Abstract

Attempting to provide insight regarding consumers’ perceptions of and purchase intentions toward foreign products, this study develops and empirically tests an inclusive model containing key determinants that affect this process. A sample of 434 university students from the United States were recruited for the study and multivariate analysis was used to assess the hypothesized effects of key country-related variables upon the stages of consumer decision-making (i.e., product evaluation, attitude formation, and purchase intention) prior to the actual purchase of a foreign product. While country-of-origin image is shown to have influence across all three stages, animosity only affects the consumer’s willingness to buy the foreign product. There is evidence that consumer ethnocentrism influences both the attitude formation as well as the willingness to buy stages. These research findings suggest that marketers should take these three country-related variables under consideration when formalizing a strategy to enter a foreign market with their products. The display of packaging information must also be considered with regards to the consumer’s sensitivities towards the product’s country of origin.

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