Influence of Design, Workmanship, and Familiarity on Consumer Perceptions of Country-of-Origin Apparel Brands: A Study of U.S., China, and Japan

The country-of-origin (COO) concept addresses the increasing complexity of the global market and widening geographical boundaries of brands (Roth & Romeo, 1992). Consumers use COO to evaluate brands and product attributes (Han, 1989) and COO image is influential in purchase decisions (e.g., Roth & Romeo, 1992). Consumers from various countries hold differing opinions of COO brands and products. This study examines how consumers from the three largest world economies (U.S., China, and Japan) perceive two apparel brand image dimensions (design and workmanship) in conjunction with brand familiarity for apparel brands originating from five countries (U.S., France, Italy, China, and Japan)