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

Choi

J of Consumer Behaviour

et al. 2015

The authors of this study investigate online game consumption in Korea and China, the two key Asian markets, to analyze relationships among country of origin (COO), brand image, belief toward online games, and perceived game quality. Perceived game quality includes three dimensions of quality: product quality, service quality, and gratification quality. The authors survey 355 Korean and Chinese online game users and find that brand image influences quality perceptions directly or indirectly through brand belief. Compared with brand image, COO seems to have indirect and weaker effects on perceptions of game quality. The multigroup research model reveals several crosscountry differences. COO significantly affects beliefs in China but not in Korea. Brand image more highly impacts brand beliefs in Korea than it does in China. To signal superior product or service quality to Chinese users, game developers should highlight COO along with other product information. To appeal to Korean users, game developers should strengthen symbolic aspects of brand image because Koreans react more positively to brand personality, brand content, and corporate identity.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Country of origin and brand image influences on perceptions of online game quality

Choi

J of Consumer Behaviour

et al. 2015

Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science

“…Published in 2013, our research (Checchinato, Disegna, & Vescovi, 2013) examined the effect of the COO of Italian products on spontaneous brand associations in the Chinese population. A sample of Chinese students was asked to freely associate thoughts that come to their minds generated both reading the descriptions of six real branded products and looking at their pictures.…”

Section: Our Position In the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge of publishing research about a never-ending subject for marketing scholars: The country of origin

Checchinato

Disegna

Vescovi

2018

Self Cite

The Country of Origin (COO) represents one of the main topics in the marketing literature and a large body of knowledge about it has already been published. This commentary essay tries to explain why it seems to be a never-ending subject for marketing scholars and the reason why the paper we published in this Journal few years ago contributed to the literature and has achieved the Google i-10 high citation-impact ranking. Analysing the effect of COO on a specific factor such as brand associations, the use of a methodology that cope with the critics of some scholars about the overstressed of COO in the past research, and the selection of an emerging market-the Chinese one-as country in which testing the COO have helped our paper to be cited. Based on these elements, some future research topics are also suggested.

Australasian Marketing Journal

“…In the case of emerging countries, several studies (Agbonifoh and Elimimian, 1999;Batra et al, 2000;Essoussi and Merunka, 2007;Ettenson, 1993;Marcoux et al, 1997) have found that a preference for imported, branded products over domestic ones seems to prevail among consumers. However, other studies (Checchinato et al, 2013;Samiee et al, 2005) suggest that COO does not affect the brand image since brands and countries are sometimes associated incorrectly or, especially in emerging countries such as China, COO may not affect consumers because they are not aware of the country's image and characteristics, so the COO cue has a limited meaning for them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…However, other studies (Checchinato et al, 2013;Samiee et al, 2005) suggest that COO does not affect the brand image since brands and countries are sometimes associated incorrectly or, especially in emerging countries such as China, COO may not affect consumers because they are not aware of the country's image and characteristics, so the COO cue has a limited meaning for them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Country of Brand Communication in the Retail Setting: An Analysis of Italian Products in China

Checchinato

2015

Self Cite

Available online Keywords:Country of origin Country of brand Retail Store China A B S T R A C TThe aim of this paper is to investigate the role of country of brand (COB) communication within the retail environment of emerging markets. Drawing from the literature on store image, we developed a framework to analyse static and dynamic elements of COB communication. By adopting an inductive approach, we analysed COB use in a sample of 20 stores of Italian fashion brands in China using the mystery shopping technique. Given the increasing growth of e-retailing in China, the in-store observation is complemented by an analysis of the use of COB within the brand's local website and e-commerce page. In order to have a multi-layered representation of the phenomenon, in-depth interviews with managers of Italian firms in fashion industry are carried out. Findings confirm that retailing represents a primary communication channel for firms operating in China; however, the results of the participant observation show that COB is a cue information utilised only by a small percentage of the sample, mainly in a textual and iconic way. Managerial implications are discussed on the extent to which COB communication in store should be managed within an effective marketing strategy in line with the country and consumer characteristics in order to enhance the brand image in a growing market like China.