South and East Asia as a Source of Supply

Industrial buyers' willingness to buy foreign products is influenced in proportion to the political freedom of the country of origin, as opposed to its level of economic development. Countries at the same level of development as the buying country are perceived more or less favourably according to degree of political freedom. US buyers, for this reason, seem to favour Japan out of ten South East Asian countries, according to a random sample drawn from a membership list of a leading purchasing managers' association. The most favoured sources of products are those countries which are both developed and free.