Country of Origin: Stereotypes

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Outline

Consumers all over the world are from different countries and have different cultures. As globalization of the world economy proceeds at a rapid speed, an area of ongoing interest in international marketing is the influence of the county of origin, COO on prospective product purchasers. (Yim, Garma and Polonsky).

The purchase initiatives of potential consumers are greatly influenced by the image of the country of origin, which is related to the culture of the country, specific product or product categories. Consumers from different countries can have different perceptions of products from a country.

A product’s country of origin can figuratively express as its ‘genetic code’, adding meaning to its identity and allowing the potential for differentiation from other products. We shall conceptualize relationship between natural stereotype about the country’s culture on one hand and the utilitarian and hedonic dimension of the product attribute on the other.

Sometimes international relationship among nations also influences the purchase initiative of potential consumers. Consumers of nations with recent history of animosity may not buy products from each other even though they are aware of the commercial advantages. Consumers may also feel immoral to buy foreign made products. This was evident in the trade between East European countries covered by the Warsaw Pact and the Western Block covered by NATO during the Cold War.

Analysis

To study the impact of the country of origin label, a sample survey was conducted in five countries to decide on their product preference. Three product group were selected – toys, textiles, and consumer electronics. Thousand consumers were selected at random and their opinion assessed through a questionnaire containing the various attributes of each products – quality, price, design, appearance, etc. the sum total of which resulted in the purchase initiative. The countries selected for the survey were U.S.A, U.K, South Africa, Australia and Brazil. The products belong to three major Asian countries namely China, India and Japan. The preference of these three Asian countries in the Non-Asian markets was analyzed.

Results

Result of the Sample Survey – consumer-wise.

Toys

Product Countries	China	Japan	India	TOTAL
U.K.	550	300	150	1000
U.S.A.	550	350	100	1000
Australia	400	450	150	1000
South Africa	450	350	200	1000
Brazil	400	500	100	1000
GROSS SCORE	2350	1950	700	5000

China was the preferred country of origin for the toys because of the price and appearance.

Textiles

Product Countries	India	China	Japan	TOTAL
U.K.	500	300	200	1000
U.S.A.	550	350	100	1000
Australia	450	350	200	1000
South Africa	550	350	100	1000
Brazil	500	200	300	1000
GROSS SCORE	2550	1550	900	5000

India was the preferred country of origin for the textiles because of the quality, design and price.

Consumer Electronics

Product Countries	Japan	China	India	TOTAL
U.K.	500	300	200	1000
U.S.A.	550	250	200	1000
Australia	550	300	150	1000
South Africa	500	250	250	1000
Brazil	550	300	150	1000
GROSS SCORE	2650	1400	950	5000

Japan was the preferred country of origin for consumer electronics because of the quality, service and reliability.

List of features (Index Marks)

Features Products	Quality	Price	Design	Appearance	Total index for purchase initiative
Toys	20	30	10	40	100
Textiles	30	10	15	45	100
Electronics	40	30	15	15	100

Consumers were requested in the questionnaire to rate the product in terms of quality, price, design and appearance. Different weightage index marks were given for different features and the sum total resulted in the likelihood of purchase.

Different Versions

When different features were selected, the preferred country of origin differed. For example, when Robotics was introduced as a feature Japan was preferred over China for toys.

Change of Ratings

Change in ratings differed as a function of country of origin. Brazilians preferred Japanese goods because of ethnic Japanese population in Brazil. Similarly South Africa preferred Indian goods because of the sizable number of Indians there. U S consumers preferred Japan over China because of the political consideration in spite of the price advantage.

Works Cited

Yim, Wong Chui., Garma, Romana., and Polonsky, Michael Jay. Product Evaluation and Purchase Intention: Impact of Country of Origin and Experience in Living in a Foreign Country. Sunway Academic Journal 4. 2009. Web.

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