The study of country-of-origin (COO) effects examines how consumers perceive products emanating from a particular country. This study examines COO in terms of the fit between countries and product categories. A framework is suggested which matches the importance of product category dimensions with the perceived image of the country-of-origin along the same dimensions. Such matches (or mismatches) can be either favorable or unfavorable. Managers can use product-country match information to assess consumers' purchase intentions, and assist them in managing their product's COO. Data collected from consumers in Ireland, Mexico, and the United States demonstrate the productcountry match framework and its strategic implications.

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Color is an integral part of products, services, packaging, logos, and other collateral and can be an effective means of creating and sustaining brand and corporate images in customers’ minds. Through an eight-country study, the authors explore consumers’ preferences for different colors and color combinations. The results show cross-cultural patterns of both similarity and dissimilarity in color preferences and color meaning associations. When subjects are asked to match colors for a product logo, some color combinations suggest a consistency in meaning, whereas other combinations suggest colors whose meanings are complementary. The authors discuss implications for managing color to create and sustain brand and corporate images across international markets.

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Developing and managing brand image is an important part of a firm's marketing program. However, little research has been done (1) on linking the use of brand image strategies to product performance or (2) on managing brand images in global markets. The author examines the brand image-performance linkage for consumer goods in two categories marketed internationally. He also develops a conceptual framework that identifies various cultural and socioeconomic environmental characteristics of foreign markets that are hypothesized to affect brand image performance. Results from a 10 country/60 region study indicate that cultural power distance, cultural individualism, and regional socioeconomics affect the performance of functional (problem prevention and solving), social (group membership and symbolic), and sensory (novelty, variety, and sensory gratification) brand image strategies. The author then discusses the implications for managers marketing brands internationally and the directions for further research.