The Ethnicity Impact on Attitudes toward Country of Origin for Products with Different Involvement Levels

ABSTRACT

The effect of the country-of-origin cue on product evaluation by different ethnic groups is considered for the purchase of high- and low-involvement products. A review of the literature in relation to country of origin, product involvement, and ethnicity effects is followed by primary research to untangle some of the purchase-evaluation complexities. It was observed that the impact of ethnicity was more pronounced for the high-involvement product, contradicting the proposals of some other researchers, though it is argued that this experience is well aligned with not only the thinking on national brands but also the ideas behind extrinsic cues and their moderators. Furthermore, the work considers the implications that this work has for marketing communication strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer behavior
• product involvement
• country of origin