A review and meta-analysis of country-of-origin research

Despite a large body of research, country-of-origin e€ects are still poorly understood. Combining the strengths of a narrative review with those of a quantitative meta-analysis, our study seeks to establish a ®rm grounding for country-of-origin research. We review previous country-of-origin research, focusing on cognitive, a€ective, and normative aspects of country of origin. In a quantitative meta-analysis, we assess the magnitude of country-of-origin e€ects on three types of product evaluations, viz., perceived quality, attitude, and purchase intention. In addition, we develop and test hypotheses concerning the role of economic development, the impact of multi-national production, di€erences between consumers and industrial purchasers, and a number of methodological aspects. We ®nd that country of origin has a larger e€ect on perceived quality than on attitude toward the product or purchase intention. We also ®nd that di€erences in economic development are an important factor underlying the country-of-origin e€ect. The country-of-origin e€ect does not di€er between industrial and consumer purchasing, nor is it a€ected by multi-national production. We conclude with suggestions for future research on the country-of-origin e€ect. Speci®cally, more research is needed on the symbolic and emotional aspects of country of origin, and on the role of competitive context. Ó 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PsycINFO classi®cation: 3900 Journal of Economic Psychology 20 (1999) 521±546 www.elsevier.com/locate/joep * Corresponding author. Tel.: +31-317-482201; fax: +31-317-484361; e-mail: peeter.verlegh@alg.