The influence of country image on Vietnamese perceived value - An empirical investigation into mobile phone market in Ho Chi Minh city
Abstract
This paper aims to identify the relationship between country image and perceived value in a particular context. The complexities of globalization have been discussed in many studies since 1960 (Phau and Prendergast, 1999), so researchers suggest that when considering marketing implications, country image should be placed as the most important factor. As mentioned in the study of Ozretic Dosen (2001), the quality of products is perceived by the image of origin country where these products come from and the characteristics of the country‟s inhabitants. Consequently, consumers can express their positive or negative attitudes about the origin country based on their general knowledge or perceptions of the products‟ source. The more global the products from different countries have become, the more important of country image international marketing should be aware of. The findings from Han (1989) through the Halo model and the flexible model of Heslop and Papadopoulos at al. (1990) show that the consumers will believe in the product attribute as well as country-of-origin image through attitude and behavior. Based on this conceptual framework, this study aimed to confirm the multi-dimensional construct of country image including cognitive, affective and conative components as well as the significant relations between these components. The results show that there is a positive correlation between the image of the country and product belief or perceived value in the context of Vietnamese mobile phone market. The findings also suggest that marketers should be concerned about the effect of country image on the macro view as well. However, the effect of country image on product evaluation is not dealt with in this investigation, which is also a limitation of this study. Therefore, further research should be done into the concept country image as a multi-dimensional construct, and the effect of it on product evaluation in order to be able to apply the findings in another context of marketing.
Key words: Country image, cognitive component, affective component, conative component, perceived value.