This study examined the effect of country of origin labels on consumers' perceptions of apparel quality, price and purchase intention. This study particularly focused on country of design, parts, and manufacturing labels as potential cues that consumers use when evaluating the quality, price and purchase intention of apparel products. In this study, two countries were used: the United States and China. A literature review was provided to show the link and evolution of country of origin literature and the increase of multinational products in today's marketplace. The Information Processing theory provided the theoretical framework for understanding why consumers use extrinsic cues such as country of origin information when forming their opinions and purchasing products. The results of this study concluded that consumers rated US components that were designed and manufactured also in the U.S. the highest in quality, while Chinese components that were manufactured and designed in China were rated the lowest in quality. Results also indicated that consumers have some confusion when attempting to place a difference between the products made in the U.S with Chinese materials and the products made in China with U.S. materials. This study showed that the extent of country of origin information on product labels does play a large role when consumers' are making inferences about the quality, price and purchase intention of an apparel item.

Online consumers are not able to assess the physical product in the prepurchase process. This poses a problem for the consumers, and further affects their purchase behavior. The popularity of sustainability and transparency may provide an opportunity to lessen this kind of uncertainty. The literature review suggests that the country of manufacture and sweatshop free information, as two extrinsic information cues, may has the potential to affect a consumer's perceived quality, perceived value and purchase intention in online shopping context. This study aims to determine how the information regarding country of manufacture and sweatshop free influences consumers' perception of quality, value and patronage intention regarding different price apparel products in the online shopping context. For this study, a 2*2*2 (country of manufacture * sweatshop free * price) experiment was designed and each participant was exposed to one of eight profiles in random order. OLS regression results indicate that country of manufacture don't relate to any of the perceived quality, perceived value and purchase intention. To the contrary, price has a statistical significant effect on all the dependent variables. The sweatshop free label is positively related to the perceived quality and purchase intention, but doesn't affect perceived value. The interaction effect (C*P*S) affects consumers' perceived quality only. Implications, limitations, and scope of further research are also discussed.

This is the first-ever book about product and country images. It discusses the nature and role and influence of product-country images in international marketing strategy and consumer behavior. Thousands of companies use country identifiers as part of their international marketing strategy, and hundreds of researchers have studied the ways in which these identifiers influence behavior. As markets become more international, the more prominently the origin of products will figure in sellers' and buyers' decisions. The time is ripe for practitioners and academicians to delve into the insights offered in this seminal volume so as to better prepare for meeting the competitive challenges of the global marketplace. Product-Country Images is a wide-ranging and state-of-the-art book offering specific information and case studies to further understanding of the various aspects of this complex topic.

Constantly growing globalization, negotiations about mega-regional agreements and a dispersion of the sourcing activities of companies are all factors that influence where products are made and where the different parts come from. This issue does not pass consumers unperceived, which is why over 80% of the consumers want to be able to trace the origin of their food (Underwriters Laboratories, 2013, p. 27). How country-of-origin labeling influences domestic-brand products is of growing interest. Especially in Europe there is an increasing discussion about the need for regulations about the origin of food its labeling. One objective of this thesis is to find out if and how the knowledge of country-of-origin of ingredients and production site would change the buying intention of consumers when considering domestic-brand products. A second objective is to understand how much importance is given to country-of-origin of ingredients and production site respectively and if there are any differences between countries. For this purpose a quantitative study has been conducted in Spain and Germany. Research showed that country-of-origin labeling influences purchase intentions for the domestic-brand product examined positively and negatively. This effect however is the strongest for products 100% domestically or 100% foreign sourced. It was also observed that the origin of production is more important to the respondents than the origin of ingredients and therefore changes in production sourcing have a bigger impact on the purchase intention. For domestic- brand companies the results indicate that they should not abstain from publishing the country of origin if at least 2/3 of the sources are domestic. In this case purchase intentions will even be influenced positively.

This user-friendly guide to evaluating apparel quality presents the roles of product designers, manufacturers, merchandisers, testing laboratories, and retailers from product inception through the sale of goods, to ensure quality products that meet customer expectations. Bubonia provides an overview of apparel production, with emphasis on quality characteristics and cues, consumer influences and motivations impacting purchasing decisions, and the relationship of apparel manufacturing and production processes, cost, price point and the quality level of an apparel product. A key aspect of the book is the focus on both U.S. and International standards and regulations required for apparel analysis, performance, labeling requirements and safety regulations. The text is highly illustrated with images of stitch and seam types plus photos of their uses in actual garments, providing students with the tools needed to skillfully evaluate and critique quality elements in apparel and textile products. Key Features ~ Supplementary Apparel Quality Lab Manual (sold separately) includes hands-on lab activities and projects that simulate real-world garment analysis and material testing ~ Industry Scenario boxes present case studies highlight real world situations such as the Lululemon recall and the environmental impact of apparel manufacturing ~ Provides an illustrated guide to ASTM stitch and seam types Teaching Resources ~ Instructor's Guide with Test Bank ~ PowerPoint presentations for each chapter PLEASE NOTE: Purchasing or renting this ISBN does not include access to the STUDIO resources that accompany this text. To receive free access to the STUDIO content with new copies of this book, please refer to the book + STUDIO access card bundle ISBN 9781501395338. STUDIO Instant Access can also be purchased or rented separately on BloomsburyFashionCentral.com.

Various phenomena in the global economy, such as intensifying firm internationalization and international sourcing resulting in a growing number of hybrid products, raise the question of whether the country-of-origin (COO) and the country-of-origin effect (COE) still matter in contemporary international business. This book points out various aspects of COO, its dimensions and COE that remain significant challenges for consumers, companies and brands not only from emerging and developing countries but also from developed ones. This edited book offers a multifaceted approach to COO and COE. It explores COO communication/neutralization, economic and legal issues, as well as semiotic and anthropological aspects of COO communication in advertising. The book also discusses the impact of COO on consumer behaviour, including in the luxury goods market, and the role of consumer ethnocentrism. It takes a novel, interdisciplinary approach to the field, covering various aspects of the COO, its implications for international business, further theoretical developments within this phenomenon and empirical evidence delivered by scholars representing different fields of science. This book is addressed predominantly to the academic community – academics, scholars and upper-level students – in international marketing, international business and consumer behaviour.