A store brand’s country-of-origin or store image: what matters to consumers?

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the relative importance of country-of-origin (COO) and its dimensions – country of design (COD), country of technology (COT), and country of manufacture (COM) – in comparison to store image in terms of consumer product evaluation and purchase intention of store brands. The authors also explore consumer regulatory focus effects. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were collected from 270 young Korean adults. Two scenarios were given using two high-involvement store brands, an electronic product and clothing product that have hedonic and utilitarian elements. Data analysis was conducted using AMOS structural equation modeling software. Findings COO affects product evaluation and purchase intention and store image affects purchase intention. By product, store image influences product evaluation and purchase intention (electronics). COO directly influences purchase intention (clothing). By COO dimensions, overall COD weakly affects product evaluation. COT affects electronic product evaluation but directly affects clothing purchase intention. Promotion-focused consumers use COO for product evaluation, with store image directly affecting purchase intention. Promotion-focused consumers consider COD, an affective dimension, and COM in product evaluations. Prevention-focused consumers did not consider COO, but consider store image for product evaluation. Prevention-focused consumers consider utilitarian COT and COM dimensions during product evaluation. Originality/value This is the first paper to consider the simultaneous effect of COO (and its dimensions) and store image on product evaluation and purchase intention. It is also the first to consider the regulatory focus theory with regards to COO and store image evaluative and purchase intention criteria.

Eco-Innovations in Global Markets: The Effect of Ecological (In)Congruence on Consumers’ Adoption Intentions

“…In the international marketing literature, COM is an increasingly important and widely investigated component of country of origin (COO) (Allman et al 2016). Previous studies have mainly focused on either general favorability and manufacturing capabilities (e.g., Coskun and Burnaz 2016) or the four main aspects—namely innovativeness, attractiveness, prestige, and workmanship—of a COM (e.g., Garrett, Lee, and Chu 2017) (see Appendix A). So far, the conceptualization of COM has excluded environmental aspects.…”

“…Our study’s contribution is threefold. First, we introduce the ecological COM concept and challenge recent criticisms of COM usage in the current international marketing literature (e.g., Garrett, Lee, and Chu 2017; Herz and Diamantopoulos 2017). Our conceptualization of ecological COM differs from previous COM concepts by focusing on the sustainability aspects of a country (i.e., sustainable development, legislation, and current actions to protect the environment).…”

“…manufacturing capabilities (e.g., Coskun and Burnaz 2016) or the four main aspects-namely innovativeness, attractiveness, prestige, and workmanship-of a COM (e.g., Garrett, Lee, and Chu 2017) (see Appendix A). So far, the conceptualization of COM has excluded environmental aspects.…”

Factors Influencing the Intention to Buy Fashionable Apparel via Online Platforms: An Empirical Evidence from Malaysia

“…The country of origin can directly influence the intention to buy fashionable apparel (Garrett, Sungkyu, & Kyounghee, 2017;Tjandra, Omar, & Ensor, 2015). In addition to the country of manufacture or country of birth of a brand, the country of origin also refers to the country that designs apparel and incorporates its manufacturing technology (Ar & Kara, 2012;Garrett et al, 2017). Poor perception of the producer country can influence consumer evaluation of a brand and product quality (Ar & Kara, 2012).…”

Guest editorial

“…Thus, this study suggests a basic foundation for establishing marketing strategies based on COO's image in order to also increase the fashion collection's image. Garrett et al (2017) examine the relevance of COO for product evaluation as an important information cue and factor in purchase intention on consumers' decision-making process. This research addresses the role of COO and its place in conjunction with store image, another important informational cue, within an increasingly important product context, that of store brands.…”