course material

1. (Mt) – Country of Origin Effect
A. Video: Country of Origin Effect00B. Country of Origin EffectCountry of Origin
EffectGlobalization and market saturation have led to hyper-competition, which has made a
country’s brand image extremely important for companies and their products, since this
image may positively and negatively impact consumer behavior. The importance of the
country of origin in the consumer’s behavior towards certain brands may generate both
competitive advantages, as well as disadvantages. Due to previous experiences, knowledge
acquired, or stereotyped beliefs about a certain country, consumers create their own brand
country images. If the consumers’ judgement of the country of origin is positive, then this
will lead to a favorable perception of the product brands from that country. Also, brands
from a country that has a better image are “better placed to benefit from high prices in
contrast to a country with a discount, which characterizes brands from countries that have
a negative or weak image” (Berbel-Pineda, Palacios-Florencio, Santos-Roldán, & Hurtado,
2018, p. 2).The country of origin effect, refers to the impact on consumers of the “made
in”label, or more generally, the country a branded product or service is perceived to
originate from. Products or services from countries with a positive image tend to be
favorably evaluated, while those from less perceived countries tend to be downgraded. This
effect has an impact on sales, and there is evidence that such an effect does not go away
over time (Johansson & Furick, 2018). The Japanese cars entry into the U.S. in the 1970’s
was based more on country-specific advantages rather than firm-specific
advantages. American auto buyers bought Japanese cars, and not necessarily a Datsun or a
Toyota.With the growth of multinational production, the original emphasis on “made-in”
labels has been widened i.e. brands also have “home countries”, so Sony is Sony, regardless
of where the product is produced (Johansson & Furick, 2018).Also, the country of origin
effect depends on whether or not the country produces at widely different quality levels
(Johansson & Furick, 2018). For example, Germany, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland has
very high-quality standards in general, which guarantee the quality of their products. The
Koreans seem to be working on joining this group. However, the U.S., Italy and China have
widely varying quality tiers or levels, which sometimes render the made-in label useless for
quality judgments.ReferencesBerbel-Pineda, J., Palacios-Florencio, B., Santos-Roldán, L., &
Hurtado, J. (2018). Relation of country-of-origin effect, culture, and type of product with the
consumer’s shopping intention: An analysis for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Complexity, 2018(1), 1 – 12. doi: https://doi-
org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1155/2018/8571…Johansson, J., & Furick, M. (2018). The new

2. global marketing: Local adaptation for sustainability and profit. (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA:
Cognella00C. Requirements & QuestionsChoose one of the following country/product
combinations when writing your
paper:ProductCountry 1CarsGermany 2WatchesSwitzerland 3ElectronicsJapan 4ClothesFra
nce 5LeatherItalyUsing research, define the factors that influence consumers buying
decisions.Using research, define what a country’s image is, and describe the country image
of your chosen country as it relates to the product. How can a country maintain its image?
What happens to the product if this image is negatively affected?Define the country of origin
effect in your own words. What role does the country of origin play in your chosen
product’s brand(s)?What are the elements that are associated with your chosen country in
the consumer’s mind? For example, if you are discussing China: Huge, food, counterfeit
products, communist, low cost……Give an example of a negative country of origin effect for
your chosen product using another country as an example.Does a country of origin lose
some of its luster if the same brand is made elsewhere? Or does the original country of the
brand help maintain a positive perception of the brand in consumer’s mind? For example,
Audi cars manufactured in China?00D. General Instructions & Requirements1. Use UMGC’s
Library and Google for research in this assignment.2. Only use scholarly and reliable non-
scholarly sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, Statista, WSJ, FT, Money, Forbes, and Fortune
(no answer.com, QuickMBA, eHow, Wikipedia…….).3. Assignment should be supported by at
least two scholarly (peer-reviewed articles to support concepts), and at least four reliable
non-scholarly sources (to provide consumer, market, and industry information); in addition
to the course readings.