Impact of country-of-origin dimensions on product quality and design quality perceptions

This article examines the multidimensional constructs of the country concert and how they impact consumer evaluations of product and design qualities. Specifically, country-of-assembly, country-of-design, and parts-source country are incorporated into the research design. The results reveal that whereas country-of-assembly and country-of-parts only affect the product quality perception and country-of-design only affects the design quality perception, parts-source country moderates the design quality perception effect when the product is indicated as assembled in Mexico. This result has significant implications for manufacturers and marketers of hybrid products, particularly when outsourcing of different aspects of the production process were to be considered. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.