The CoO‐ELM model : A theoretical framework for the cognitive processes underlying country of origin‐effects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an extended version of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM‐model) to explain and predict which of the four cognitive processes that are distinguished in the literature, with respect to Country of Origin (CoO), can be expected to occur: the halo‐effect, the summary construct‐effect, the product attribute‐effect or the default heuristic‐effect. Design/methodology/approach – Contrary to most of the previous theoretically‐oriented work on cognitive CoO‐effects, the epistemological background of the CoO‐ELM model proposed in this paper is of an inductive nature with theoretical propositions being derived from empirical data already gathered in the existing studies. Findings – The outcome of this paper is a flow chart model leading to a set of theoretical propositions on which cognitive CoO‐effects can be expected to occur under different situational contexts. Research limitations/implications – This paper only focuses on the explanation of cognitive CoO‐effects, not on affective or conative/normative effects. Also, the CoO‐ELM model applies only to the processing of consumers' prior knowledge about a country's products and not about the country itself. Finally, the CoO‐ELM model still needs to be subjected to empirical verification. An important implication of this paper is that the CoO‐ELM framework makes the bulk of empirical data become more transparent given the four effects of cognitive CoO‐processes. Practical implications – The CoO‐ELM model provides marketing practitioners with an easy and practical tool for the management of CoO‐cues. Originality/value – This paper is the first attempt trying to catch all the cognitive CoO‐effects previously identified within a theoretically solid framework.