Effects Of Perceived Competence And Warmth Of Food Country-of-Origin On The Formation,Violation,Repair Of Consumer Trust

Consumer trust is the key to business success and is also closely tied to social stability.Recurring food scandals publicized around the world challenging consumer trust,stressed the importance of the formation,violation,and repair of consumer trust to the academia and food industry.Food origin,highlighted in country-of-origin effect studies,is an important driver of consumer perception and behavioral outcomes related to the formation of consumer trust.However,from the perspective of dynamic trust processes,it is unclear whether and how country-of-origin influences the formation,violation,and repair of consumer trust,especially the interplay between country-oforigin,trust violation types,and trust repair strategies.The thesis aims to investigate the influence of the country-of-origin image,which is based on the Stereotype Content Model(SCM),on the formation,violation,and repair of consumer trust.In particular,perceived country competence and country warmth,identified by SCM,are expected to affect consumer trust formation,violation,and repair.The interaction effects between country-of-origin image and trust violation types or trust repair strategies are examined as well.Moreover,this study proposes cognitive and affective mechanisms that may mediate the influence of perceived country competence and country warmth on consumer trust.This thesis is organized as follows: in chapter 1,the literature on the definition of trust,the dynamic processes of consumer trust,country-of-origin effect based on SCM,and research questions in the current study is reviewed.In chapter 2,the aims of this study,the structure of this study,research methodology,and contributions of this study are clarified.From chapter 3 to chapter 5,eight empirical studies are conducted.The general discussion is in chapter 6 and conclusions are summarized in chapter 7.Three studies on the effect of country-of-origin image on consumer trust formation are in chapter 3.In Study 1,imported fruit consumers in Shanghai(N = 497)were surveyed with regard to perceived competence and warmth of seven fruit-origin countries and their trust beliefs as well as trust intention towards these countries' fruit imported to China.Study 2 examined the effects of perceived country competence and warmth on consumer trust(N = 263)in producers of utilitarian and hedonic food.In Study 3,the mechanism underlying the effects of perceived country competence and warmth on consumer trust were tested(N = 230),with food producers' trustworthiness and consumer-firm affection were found as the cognitive and affective mediators,respectively.Three studies on the effect of country-of-origin image on consumer trust violation are in chaper 4.In Study 4,a product crisis incident was examined as the cause of trust violation.The effects of perceived country competence and warmth on post-violation consumer trust(N = 193)were analyzed.Study 5 explored the mediating roles of producers' trustworthiness and consumer-firm affection in the effects of perceived country competence and warmth on post-violation consumer trust(N = 207).In Study6,the interaction effect between perceived country competence,warmth,and trust violation types on post-violation consumer trust(N = 270)and the inner paths were investigated.Two studies on the effect of country-of-origin image on consumer trust repair are in chapter 5.Study 7 examined whether the influences of perceived country competence and warmth on post-response consumer trust(N = 338)may depend on trust repair strategy(apology vs.denial).In Study 8,the moderating effect of apology strategies(i.e.,apology with external attribution vs.apology with internal attribution)on the relations between perceived country competence,warmth,and post-response consumer trust(N = 235)was tested and the inner paths were analyzed as well.Results showed that perceived country competence could be a motivator of consumer trust during trust formation or trust repair,yet could be insignificant to affect post-violation trust.Perceived country warmth,however,could be both a motivator of consumer trust during its formation or repair,and a hygiene factor of consumer trust when it is violated.The effect of perceived country competence on consumer trust is mainly mediated by cognitive components(i.e.,food producers' trustworthiness),while the effect of perceived country warmth on consumre trust is mainly mediated by both cognitive and affective components(i.e.,consumer-firm affection).The thesis contributes an in-depth understanding of how consumer trust is built,violated,and repaired depending on country-of-origin image,by connecting dynamic trust processes,country-of-origin effect,and stereotype content model.Furthermore,the thesis highlights the significance of country image management in crisis communication against economic globalization.