Brand classifications: identifying the origins of brands

This study examines consumers’ classification of brands by origin, using culture-of-origin (COBO) as the cultural origin or heritage of the brand, and country-of-origin (COO) as the location (specific country) where products carrying the brand name are manufactured, are perceived to be manufactured, designed, or are headquartered. Data were gathered from 459 respondents in Singapore; assessing their ability to classify the origins of (3 western and 3 eastern) brands of fashion clothing, using a between subjects design. The results indicate that consumers can more readily identify the cultural origin of brands over country origins. The study also examines two types of familiarity (brand and country) for their impact on consumers’ ability to identify origins of brands. However, familiarity with both brand and country significantly influences consumer origin perceptions and acts as a moderating variable.