From boycott to product judgment in the coronavirus era: Chinese products cases

Purpose This study aims to explain the boycott of Chinese product during the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, this paper attempt to empirically test the influence of boycott on the image brand and foreign product judgment, as well as to testing the influence of brand image on the judgment of these products. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from a stratified random sample ( N = 300) of students and was analyzed by using the structural equation modeling method. Findings The results show that the boycott negatively influenced the brand image and valuation of foreign products. Also, empirical results confirm that the brand image of foreign products positively influenced consumer judgment. Practical implications The success of foreign products is because of a combination of adaptation and standardization strategies for foreign companies in a local market to resist ace to unexpected economic conditions. These strategies allowed foreign products to penetrate diverse markets and not to be considered as a “foreign” brand which must be boycotted even in health crisis. The internationalization of companies and the opening of subsidiaries in the targeted countries can be considered as a solution for them so that their products will not be boycotted by consumers and consider them as national products. Originality/value Although with the existence of several studies on the boycott of foreign products, little attention has been paid so far to assess its interactions in times of health crisis such as COVID-19 crisis. This study contributes to the existing the literature with a research model based on two theories. This study leads to a better understanding of the role of boycotting foreign products and its impact on the brand image of these products and their judgments by consumers. On the other hand, this study tested the effect of branding on the judgment of boycotted products. Indeed, no study has so far examined the influence of consumer boycotts on the brand image of boycotted products. The authors have already responded to this shortcoming by adding additional tests for verification, robustness and validation of the results obtained.