Country equity and country branding: Problems and prospects

This paper surveys and reviews the voluminous research on product-country images and their effects, with the objectives of discussing the multi-faceted nature of country equity and its importance, and identifying knowledge gaps and misconceptions that often impede the development of successful business or national strategies based on effective country branding. The paper concludes that country-based marketing is often underused or misdirected due to inadequate understanding of the meaning of 'country branding', and suggests approaches for strategy development as well as pointing to knowledge gaps that call for additional research.