent levels of trust and likely purchase intentions. Australian and Chinese consumers have different views when it comes to trusting a company or placing blame, depending on the country of origin or the type of crisis. The direct and positive effect of CI on consumer purchase intentions following a product-harm crisis is sequentially mediated by attribution of blame and trust. Trust is the most powerful influence on future purchase intentions in both samples.

In this research, only one type of crisis response strategy (no comment) was used. Thus, the results of this study must be viewed with caution when considering outcomes relating to other response options. Additionally, the testing was limited to only two samples, focussing on three countries (England, China, Vietnam), and one product context using a hypothetical brand. Further, despite our reasonable sample size (N = 776), the number of respondents represented in each cell would still be considered a limitation overall.

When developing crisis response strategies, managers should take into account the influence of a positive/negative source CI in driving attribution and trust. To minimize the impact of crisis on future purchasing decisions, organizations can leverage positive biases and mitigate negative ones, aiming to maintain or restore trust as a priority.

The study provides cross-country understanding about the significant role of CI during a product-harm crisis in relation to subsequent consumers’ blame attribution, their trust in the focal organization and ultimately their future purchase intentions.

This paper aims to examine the relative importance of country of brand (COB), country of service delivery (COSD) and country of person (COP) in consumer evaluation of hybrid services.

Using data (N = 1,071) from Australia, Indonesia and Singapore, a conjoint analysis experimental design explored empirically the importance of country of origin (COO) effects in three service contexts: search, experience and credence.

The analysis reveals that the relative importance of COP was the highest for credence services, while COB was the strongest for experience services.

For firms operating offshore, companies must understand that the COO construct is multi-dimensional for services, as it is for tangible products and not limited only to COB as traditionally thought. At least two other distinct dimensions – COSD and COP – can play significant roles as predictors of service quality expectations. Companies must consider the implications of service type, according to the search-experience-credence continuum to inform staffing decisions and managing customer expectations.

This research contributes to the literature by extending the understanding of country image effects in the context of hybrid service provisions, particularly in the view of customer expectations of services with multiple country-of-origins. Although there have been several studies examining the effects of COO on services evaluation, no empirical study has examined the effects of multiple COOs simultaneously from the perspective of location where the service is delivered (COSD) and individuals who deliver the service (COP), in addition to the effect of COB origin.

Whilst country-of-origin (COO) effects have been studied extensively since the 1960s, little research has explored these effects with respect to ecological considerations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the COO ecological image (CEI) construct by defining its facets across consumers and professionals from two different countries, namely, France and Australia.

Because of the exploratory nature of the research, the authors used two qualitative techniques, namely, semi-structured interviews and focus groups.

Findings indicate the CEI construct is composed of eight dimensions, namely, policy, technological, economic, people characteristics, natural, climatic, historical and eco-product features.

The research provides insights into the CEI construct and justifies future studies to develop a scale measure for it. However, the generalisability of the results must be considered limited due to the qualitative exploratory nature of the study.

The research offers implications for companies and policymakers by allowing them to understand how consumers form a CEI. It suggests new applications respective to how to leverage positive aspects of a CEI and how to mitigate negative ones.

The study extends the literature on COO by identifying the possible dimensions of the CEI construct, thus providing better insights into the little-explored link between COO and sustainable products.