Assessing the relationship between country-of-origin image, brand image and product involvement with a focus on Indian consumers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to attempt to address the effect of country of origin (COO) on brand image in case of different product involvement levels, Further to identify the influence of consumer characteristics on product evaluation based on country of origin image to measure the extent of Indian consumers� country of origin knowledge with respect to different products and brands. In today�s globalized world there are no boundaries and the world is becoming global market or a �Cultural Bazaar�. Where consumer can pick and choose brands based on their beliefs about the quality of the product originating from certain country. Consumer from anywhere in the world chooses to use any product from their own country as well as they have access to the foreign brands in the same product category. In context of India, the new policy system drastically pushed the concept of more open & market oriented economy, which makes COO image an important cue which the producers have to keep in mind while serving their end users. Considering this global scenario our research is directed towards analysing the relation considering brand image as one variable because number of new brands entering Indian market in both low and high involvement product categories. So this study could help the marketers to understand how COO effect impact the brand image, also, this study also helps in comparing and contrasting various antecedents of country of origin image in order to explore the relationship between Coo image, brand image and Product involvement which could help the manufacturers and marketers in their decision making. Hence, this study is an attempt to fill the gap identified above and focuses upon assessing the relationship between three variables. 2017 � Serials Publications Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.