Author :
DOI : 10.29228/JASSS.62051
Year-Number: 2022-Year: 15 - Number: 90
Yayımlanma Tarihi: 2022-06-21 11:13:15.0
Language : İngilizce
Konu : Pazarlama
Abstract
Küresel pazarların her geçen gün geliştiği, modern ve rekabetçi dönemde, tüketicilerin ürünün menşeine yönelik algıları da değişmektedir. Son yıllarda, dünya çapındaki tüketiciler diğer ülkelerden farklı ürün ve hizmetlere rahatlıkla ulaşabilmektedir. Tüketicilerin ürün ve hizmetleri satın alma kararlarında içsel ve dışsal faktörler etkili olmaktadır. Bu faktörler, sosyo-kültürel, psikolojik ve ekonomik olduğu kadar, ürün özellikleri, kalitesi ya da ürünün menşe ülkesi gibi faktörlerde olabilmektedir. Menşe ülke (COO), tüketicilerin ürün satın alma ve değerlendirme sürecini etkileyebilecek önemli bir etken olarak görülmektedir. Tüketiciler menşe ülkeden etkilenerek farklı ürün gruplarında yerli ve yabancı ürünlere yönelik farklı tercihlerde bulunmaktadır.
Çalışmada Irak Kerkük tüketicilerinin satın alma davranışları üzerindeki menşe ülke etkisi araştırılmıştır. Kerkük’te yaşayan tüketicilerin Türk ürünlerini satın alma sürecinde demografik özellikler ile menşe ülke arasındaki ilişkiler incelenmiştir. Çalışma da nicel araştırma yöntemi kullanılarak basit tesadüfi örneklem yöntemi ile örneklem seçilmiş, online anket tekniği ile veriler toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizi SPSS 25 programı ile yapılmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları Kerkük’lü tüketicilerin satın alma kararında menşe ülkenin etkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Menşe ülke etkisinin Türk ürünleri satın alma üzerinde etkisinin ortaya çıkma nedeni olarak ülke yakınlığı, Türkmen tüketicilerin aynı dil, din ve benzer kültüre sahip olması olarak özetlenebilir. Ayrıca Türkiye’nin ve Türk menşeli ürünlerin Kerkük şehrinde iyi bir imaja sahip olması nedeniyle Türk ürünlerinin tüketicilerde iyi bir kalıp yargıya sahip olduğu gözlemlenmiştir.
Keywords
Abstract
In a modern and competitive era that the global markets are developing every day, consumers' perception of the origin of the product also change. In recent years, consumers around the world can easily reach different products and services from other countries. Internal and external factors are effective in purchasing decisions of consumers for products and services. These factors can be socio-cultural, psychological and economic as well as product features, quality or country of origin of the product. Country of origin (COO) is seen as an important factor that can affect consumers purchasing and evaluation process. Consumers are affected by the country of origin and they do make different preferences for domestic and foreign products in different product groups.
In this study, the effect of country of origin on the purchasing behavior of consumers who are from Iraq-Kirkuk was studied. The relationships between the demographic characteristics and country of origin were studied in the process of purchasing Turkish products by Kirkuk consumers. In the study, using the quantitative research method and the simple random sampling method was selected, data were collected with online survey technique. The analysis of the data was made with SPSS 25. Research results show that the country of origin is effective in the purchasing decision of the consumers who are from Kirkuk. The reason for the effect of the country of origin effect on the purchase of Turkish products can be summarized as country proximity, Turkmen consumers having the same language, religion and similar culture. In addition, it has been observed that Turkish products have a good stereotype in consumers, as Turkey and Turkish origin products have a good image in Kirkuk.
