Domestic or international?: Impact of country of origin of cars on purchasing behavior of consumers

Abstract

Consumer purchase behavior is influenced by a few factors and Country of Origin (COO) is one among them. COO influences how a consumer perceives the product ay ultimately impacts purchase decision. This study focuses on understanding the impact of country of origin on consumer purchase decisions of automobiles, specifically on four-wheelers. Exploratory research was conducted using focal group experiments where the influence of COO was studied on 4-wheeler advertisements with and without COO information. We found that providing the information of COO in the advertisements positively influences the purchase decision of the consumers. This was statistically proved through analyzing results of two different experiments. The findings of our work and managerial implications with respect to COO information provided are likely to make the impact more effective.