Research Topic: What is the effect of country of origin on the consumer loyalty?
Research Background
The report will present the impact of country-of-origin on customer loyalty. However, the increasing competitions in the business environment tend to give rise to the switching of brand. This affects the customer loyalty as people gets various options in the same product which swift the interest of consumers. But the concept of country of origin could help the customer to become loyal towards the brand. For instances, consumer becomes loyal towards various brands with particular country even if the product is not manufactured in the firm’s country of domicile. Thus, it can be stated that country of origin is considered as a vital marketing element for retaining the customer over the longer duration (Rezvani et al., 2012). Basically, the country of origin of product tends to be an extrinsic cue which is same to the brand name. This cue attracts the customer perception towards the product. The brand country of origin directly affects the minds of people which result in customer engagement for a longer duration towards the brand. Therefore, the country of origin of product image affects the consumer behaviour rather than the selling of product by foreign corporation.
In concerning to this topic, this research will focus on impact of country-of-origin over the customer loyalty. In regards to this, the conceptual framework will design and relationships construct in the form of brand country of origin, brand equity dimensions etc. At the same time, perceived quality, innovative feature will be parameter within which country of origin plays an important role in terms to influences the customer loyalty. Therefore, this paper provides detail understanding about the research topic.
The aim of this study is to identify the effects of country of origin on the customer loyalty.
Objectives:-
- To investigate the factor that facilitate customer loyalty
- To determine the relationship between country of origin and customer loyalty
- To assess the impact of country of origin on the customer loyalty (Prendergast et al., 2010)
In the views of Moradi and Zarei (2011), there are various factors that give rise to the customer loyalty. Perceived quality is the main dimension of consumer brand loyalty as it is related to brand choice and purchasing intension. The high quality is the major factor that maximise the satisfaction level of customer. Other than that, Mosahab et al. (2010) illustrated that continuous improvement is also considered as an important tool that attracts the customer towards product. However, the changing customer needs always want something new in product and with the fulfilment of such desires on continuous basis. The customer become loyal and sticks towards the brand. It can be stated that bringing innovation through overcoming the limitation of product or service proves to be useful for the company in regards to retain the customer on longer time duration. In accordance to Liu et al. (2011), brand awareness is the main dimension which helps to retain the loyalty of customers. It is because the brand without awareness tend declare as an unfavourable for market which is black spot for the brand. The brand awareness is important in regards to allow the potential buyer to recognize and recall the product when it will be showcasing. It is analysed that if individual recall the product then it surely satisfied one and promote the positive word of mouth. Thus, it can be depicted that the high brand awareness means maximum customer loyalty. In favour to the study of Liu et al. (2011), Chen and Hu (2010) described that brand association is also considered as important for achieving the customer loyalty. Likewise, it is quite necessary for the company to design the product in such a way that individual can relate or associate easily. It can be done through added feature of product as per the customer preferences. Such practice allows to achieving the maximum attention of consumers and at last it enhances the customer loyalty.
The relationship between country of origin and customer loyalty tend to be positively correlated as country of origin of product is the major indicator of consumer perception about brand. Lee et al., (2010) mentioned that brand country of origin has a high influence over the consumer minds as they perceive quality with the country of origin of product. It means that individual believes that the product of origin country involves more quality rather than substitutes product. In a similar manner, Homburg et al. (2010) described that the brand awareness of the product and origin country are quite important to exist as it allows the people to recognise or recall the product and it result in customer loyal towards the brand. Therefore, it can be stated that the country of origin directly influences the customer loyalty.
The aim of the research study is to identify the impact of country of origin on the customer loyalty. This research study will be carried out based on the data collection and it guides towards the successfully completion of research study. The researcher will be used the quantitative research method for achieving the practical understanding about the research outcome. The conceptual knowledge and practical framework will assist in attaining the relevant and appropriate research outcome.
In order to conduct this research study, the researcher will be used the primary data collection method. In addition to this, researcher will conduct the survey through questionnaires for the customers (Smith, 2015). This practice could help the researcher to gain understanding about the factors that increase their loyalty towards any brand. The use of primary method would prove to be quite beneficial for the research study as it provides the practical understanding about the research topic. Besides that, content analysis will be used to evaluate research problem in an effective manner. Hence, the study will help the assessing the impact of country of origin impact on the customer loyalty.
Chen, P.T. and Hu, H.H., 2010. The effect of relational benefits on perceived value in relation to customer loyalty: An empirical study in the Australian coffee outlets industry. International journal of hospitality management, 29(3), pp.405-412.
Homburg, C., Klarmann, M. and Schmitt, J., 2010. Brand awareness in business markets: When is it related to firm performance?. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 27(3), pp.201-212.
Lee, M.S., Hsiao, H.D. and Yang, M.F., 2010. The study of the relationships among experiential marketing, service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. International Journal of Organizational Innovation (Online), 3(2), p.352.
Liu, C.T., Guo, Y.M. and Lee, C.H., 2011. The effects of relationship quality and switching barriers on customer loyalty. International Journal of Information Management, 31(1), pp.71-79.
Moradi, H. and Zarei, A., 2011. The impact of brand equity on purchase intention and brand preference-the moderating effects of country of origin image. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5(3), pp.539-545.
Mosahab, R., Mahamad, O. and Ramayah, T., 2010. Service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty: A test of mediation. International business research, 3(4), p.72.
Prendergast, G.P., Tsang, A.S. and Chan, C.N., 2010. The interactive influence of country of origin of brand and product involvement on purchase intention. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 27(2), pp.180-188.
Rezvani, S., Dehkordi, G.J., Rahman, M.S., Fouladivanda, F., Habibi, M. and Eghtebasi, S., 2012. A conceptual study on the country of origin effect on consumer purchase intention. Asian Social Science, 8(12), p.205.
Smith, J.A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. USA: Sage.
