Consumer‐based brand equity and country‐of‐origin relationships

Abstract

Purpose -The objective of the present research is to examine the impact of the country of origin of a brand on its consumer-based equity. Design/methodology/approach -Brand equity was conceptualized in this paper as a combination of brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and attitudinal brand loyalty. A doubly multivariate design was incorporated in a structured questionnaire to collect data via mall intercepts in an Australian capital city. Findings -Multivariate analysis of variance of the data indicated that consumer-based brand equity varied according to the country of origin of the brand and product category. This impact of country of origin on brand equity occurred where consumers perceived substantive differences between the countries in terms of their product category-country associations.Research limitations/implications -An important direction for future research would be to examine how the consumer-based equity of a brand would be affected, if the country of origin were changed from a country with weaker association with the product category to a country with strong association with the product category. The results would be useful to MNCs contemplating international manufacturing. Practical implications -Marketing managers operating in the international context must identify the sources of brand equity, and understand the importance of incorporating country of origin into their brand equity measurement. Further, the results suggest that, when a brand offers a variety of product categories, brand managers should monitor and track the brand's consumer-based equity for each product category. Originality/value -The present study is one of the first to empirically examine and confirm the impact of country of origin on the consumer-based equity of a brand.

Does country of origin affect brand associations? The case of Italian brands in China

“…Aaker (1991) and Keller (2003a) highlighted that COO generates secondary associations for brands and attributes, so that associations and beliefs related to the country can be transferred to the brand itself (Keller, 2003b). In a study asking consumers to evaluate five brand (and organizational) associations, Pappu et al (2006) found that COO did influence their brand associations, confirming previous findings. Thus COO can affect brand consumers' evaluation, because people attach stereotypical perceptions about a country to the products, and this influences first their perception and then, as a consequence, their purchase and consumption behaviour.…”

The Impact of Country of Origin on Relationship Quality: Empirical Evidence from Automotive Industry

“…Kim (1995) assumed that a positive country image would lead to favourable brand popularity, and consequently enhances brand commitment and loyalty. It was also demonstrated by certain scholars (Paswan et al, 2003;Pappu, Quester, & Cooksey, 2006) that customer loyalty towards brands originating from favourable country image could develop according to their experience of certain brands that provide quality products. Based on the discussion made above, the following hypotheses are presented:…”

Consumer preference for electronic consumer durable goods in India: a conjoint analysis approach

“…Pappu et al (2006) said that brand equity changes as per the change in COO of the product, further argues that marketing managers who operates in the international arena must comprehend the importance of incorporating COO for brand equity measurement. Consumers develop their preference on the basis of foreign and domestic products (Bankole et al, 2014;Knight, 1999;Kumara and Canhua, 2010).…”