Dictionary of Business said image is “general idea which the public has of a product or of a company; they are spending a lot of advertising money to improve the company’s image; the company has adopted a down-market image”. Country-of-origin image is defined in many terms as Wang and Lamb (1983), Johansson et al (1985), and Ozsomer and Cavusgil (1991) (cited Al-Sulaiti and Baker 1998; p.150).
According to Wang and Lamb (1983), country or origin effects are intangible barriers to enter new markets in the form of negative consumer bias toward imported products. Johansson et al. (1985) and Ozsomer and Cavusgil (1991) define country of origin as the country where corporate headquarters of the company marketing the product or brand is located.
Or as Nagashima (1970 cited Yasin et al 2007) said
…the picture, the reputation, the stereotype that businessman and consumers attach to products of a specific country. This image is created by variables such as representative products, national characteristics, economic and political background, history and traditions.
Nowadays globalization makes world connecting. Combined and linked each region together. Those give alternatives choices of products to consumers. Looking through consumers’ view, country-of-product’s origin (COO) might affect their decision above quality of products. Even though there are such a competition in that goods, its image still affect to purchasing decisions. According to Schooler (1965, 1971 cited Balabanis and
References: 4. image. (2001). In Dictionary of Business, Peter Collin Publishing. Retrieved October 23, 2007, from http://www.credoreference.com/979907 [Accessed 25 October]. 5. Javalgi, R.G., 2001. At your service! Does country of origin research apply to services?. Journal of Services Marketing, 15(7), 565-582. Available from: http://www.emerald-library.com/ft [Accessed 30 October 2007]. 10. Usunier, J.C., 2005. Marketing Across Cultures. Pearson Education. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TdkmgOu0SdUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=coo+image+effects [Accessed 7 November]. 11. Venture Republic, 2007. Made in China – Baggage or Blessing for Chinese Brands?. Available from www.venturerepublic.com/resources/China_strategy_China_brands_Made_in_China.asp [Accessed 7 November].