THE IMPACT OF COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN EFFECT ON TURKISH CONSUMERS’ RESPONSE TOWARD FOREIGN ADVERTISEMENTS

Year 2011, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 71 - 81, 01.06.2011

Emine Tuğba Kocabıyık

Abstract

The globalization of markets and the operations of firms on an international scale
have triggered the cross-border flow of ads. Consumers who have negative
feelings toward a country may tend to avoid purchasing its products that are
presented in the ads independently of their perception of the products' quality or
the ad claim’s credibility.
Obviously, when people have no willingness or opportunity to know more details
about the products, their evaluations more heavily base on country of origin effect
cues as a shortcut. Thus, the findings of this study will reveal that even the fact of
identical ad executions consumers evaluate the ads and response to these ads
differently as a consequence of country of origin effect.
The ads will be examined through their purchase proposition and creative ad
execution dimensions. The product characteristics, price, brand, the benefits of the
product, country of origin effect all form the aspects of purchase proposition
dimension. On the other hand, creative execution is the presentation of the
mentioned attributes in order to attract consumers’ admiration. Country-product
pairs with both negative and positive images were selected in order to be used as
stimulus material.
This research explores how Turkish consumers’ perceive and give response to
foreign advertisements emanating from particular countries which differentiate in
the representation of country-product pairings. Finally, strategic implications for
international advertisers are suggested.

Keywords

Country-of-origin effect, foreign advertisements, purchasing intention

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