A multinational examination of the “(non‐) domestic product” effect

This paper discusses country‐of‐origin effects for automotive brands in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The focus is on two subdimensions of country‐of‐origin effects: perception of quality and emotions‐related aspects. Based on car drivers’ self‐images of various makes it is delineated that brands are perceived to have lower quality when evaluated in foreign markets. For Germany, Italy and Spain different results were found concerning the perception of emotional aspects. With respect to this dimension, foreign brands are evaluated superior in Germany. The opposite situation was found for foreign brands in Italy and Spain. Significant differences in country‐specific brand images were identified within the countries under consideration. The results apply to brands of the low/medium as well as luxury segment.