PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of country of origin (COO) information on brand perception and brand image structure.Design/methodology/approachThrough an analytical review, research hypotheses were built. An empirical investigation was carried out among Japanese consumers. Two brands of electronics with different levels of reputation were investigated.FindingsResults showed that COO had an effect on brand perception. This effect differs across brands and across countries of production. Brand‐origin appears to be of significant impact on consumer perception. Brand images are found to be multidimensional. Their structures differ across brands and across COO.Research limitations/implicationsCOO has multiple effects on brand image perception. Brand image is multidimensional. This research dealt with one type of product among culturally similar respondents which may limit the finding.Practical implicationsMarketing actions should be customized across brands with different levels of reputation. Brand image should be assessed as a multidimensional concept incorporating multiple facets. Consumers are influenced by the brand‐origin. Marketers should be aware of this association.Originality/valueThis research tests the multidimensional aspect of brand image structure and effect of COO information on brand image structure. Results show that COO information affects both the degree of fragmentation of brand image as well as its composition.

Marketers are interested in how consumers perceive product cues in order to build an appropriate marketing mix. Country and brand images are some of the cues proven to be of significant impact on consumer behaviour. This paper studies country and brand image multidimensional structures across several brands, countries and products. A model relating country image to brand image and then to product evaluation was built with country and brand image as multidimensional concepts. A within-subject intercultural investigation serves as a basis for data collection (1,400 consumers). The investigation was done in Japan, France and Tunisia. Three products were investigated, with three brands for each product: computer (Dell, Sony and Acer); hand cream (Shiseido, Nivea and L'Oréal); and sports shoes (Nike, Asics and le coq sportif). Results show a conjoint effect of country and brand images on product evaluation in addition to their separate effects. Country image structures differ across countries and influence differently product evaluation. Similarly, brand image structures differ across brands, across countries and across products.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the use of structural equation modeling in one specific field of marketing research, the image research. Design/methodology/approach – A meta-analysis of a sample of image marketing works using structural equation modeling (SEM). The period of investigation is limited to the last five years to test for possible positive return of previous assessments of SEM use on the current SEM application. Findings – Following this work, three major conclusions emerged: the study of homogenous samples of SEM models is required to get to accurate assessment of using the technique; SEM application is getting better probably due to learning from SEM reviews; and the reliance on a conjoint assessment of the various SEM issues is necessary to avoid parsimonious assessments. This study has provided a concise and refreshed view on the use of SEM in one marketing field, the image research. Research limitations/implications – 47 SEM papers and 99 models along five years were examined through this research. Although the authors reviewed four of the most consulted databases in marketing, the authors might miss several interesting works not available in these databases during the investigation. It is interesting to add on the works reviewed in this study and to re-conduct the analysis. The objective is not to doubt the consistency of SEM image research but to provide writers and readers with tools that enable them to produce better quality SEM research. Moreover, the quantitative analysis could be larger. Future research can consider computing other statistics. Finally, in the standards of most of marketing journals, this paper is a bit long. But as suggested by Babin et al., journal editors should allow more space to SEM-based reviews as the nature of the discussion requires lengthening. Practical implications – Mastering the statistical tool in marketing research is as important as mastering the conceptual tool. Statistical learning and/or cooperation with statisticians is recommended. Originality/value – A multi-criteria review of works from one specific field in marketing research and across a recent period of time allowing for the test of possible positive return from previous reviews of SEM use on the quality of the current publications of SEM papers.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the dual influence of traditional Chinese and national Singaporean cultural values on the attitude towards skin beauty and the purchase intention relating to skin care cosmetics among Chinese Singaporean women. It aims is to investigate how ethnic and national cultures might interact to influence the attitude towards skin beauty and hence the willingness to buy skin care products.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 370 Chinese Singaporean women was conducted to test the proposed links. The study adopts an empirical approach using structural equation modelling.FindingsBoth traditional Chinese and national Singaporean cultural values impact the attitude of Chinese Singaporean women towards skin beauty and their willingness to buy skin care cosmetics. The components of the traditional Chinese values (Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism) and national Singaporean values were found to have differing impact on the attitude towards skin beauty and the purchase intention of skin care cosmetics among Singaporean women. Confucianism was found to have a very strong impact on skin fairness and whitening, national Singaporeans' values were found to have a strong impact on skin anti‐ageing, and Buddhist values were found to have moderate impact on attitude towards skin smoothness and skin fairness and on the willingness to buy skin smoothening and skin whitening cosmetics.Research limitations/implicationsEven though the sample can be considered large, given the number of variables in the model, it would be wise to rely on a larger sample. In addition, the research was about specific cosmetics products, namely those related to skin care. It is judicious to extend the analysis to other categories and types of products. For expatriate ethnic groups, it is recommended that marketers think about the interaction between their traditional values and the values of the host country, as these have dual effects on their attitudes and hence on their buying intention. The interaction between these values is not static across products. It varies in size and combination across types of attitudes and products.Practical implicationsTraditional ethnic and national cultural values have differing impact in terms of significance and size on the attitude towards face beauty. Hence, marketing actions such as positioning and advertising should be customized accordingly, to target at these values in an attempt to influence attitude, and hence purchase behavior. Attitude plays a mediating role between cultural values and purchase intention. Influencing consumers' willingness to buy involves influencing their attitudes.Originality/valueFew works have surveyed the dual influence of national and ethnic values on a specific ethnic subgroup in Asia. To the authors' knowledge, there no previous research has been conducted for Singapore. This paper demonstrates that it is important for the marketer to take into account Singaporeans' national and ethnic values while marketing to them.

This paper describes a study that tests for the enhancement of low-sugar pastry via olfaction and examines its effects on pastry consumption. Olfactory taste enhancement preserves the nutritional benefits of low-sugar pastry while retaining the pleasure of full-sugar pastry. Willingness to reduce sugar intake and eat healthily is stronger today than at any time before in western societies, and low-sugar pastry can be effective in reducing sugar intake among consumers in these markets. The challenge, however, is that consumers' liking of pastry is driven by the sweet taste pastry eating procures; reducing pastry sugar content makes it healthier but probably less tasty and thus of a low market acceptability. Results from laboratory experiments show that smelling clearly perceivable sugar-associated odour significantly enhances perceived sweetness and pleasantness, and leads to the higher consumption of low-sugar pastry. These findings have implications for pastry makers and retailers as well as for social marketers. Odour-induced taste enhancement enables food makers and retailers to achieve the goals of selling both tasty and healthy pastry. It can be also a vector to promoting healthy pastry by converting the ‘healthy = untasty’ attitude into a ‘healthy and tasty’ attitude.