The scarcity of studies regarding Country of Origin (COO) in Services, its dimensions and its effect on the consumers’ decision-making process was revealed by a review of the existent literature. The aim of this study is to explore the multidimensional nature of COO in services, including not only its potential dimensions but also its potential moderators. This research examines the existent literature review covering COO in products, its dimensions, its antecedents and moderators, and the deconstruction of COO in services. Based on the literature review, we built a framework including 4 dimensions of COO (Country of Origin of the Brand [COB], Country of origin of where the service is delivered [COSD], Country of Origin of the person providing the service [CPI], Country of origin of the endorser [COE]) and 3 categories of moderators (service-based moderators, individual-service-based moderators, and consumer-based moderators). We also approached the scarcely investigated multidimensional nature of COO in services, with a special focus on the hospitality industry, by holding 5 focus groups. The study results showed that COB and COSD did not have a high impact on consumer decision-making process of the hotel choice solely; comparing them with the other proposed dimensions. Contrarily, COE and CPI were found to have more influence on the participants’ decision-making process. In addition, there could be moderators in the effect of COO in services. The valence of COE and CPI effect (being positive or negative) depends on the level of animosity the participant could have towards a specific country, although this animosity could influence positively in one dimension and negatively in another one.

The scarcity of studies regarding Country of Origin (COO) in Services, its dimensions and its effect on the consumers’ decision-making process was revealed by a review of the existent literature. The aim of this study is to explore the multidimensional nature of COO in services, including not only its potential dimensions but also its potential moderators. This research examines the existent literature review covering COO in products, its dimensions, its antecedents and moderators, and the deconstruction of COO in services. Based on the literature review, we built a framework including 4 dimensions of COO (Country of Origin of the Brand [COB], Country of origin of where the service is delivered [COSD], Country of Origin of the person providing the service [CPI], Country of origin of the endorser [COE]) and 3 categories of moderators (service-based moderators, individual-service-based moderators, and consumer-based moderators). We also approached the scarcely investigated multidimensional nature of COO in services, with a special focus on the hospitality industry, by holding 5 focus groups. The study results showed that COB and COSD did not have a high impact on consumer decision-making process of the hotel choice solely; comparing them with the other proposed dimensions. Contrarily, COE and CPI were found to have more influence on the participants’ decision-making process. In addition, there could be moderators in the effect of COO in services. The valence of COE and CPI effect (being positive or negative) depends on the level of animosity the participant could have towards a specific country, although this animosity could influence positively in one dimension and negatively in another one.

Chapter 1 – Introduction 9
1.1 Research background 9
1.2 Research purpose 10
Chapter 2 – Literature Review 11
2.1 Country of Origin Effect 11
2.2 Development of COO as a construct 12
2.3 Multidimensional nature of Country of Origin 15
2.3.1 Country of design 17
2.3.2 Country of manufacturing 17
2.3.3 Country of parts 17
2.4 Antecedents of COO 18
2.4.1 Consumer ethnocentrism 18
2.4.2 Country image 20
2.4.3 Country stereotypes and Cultural congruence 21
2.4.4 Country-specific animosity 22
2.4.5 Perceived familiarity 23
2.4.6 Consumer demographics 24
2.5 Moderators of COO effect 25
2.5.1 Product-based moderators 25
2.5.1.1 Intrinsic cues 25
2.5.1.1.1 Quality 25
2.5.1.2 Extrinsic cues 26
2.5.1.2.1 Brand image 26
2.5.1.2.2 Product category 26
2.5.2 Individual-based moderators 27
2.5.2.1 Product knowledge 27
2.5.2.2 Product involvement 27
2.5.3 Other Consumer characteristics as moderators 28
2.5.3.1 Consumer ethnocentrism 28
2.5.3.2 Consumer animosity 28
2.5.3.3 Consumer familiarity 28
2.5.3.4 Consumer demographics 29
2.6 Antecedents and moderators of COO and consumers’ decision-making process 29
2.7 COO in services 31
2.8 COO dimensions for services 31
2.8.1 Country of Origin of the brand 31
2.8.2 Country of Origin of where the service is delivered 32
2.8.3 Country of Origin of the person providing the service 32
2.9 Building a conceptual model of COO in services 32
Chapter 3 – Research Methodology 34
3.1 Research Framework 34
3.1.1 Additional Dimension for COO in Services: Country of origin of the endorsers 34
3.1.2 Proposed Moderators for the effect of COO in Services 35
3.2 Exploratory qualitative study: Focus groups 35
3.2.1 Experience Service Chosen for this study: Hospitality Service 35
3.3 Participants 36
3.3.1 Inclusion criteria 36
3.3.2 Nationalities 36
3.3.3 Demographic profile 37
3.3.4 Travel Experience 40
3.4 Procedure 40
3.5 Data Analysis 42
Chapter 4 – Results 43
4.1 Findings regarding COB dimension 43
4.2 Findings regarding COE dimension 44
4.3 Findings regarding CPI dimension 46
4.4 Findings regarding COSD dimension 47
4.5 Findings regarding COO moderators in services 48
4.5.1 Service-based moderators 48
4.5.2 Individual-service-based moderators 48
4.5.3 Consumer-based moderators 49
4.6 Focus group ranking of the sets of photos 49
Chapter 5 – Discussion and Conclusion 52
5.1 Research Implications 52
5.2 Managerial Implications 54
5.3 Limitation 54
5.4 Further research 55
5.5 Conclusion 55
Appendices 56
Annex 2: Quantitative detailed results per focus group 57
Annex 3: Focus group discussion guide 62
References 63

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