“…In terms of the theory of signals, reputation is more useful as a generator of trust when firms and their products are not well known, as happens with foreign firms and products (Nijssen, Singh, Sirdeshmukh & Holzmuelle, 2003). Under such circumstances, reputation of firms from a particular country becomes an evaluation criterion for available offer and a cornerstone in the construction of a trust-based relationship (Michaelis, Woisetschläger, Backhaus & Ahlert, 2008;Nijssen & Herk, 2009). Thus, the first hypothesis proposes that:…”