An examination of the effects of partitioned country of origin on consumer product quality perceptions

This paper deals with the effects of partitioned country-of-origin associations on consumer product quality evaluations. The main objective of this research is to examine the cognitive processes by which country-of-origin information influences the consumer's evaluation of a product. To study the psychological process by which the country-of-origin associations are integrated in the formation of related behavioural deliberation, a hypothetical structural model was developed. The model contains seven theoretical constructs, i.e. country of design, perceived product sophistication, country of assembly, perceived manufacturing excellence, country of parts, perceived product quality and perceived product design. Data were analysed via structural equation models using Analysis of MOment Structures (AMOS) 5.0. Results show that countries that already have positioned themselves around a reputation for technological innovation related to product development and manufacturing may expect consumers to transfer those associations to new products from the country.