An Experiment on the Salience of Country-of-Origin in the Era of Global Brands

This study investigates the salience of country-of-origin effects in an era when firms are globalizing their operations. Country-of-origin (positive or negative) and global brand name (internationally known or new) were manipulated in a 2 by 2 design in which subjects’ evaluations were obtained both before and after they tried a product. In contrast to the general notion that a well-known global brand will override the country-of-origin effect, we found the country-of-origin to be an equally salient and more enduring factor in consumer product evaluation. The findings provide some implications for marketing managers in their global product strategy.