Partitioned Country-of-Origin Effect on Consumer Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract Despite considerable research, empirical results on the relationship between partitioned country-of-origin (COO) and consumer behavior remain inconclusive and conflicting. This study aims to examine the (a) overall and disaggregate effects of selected COO sub-components (country-of-brand, country-of-design, country-of-manufacture/assembly, and country-of-parts) on product evaluation, brand evaluation, and purchase intentions; and (b) effect of selected study methodological and contextual characteristics on the focal relationship. The study employs a meta-analysis to synthesize prior literature regarding the partitioned COO—consumer behavior relationship of 82 independent samples in 64 empirical papers published in the last 30 years, including 25,827 observations and 1,239 effect sizes. Results reveal that partitioned COO has a significant, positive influence on consumer behavior; however, our subgroup analysis demonstrates that the impact on purchase intention is significantly larger than product evaluation and brand evaluation. Moreover, findings disclose that country-of-brand (COB) effect is the largest and interacts strongly with purchase intention than the effects and interactions of the other partitioned sub-components. Again, the moderator analysis shows that these effects depend on contextual and methodological factors (i.e., cues, culture, product stimulus level, product category, and study design). These findings advance COO research by clarifying the anecdotal mixed results, pointing out relevant managerial implications, and identifying potential avenues for further research.