The Integration of Product-Country Image and Foreign Direct investment site evaluation: an expanded model

Abstract

Similar to products, countries also have images that often produce product associations. A country adds credibility to a product identity and generates a strong product personality that provides both a quality cue (e.g., Lowenbrau - engineered in Germany) and an important point of differentiation (e.g., Eugene de Paris - So French, So Rare) (Aaker 1996, p. 169). Countries, when associated with products or when viewed as investment products on their own, hold positive and/or negative images that may induce purchase and investment choices (Papadopoulos and Heslop 1993). From the manager's perspective, therefore, "countries are 'products' whose image may impact the choice among alternative locations" (Wee, Lim, and Tan 1993, p. 312).