Anthropomorphic or Not? Uncovering the Effectiveness of Anthropomorphic Communication on Country-of-Origin Stereotypes: Insights from Evoked Psychological Elements

Abstract

Country-of-Origin (COO) stereotypes influence people's choice to choose brands, with the development of social media, taking interactive communication with consumers is a crucial reference for brand promotion. Anthropomorphic communication enhances the interaction between brands and consumers, this study aims to research on the feasibility and validity of anthropomorphism on COO stereotypes for brand promotion in international competitions. Experiment results indicate that the strategy of using anthropomorphic communication in social media environment has positive effects for emerging economies, but not the same for developed countries; The perceived level of social presence moderates the main relationship between anthropomorphic communication and COO stereotypes, high social presence attenuate the effectiveness of anthropomorphismon COO stereotypes. As the same, the influence of anthropomorphism is effective and feasible only when consumers' mindset is global in emerging economies. The theoretical model in this paper is a useful supplement to the existing achievements of anthropomorphism and COO stereotypes, it provides a reference for enterprises in emerging economies to use anthropomorphic strategies accurately to reduce COO stereotypes so as to improving their international competitiveness, it also gives suggestions to companies in developed countries adopting anthropomorphic communication strategies cautiously.