Two Types Of Perceptions: Country Image And Brand Image

Chapter II

Literature review

Saran and Gupta (2012) states that there are two types of perceptions which are country image and brand image. Perception mainly lies upon how consumers respond to a certain product depending on what image they see. Also, according to (Klein et. al, 2012), COO build their perception in the market by ways of changing the names of the brand to a name that sounds like it came from a country that is well-known for a certain product. Moreover, according to (Ghauri et. al, 2010), country of origin plays a vital role in international marketing because it affects the perception of consumers. Multinational companies tend to hide the products it originated from due to the fact that most products are manufactured

Country of Origin is more considered by the consumers rather than the place which the product is manufactured. (Gurhan – Canili, 2009) says that in previous researches suggests that perceptions of groups are sometimes influenced by new information that is congruent with expectations. A consumer’s perception on a certain product changes once he or she acquires new information regarding the place where the product originated from and not from where it is manufactured. Though there are instances that the country where the product is manufactured is one of the factors which a consumer considers. Country of origin may create a “halo effect” whereby consumers’ attention and evaluation of other product dimensions are affected (Bhakar,

Also, stereotypes of country and the preference of customer influence the purchase intention. Political system, culture and the economy of the country can be a cause of sensitivity to people (Teo, Mohamad, & Ramayah, 2011). (Shenge, 2010) says that country of origin is among the numerous factors which influence purchase intention.

According to (J. K. Lee and Lee, 2009), there are several parameters which consumers use as a basis when purchasing a product. Consumers consider the brand, colour, design, however, consumers also seek on extrinsic factors like country of origin. Consumers use this extrinsic factor to evaluate products. Country of origin reflects consumer intention. In addition, country of origin is usually abbreviated as “COO” which pertaining to the country where a certain product or brand is being manufactured, designed, and assembled.

Nowadays, Global marketing is developing in this modern and competitive era, Country of Origin, as a significant parameter, has been studied by several researchers and has been shown that it has an effect on the behavior of consumers and on their purchasing. Other studies say that consumers also care where the products came from, where they were made and that, consumers are considering these things when evaluating the quality of products, (Parkvithee & Miranda,