Ambivalence toward a country and consumers’ willingness to buy emblematic brands: The differential predictive validity of objective and subjective ambivalence measures on behavior

Abstract

Previous country-of-origin research has treated opinions of countries as either positive or negative, even though people may in fact hold conflicting opinions about countries. The extant literature on ambivalence suggests that the coexistence of positive and negative opinions of a country should increase avoidance of objects associated with that country, above and beyond the effects of mere positivity or negativity. Data collected from French consumers who varied in degrees of ambivalence toward the US reveal that ambivalence, measured indirectly through consumers' coexisting positive and negative views, is indeed negatively related to consumers' willingness to buy emblematic American brands. The findings highlight the latent nature of ambivalence, the difficulty of assessing the subjective experience of the ambivalence state, and the importance and practicality of using indirect measures.Keywords Country-of-origin . Ambivalence . Brand image . Indirect measure . Latent construct This research examines how ambivalence toward a country relates to consumers' willingness to buy (WTB) brands emblematic of that country. Previous country-oforigin (CoO) research has treated country attitudes as a univalent construct, ranging from negative to positive. The extant literature finds that positive/negative country Mark Lett (2011) 22:357-371

The spillover effect of downward line extensions on U.S. consumers’ evaluation of a French luxury parent brand: The role of branding strategies, authenticity, and fit

“…In this study, this notion is applied to luxury brands made in France and sold in the United States. One country‐of‐origin study, which tested French consumers’ perception of American brands, can be found in the literature, but it was not done in the context of luxury brands (Russell, Russell, & Klein, ). Another study on attitude toward luxury, based on 20 countries, can be found in the literature (Dubois, Czellar, & Laurent, ).…”

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“…Zhou and Hui (2003) demonstrated that symbolic benefits (such as modernity, prestige, and associations with foreign lifestyles) constitute one of the primary motivating forces of Chinese consumers' purchases of products of nonlocal origin, including products that may not be commonly regarded as conspicuous. Chinese consumers are convinced that using foreign brand products can enhance their personal image (e.g., Russell et al, 2010).…”

The Impact of Online Additional Comments on Consumers’ Information Adoption

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