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.