Country of origin effect and its dimensions in services – an international comparison

The country-of-origin effect can be defined as the influence of a particular country’s image on the evaluation of products and services coming from that country as well as consumer attitude and behavior resulting from it. The impact of country-of-origin (COO) on the opinion and consumer behavior has been one of the most widely analyzed phenomena in the marketing literature. However, it is relatively weakly researched in the area of services. In connection with the growing importance of international trade in services, a need to intensify research on COO in this context is indicated. The challenge has been undertaken in the paper. Particularly, the following research problems have been investigated:(1) How various services are perceived depending on their country of origin? (2)What is the importance of particular dimensions of COO when services are evaluated?(3) Is there a relationship between the image of a country-of-origin and the purchasing intentions?The study was empirical in nature. The data were collected with the use of the survey questionnaire. Six kinds of services were distinguished and nine European countries were evaluated. The study was carried out in four European countries (Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Poland) and 260 individuals participated in it.Conducted research has confirmed the existence of country-of-origin effect in services, its influence on customer perception and purchase intentions as well as the multidimensionality of this phenomenon.