Keywords
- The increasing of international trade volume has begun to force sellers to gain competitive advantage in a constantly changing environment businesses and product/service diversity in the market. Businesses continue their activities to increase their market shares, maintain their market shares, or to enter new markets. It is important to analyze consumer behavior, especially for businesses operating in international markets so that it helps businesses to compete. In the preference process there are many factors that affect the purchasing decisions of, one of them is the concept of country of origin (Arı, 2007: 5). The concept of country of origin is used as an important competitive factor, especially in international trade (Coşkun, 2013: 24). Country of origin is the concept that has emerged from the perceptions of people about the products of certain countries and is integrated with the phrase 'made in', which affects the purchasing and consumption habits in international markets (Zhang, 1996: 143). The country of origin can also be defined as the homeland of the company that produces the product or the brand (Pisharodi and Parameswaran, 1992: 707). The country-of-origin concept is explained as it is a clue in the purchasing process when consumers do not have knowledge information about the product or brand. Country of origin is a picture, reputation and stereotypical belief formed in the minds of consumers related to the products of a particular country (Ahmed and d’Astous, 2008: 76). At the same time, if consumers know a product or a brand specific to a country, the phrase "made in… ..." on the product greatly affects the consumers' perception of that country. In international marketing literature this subjective decision-making process is called "country of origin effect" (Kaynak and Çavuşgil, 1983: 1223-1224).
- Country of origin information is used more when consumers do not have information about the products, have little information, or have low information about product features and awareness (Johansson, et al., 1985: 395). In other words, if consumers have little information about foreign products, they turn to country-of-origin information (Zhang, 1996: 56). Factors to be evaluated regarding country-of-origin information; country proximity, country prejudice and country image.
- Country proximity: Studies show that consumers generally show a positive attitude towards products from countries in situations where certain relationships exist (geographic proximity, common history, shared values, shared language, political or economic ties). Research results conducted by Hsieh (2004) in 20 countries revealed that consumers prefer country products located in the same geographical region (Hsieh, 2004: 268). According to Klein et al., (1998), the reasons for the negative attitudes of Chinese consumers towards Japanese products are military events and economic tensions in the past (Klein et al., 1998: 90). More country information, leads higher product-country perceptions for in-group members; leads to lower product-country perceptions for non-group members (D’Astous et al., 2008: 382).
- Country bias: Studies show that consumers may perceive their own country's products more positively than consumers in different countries (Balabanis and Diamantopoulos, 2004: 81-93). However, country prejudice does not always mean that consumers prefer products produced in their own country (Papadopoulos et al., 1990: 284-285).
- Country image: Image can be defined as a whole picture formed by bringing together many different parts by individuals about a business or its products. At the same time, the good or bad experiences people own have an impact on the image and may change over time. In the other hand the images of the countries, are formed by identifying with some abstract and concrete symbols, together with the culture they have had until today, both abstract and concrete. Country image may change over time according to technological, political and economic conditions. The image of any country, product or brand can be directly influencing and even determining the attitudes and behaviors of consumers (Küçükaydın, 2012: 51). Individuals establish relationships between cultural products and countries. For example, Italy comes to mind when opera is mentioned, USA comes to mind when jazz is mentioned, and England comes to mind in theater. Country of origin researches show that consumers also use the overall image of countries in various specific inferences about product features, including quality (D’Astous et al., 2008: 381). Stereotypes are also very effective in situations where consumer information is limited and objective evaluation is difficult. For example, evaluating an electronic product can be complex for someone who has no knowledge of the product. However, learning that this product is produced in Japan may make the individual think that the product is of high quality with the image of the country in the mind. In this case, Japan's strong image for electronic products plays a similar role with strong brand awareness by reducing consumer uncertainty about product features. As a result, the image of the country of origin provides information on where the product will be placed qualitatively. Consumers who are more familiar with the specialization of certain countries have a more positive attitude towards their products. In addition, openness to foreign cultures that represent a high degree of interest in other societies, traditions and cultures of other countries leads to a more positive evaluation of foreign countries products (D’Astous et al., 2008: 382).
