Country of Origin

Introduction In the production of this report, the information is obtained from several different sources. The sources of information are collected from books, the internet, and journals databases in relation to consumer behaviour and the country of origin. The information is used to support the discussion and analysis. The report assumes the status oriented consumers as the market assumptions. The scope of the report covers the theoretical concept section in the following section. It is about the theory of country of origin and the steps in consumer decision making. Also, there is discussion and analysis section, where the importance of COO and the steps impacted by the COO are discussed. Finally, conclusion and recommendation are presented in the last section of this report.

1. Theoretical Concept 1. Country of Origin (COO) Country of origin plays an important role in consumer decision making process. Consumers strongly associate certain items with specific countries, and products from those countries often attempt to benefit from these linkages (Solomon 2009, pp.375). Sometimes it is being used as a determining factor for consumers when they buy a product. Consumers buy products not only because they perform well or are produced by a well known corporation, but also based on the country of origin (Maheswaran 2006). Saeed (1994) points out that country-of-origin means the country that a manufacturer's product or brand is associated with; traditionally this country is called the home country. The country of origin of a product, typically communicated by the phrase "made in (country)," has a considerable influence on the quality perceptions of a product (Ueltschy 1998). Swiss watches can be an example. Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (2009) mentioned that ‘Swiss made’ embodies a concept of quality, which includes technical quality of watches (accuracy, reliability, water-resistance, and shock-resistance) and