Importance of the Country of Origin from the Consumers’ Perspective in the Research Context of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the level of importance of the country of origin (COO) in the purchasing process of different categories of consumer goods in the research context of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH establishing a level of consumer familiarity with a COO; identifying the influence of consumer ethnocentrism on the level of COO importance. Findings and implications – ANOVA and T-paired tests highlighted the importance of COO to vary across product categories. The results of regression analysis showed that consumer ethnocentrism significantly influences the level of COO importance in the purchasing process. The results contribute to the thesis that COO has a diagnostic value for the consumers in the purchasing process and can therefore be used as a marketing tool in providing better market acceptance and positioning of products. Limitations – This research has a limited scope considering that it is a single-market study, but also because of the small range of researched product categories. Further research studies should consider a wider range of product categories, as well as a cross-cultural research approach to explore the importance of COO on the overall purchasing process. Originality – This study represents an integrative approach to the phenomenon of COO, consisting of consumer ethnocentrism, product characteristics, and consumer perspective regarding COO importance and familiarity.