Country of origin and its effect on consumers’ purchase intention of Norwegian salted and dried cod: A study of the Brazilian market.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess what are the drivers of the purchase intention of salted and dried cod for Brazilian consumers, and how country of origin affects the purchase intention of Norwegian salted and dried cod for Brazilian consumers. Additionally, this study also investigates whether Brazilian consumers can differentiate Norwegian salted and dried cod from the others. Design/methodology/approach: Data collection was triangulated through the use of quantitative consumer survey and qualitative in-depth interviews with consumers and other agents in the distribution chain. Findings: Qualitative results show that quality and price are the two main drivers of purchase intention for Brazilian consumers of salted and dried cod in general, and that product features, such as color and thickness, are also imperative for the consumers when assessing quality. Quantitative results support these findings, given that results show that only the product features impacts the purchase intention of salted and dried cod in general for Brazilian final consumers. Findings also indicate that the majority of the Brazilian final consumers cannot differentiate the Norwegian salted and dried cod from the others. Qualitative results also show that only high-class consumers or those who have knowledge of salted and dried cod give importance to the origin of the product. Quantitative results corroborate this premise, given that, from the sample that could differentiate the Norwegian salted and dried cod from the others, only product category image was shown to have a significant positive effect on purchase intention. Furthermore, qualitative findings highly suggest that retailers care more about the origin than final consumers, and clearly vindicate that the salted and dried cod market in Brazil is seasonal, with a larger demand during Christmas and Easter. It can be also inferred from the results that the consumers with knowledge associate Norwegian salted and dried cod with quality. Research limitations: Limitations of this study relates to the small sample size used to assess the second research question in the quantitative analysis, the non-normally distributed errors of the data used for some regression analysis, as well as the randomness and generalizability of the quantitative data. Another limitation is the fact that the survey was concentrated in the Southeast region, and that three of the segments of qualitative informants are not a fair representation of their respective populations. Practical implications: A segmentation of the marketing strategies towards Brazilian consumers should be made. Marketing strategies should also target other special dates besides Christmas and Easter, such as Mother’s Day. Exporters should provide information to the consumers about the different species. Lastly, Norwegian companies must start to consider how to deliver more convenient products to the Brazilian market for an affordable price. Keywords: Salted and dried cod, Norwegian salted and dried cod, Brazilian market, country of origin, purchase intention