- Product information is used by consumers to evaluate the product. Product information expresses the consumer's awareness, understanding of the product or the consumer's commitment and Confidence in the product. In cases where information about the product is low, the country of origin is important in product evaluation for consumers. That’s why consumers rely on the country-of-origin information of the products for helping them in the process of purchasing products when it’s hard and complex to evaluate products. Studies show that country of origin effect may differ according to different products. For example, the country-of-origin effect also differs in different product classes such as electronics, technology, food, clothing and household goods. According to the results of research conducted with Canadian consumers, perceptions of quality vary according to product classes and countries. quality perceptions vary according to product classes and countries. For example, Japan has high quality in electronic products and low quality in food products. Similarly, France has a highquality perception in fashion products, but generally lower quality in other product classes (Zhang, 1997: 53).
- Some studies show that in the country of origin effect the product information is more important for consumers in less developed countries. Generally, consumers in underdeveloped countries have less knowledge and experience of foreign products and therefore play an effective role in the decision to purchase the origin product. This situation is more important for expensive and high interest products. As a result, this is a situation that makes the consumers’ confidence the image of the country of origin (Zhang, 1996: 54). Other studies show that country of origin effect was weak in the presence of other external information like (brand, price, warranty and store) (Montanari et al., 2018: 351)
- Another effective factor in the country-of-origin evaluations is the demographic features of consumers such as age, gender, income and education (Schaefer, 1997: 814). For example, Schooler (1971: 77) found that country of origin has more influence on the elderly and female consumers. Anderson and Cunningham (1970: 33-34) found in their study that people with a higher education level have a more positive perception of the origin product than those with a lower education level. According to the research of Schaefer (1997: 823), the country-of-origin effect is stronger in older consumers than in younger consumers. Although some studies, also suggest that demographic characteristics are not always effective.
- One of the basic demographic characteristics is gender, which plays a role in the effect of the country of origin and it does play a role in consumers' preference of domestic and foreign products (Johansson et al., 1985: 58). According to researches, women tend to evaluate foreign products more positively than men (Good and Huddleston, 1995: 38). Balabanis, Mueller and Melewar (2002: 603) revealed in their study that female consumers are more prejudiced against foreign products and prefer local products more.
- In the studies conducted by Schooler (1971), Anderson and Cunningham (1970), Dornoff and Tankersley (1975), it was emphasized that consumers with a higher education level have higher foreign product preferences. However, while this is the case in underdeveloped countries, the opposite is observed in developed countries.
- One of the demographic factors affecting the consumers’ perception of the country of origin is age. According to the study of Schaefer (1997: 830), there is a higher country of origin effect among older consumers than younger consumers. In addition, this effect differs between certain ages. For example, this effect is stronger in the age group 55 and above.
- Another demographic factor that effects in the perception of the country of origin is ethnic identity. According to Schooler (1971: 78), black consumers prefer Nigerian, Latin American and Indian products, while white consumers prefer American products.
- According to the literature, products from economically developed countries are evaluated more positively than products from undeveloped countries (Bilkey and Nes, 1982: 90). Consumers generally prefer the products of economically developed countries and they also have high quality expectations (Andéhn et al., 2016: 226).
- While considering the economic factors in the evaluation of the country-of-origin effect, this situation should also be evaluated in terms of the economic development level of the target market. Kaynak et al., (2000: 1238) argued that when the perception of the country of origin is evaluated according to the development level of the target market, there is a difference between the consumers of developing countries and underdeveloped countries. In the same research, it was shown that the country-of-origin evaluations of Bangladeshi consumers is different from those of developed countries. According to another study, it has been revealed that a product produced in Mexico and South Korea is perceived differently by Americans when sold under the same global brand name (Nebenzahl and Jaffe, 1996: 19-20). In addition, studies have shown that consumers from developed countries have more stereotypical perceptions (Ahmed and d’Astous, 2008: 80).
