Country-of-Origin Effects and Consumer Evaluations of Ads Within the Context of Economic Crises

ABSTRACT

In the current economic climate, select countries, previously stable, are finding themselves in economic crisis. When going through these crises, countries risk an even worse situation if foreign consumers develop negative perceptions of their country that lead to reduced interest in purchasing their goods. This study examines the impact of country economic crisis status on product purchase likelihood while considering the ability of advertising strategies to attenuate the negative crisis effects. Empirical results suggest that when compared to economically healthy countries, those facing economic crisis are also plagued by negative country of origin (COO) effects resulting in reductions in product purchase likelihood.