An Exploratory Study on the Impact of COO on Brand Equity

In the backdrop of increasing globalization with higher proportion of products from non-domestic sources and changing paradigms in the competitive scenario, we realise the importance of branding as a product differentiator. In fact Country of Origin cues influence brands across product categories. Among the several issues that effect brands we need to particularly understand how rise of hybrid (bi nation) brands impact the company's image through brand associations, including marketing ethical conformance. To build on extant studies we need to develop relevant constructs to study their relationships. Since there are very limited studies on the constructs of Country of origin (COO) image and consumer based brand equity (CBBE) taken together even in the developed countries like USA, UK, Australia or Canada, this area offers a research gap that warrants further research or research replication in India. As a highly developing nation and an emerging economy that is part of the BRICS these findings hold much value. This study hopes to throw light on the consumer's perception of country of origin and country image issues on brand equity which in turn can lead to conclusive research work.