Exploring the Literal Effect of COO for a New Brand: A Conjoint Analysis Approach

The objective of this study is to determine the literal effect of country of origin (COO) dimensions-(1) country of brand (COB) and (2) country of manufacture (COM)-and to discover the extent of importance consumers place on COO knowledge when other product attributes are available. Conjoint analyses are used to obtain the importance scores for attributes that affect the purchase intention for a new leather shoe brand. The results indicate that the level of importance placed on COM is higher than that on COB. However, when consumers evaluate COO and brand name knowledge as single cues, the results are in the opposite direction. In addition, the study investigates the importance of COO dimensions with an itemized rating scale in order to compare literal and exaggerated effects of COO.