The Country-Of-Origin Effect Investigated On Basis Of An International Comparison Between China And Germany On The Example Of Bosch And Midea

The country-of-origin effect(COO)is a phenomenon that was topic of multiple studies and researches.There it was mainly investigated as effect from country of origin on the product.Which is important for marketers to consider,when creating a marketing strategy.This work however investigated the effect in addition inverse,so also the impact a product can have on the image of its country of origin.This reveals more opportunities for governments to influence the image of countries.Reputation is very important in order to attract people and hence qualified workforce from all over the world.This work is contributing to the knowledge of this phenomenon.The subject of this paper is the mode of action of the country-of-origin effect(COOE)applied to consumers of different cultures.Previous research has shown that the effect has an influence on the purchase decision.The main objective is to find out whether different cultures perceive a different effect of the COO.This is important for marketers of international brands in order to adjust their strategies according to the effect in different countries.In order to obtain the data for the investigation the author conducted an international comparison between consumers from various countries,while the majority of consumers where from Germany and China because two brands(Bosch and Midea)from those countries were taken as example-case.Also,consumers from third countries were interviewed to obtain a more comprehensive result.The findings show that the COO has different effects on consumers with different cultural background.While e.g.,Chinese consumers pay a lot attention to the COO,Germans don’t consider it much when making a purchasing decision.Some German consumers didn’t know where Midea is from.Another finding is that the attributes consumers connect with a product are projected on the country of origin.Hence,the COOE can be used as a tool in public diplomacy in order to improve the image of a country while it needs to be considered that the COOE can also have a negative impact.This work aims to create a stronger awareness of the power of the country-of-origin effect and including its inverse working.Germany currently is suffering from a lack of qualified employees in a lot of sectors.Through the enhancement of the image,countries could get more attractive to qualified employees from abroad.Simultaneously,China with its history of rather negative association regarding its products can also achieve a turnaround and use the COOE in order to influence its image positively.To sum up,the image transfer through exported products should not be underestimated.