Consumer brand classifications: an assessment of culture‐of‐origin versus country‐of‐origin

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract Examines consumers' perception of brands as influenced by their origins and the differences in classification ability between consumers' knowledge levels. Specifically, culture-of-brand-origin (COBO) is proposed to have replaced country-oforigin (COO) as the most important origin influence regarded by consumers in their perceptions of brands. Culture-of-brand-origin is used to mean the cultural origin or heritage of a brand. Data were gathered from 459 respondents in the Asian city of Singapore; and used to assess Singaporean consumers' ability to classify the cultural origins of fashion clothing brands. This was compared to their ability to classify the country origins of the same brands. Six brands were used in a between-subjects design, with three brands of western countries and three of eastern countries. Results indicate that consumers can more readily identify the cultural origin of brands over their countryof-origin. Reveals that a consumer's ability to make this distinction is influenced by the consumer's perception of how well he/she knows the brand. IntroductionBrand names have become increasingly valuable assets for many companies in an age of growing globalised business. In a cluttered marketplace, brand names are very nearly the last source of differentiation for providers of products and services that are readily emulated with easy access to the technology and information available today.

Brand origin and country of production congruity: Evidence from the UK and China

“…An established brand may have a strong brand image with stable associations and it exists in consumers' long-term memory (Keller 1993). Consumers frequently recognize brand origin, even if the design of a branded product no longer occurs in the origin country (Lim and O'Cass 2001). For example, a strong brand image may compensate for less favorable perception of a product manufactured in developing country.…”

Provenance as a filtering and framing device in the qualification of wine

“…As a marketing strategy, an emphasis on provenance and heritage has been found to be an effective positioning device for differentiating brands (Iversen and Hem 2008;Keller 2003;Lim and O'Cass 2001;Moor and Littler 2008;Piron 2000). Some provenance claims are highly regulated-as in the case of Country of Origin (COO), Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Appellation d'origine controlee (AOC) products-while others may be stylized (if not altogether fictional) marketing messages with varying degrees of congruence with actual conditions of production.…”

Effects of country of origin and country brand attitude on nonprescription drugs

“…Lim and O ' Cass 19 suggested the importance of the culture of brand origin (COBO) over the country of origin as the most effective origin infl uence factor by consumers in the brand perception. Cultural origin was recognised more easily than country of origin.…”