Country-of-origin Labeling

The purpose of this research is to examine the subject of country-of-origin labeling in marketing terms. The plan of the research will be to set forth the historical context in which this topic has taken on significance to marketers and then to discuss its current relevance, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of country-of-origin issues in marketing analysis and an assessment of current trends regarding their development. In addition, the research will examine the experience of Chrysler Corporation, an American automobile manufacturer, with marketing-related country-of-origin issues in regard to its activity between 1995 and 2005.

If it is the case that, as Kotler remarks, beliefs and attitudes influence buying behavior (2004), then it follows that an selling organization's marketing activity must take them into account. In regard to some products, the identity of the selling organization per se may be less important with regard to customer preferences than the organization's national identity. That is, a product's country of origin (COO) may loom large in customer evaluations and buying decisions.

COO as a marketing issue is complex for several reasons. For one thing, COO does not achieve the same level of relevance in buying decisions for all products or all product categories, and products may be distinguished by both degree (luxury versus nonluxury product) and kind (Kleenex versus Ford versus Marlboro). In that regard, Hsieh's research (2004) shows that "while lux

course of the last quarter of the 20th century, with the effects of COO-based consumer behavior having an impact on marketing and operational behavior alike. To see why, it may be instructive to review the evolution of that industry over the course of the 20th century. The excitement generated in American commerce by the automobile industry in the first years of the 20th century was comparable to the excitement of "dot-com" innovations of more recent years. Henry Ford's assembly-line mechanization innovations enabled the Ford Motor Company to revolutionize productivity numbers, and that in turn made automobile transportation economically feasible for mass-market consumers. An industry that in 1904 was employing some 3,000 workers nationwide was so transformed by Ford's innovations in Detroit that by the end of World War I it was providing some 75,000 jobs, in the Detroit, Mich., area alone. Production costs were so much under control that Ford "was able to double wages, cut the workday from 10 hours to eight and simultaneously slash vehicle prices. He would later recall it as his most 'momentous' year" (Winter, 1996, p. 101). Ford's competitors incorporated its principles into their production lines, and by the mid-1950s, 95% of

Category: Business - C