- Researches on cultural differences show that cultures can be broadly classified as either collectivist or individualist. According to Gurhan-Canli and Maheswaran (2000: 310), the effect of country of origin varies according to various cultures in different countries. This research shows that American consumers, who have an individualistic culture, see their own country as superior to other countries and evaluate their own country's products more positively. On the other hand, consumers of collectivist culture like Japan welcome products from foreign countries more positively than their own country products.
- With globalization, the preferences and behaviors of consumers are differentiating and a large number of products are offered to consumers. This situation is important for marketers in determining the attitude and preferences of consumers towards domestic and foreign products (Küçükaydın, 2012: 101).
- Factors affecting consumers' foreign product preferences; country of origin, consumer ethnocentrism, racism (Ouellet, 2007: 113), patriotism (Han and Terpstra, 1988: 235), conservatism (Anderson and Cunningham, 1970: 30), nationalism (Balabanis et al., 2002: 583) and hostility (Klein et al., 1998: 90). Consumers generally prefer domestic products among products with the same features. However, there are various factors such as quality that are effective in foreign product preference (Küçükaydın, 2012: 102). Another factor in the preference of foreign products is the dignity or reputation it creates in people. Consumers think that owning foreign products gives them status (Ettenson and Geath, 1991: 15). For example, Zhang (1996: 65) revealed in his research that Chinese consumers have very positive attitudes towards Japanese and American products, that they evaluate the products of these countries positively and that having these products gives them respect and reputation. Similarly, the study of Nagashima (1970: 68) shows that Japanese businessmen gain respect and prestige by owning American and European products. In another study showed that consumers form opinions about countries based on their acquaintance with foreign goods. Understanding may have a significant role in comprehending the proclivity for using COO data and its impact on other factors (Nguyen et al., 2019: 140)
- The population of the study consists of Turkmens, Arabs and Kurds over the age of 18 living in 2020 in Kirkuk which is a city in Iraq. In fact, the number of Turkmens, Kurds and Arabs in terms of population in Kirkuk is considered to be equal. The main reason for the lack of a clear figure is that the census has not been conducted for a long time there. The reason for the higher Turkmen ethnic origin in the study is that the people of Kirkuk of Arab and Kurdish ethnicity did not answer this questionnaire when they saw the phrase Turkish products in the survey. Due to the lack of an official census since 1997 in the city of Kirkuk even if there are still some censuses from time to time across the country, the estimated total population is estimated to be 1.6 million people. While calculating the sample size of the study, the sample size was calculated to be 384 by considering the population variance of 30%, 95% confidence interval (z table value 1.96) and 5% sampling error. A pilot study was conducted with 30 people selected from the main group and the final form was given to the questionnaire. Considering the rate of return, 500 questionnaires were distributed and 418 of the returned questionnaires were analyzed.
- According to Schooler (1971), country of origin effect varies to age. In the research conducted on Kirkuk consumers, it has been revealed that older consumers exhibit a stronger country of origin influence than younger consumers. In this research, the differentiation of the country-of-origin effect according to age is parallel to Schooler's research. In this context, the country-of-origin effect of elderly consumers differed on their intention to buy Turkish products. In other words, while older consumers are purchasing a foreign product, they mostly search for country-of-origin information. Another result obtained in the research is that the country-of-origin effect differs according to education level. Participants with associate and undergraduate education have a higher country of origin effect in showing the intention to purchase products of Turkish origin.
- According to (Arslandere and Er, 2020) the country-of-origin effect has been claimed and proved to have a positive effect on the attitude towards the foreign brand. They submitted that he country of origin effect in developed countries can generally be in favor of their own countries, the country-oforigin effect in developing countries may be against their countries in terms of the products of more developed country. Likely Sharma and Kaur (2020) has concluded that there are number of factors that impact consumers purchase intention. They found that COO is also used as an indicator for product quality. Products made in developed countries are perceived better in quality in comparison to those in developing countries. This conclusion is identical to the results of our research because the State of Iraq is considered one of the developing countries and Turkish products are considered among the products of a developed country for consumers.
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