Influence of Country of Origin on Customer Perception an Empirical Study on Brand Preference of Chocolate

Abstract

This study is designed to identify the influence of country of origin on customer perception based on the preference for chocolate brands. This study aims at investigating the determinant factors of the country of origin that influence on customer perception in relation to two chocolate brands that originated in Sri Lanka and Great Britain as a local brand and a foreign brand respectively. Revello and Cadbury are the two brands that had been considered for this research to investigate the consumer perception towards country of origin. And these two brands target a high end market and it is indicated by skimming pricing strategy and exclusive distribution strategy which are implemented with the marketing mix. Moreover, there is plenty of research that has been done in the different contexts related to the concept. Therefore, in order to fulfil the contextual knowledge gap in Sri Lankan context, the study had been conducted on a sample of 100 respondents by using a convenient sampling method. The data was analyzed using the SPSS window. The findings of regression revealed that there is a significant positive effect of country of origin on customer perception. Further, it divulged perceived quality and brand familiarity indicating a significant positive effect on customer perception related to the chocolate brand preference. According to the findings, it has been investigated that the country of origin of a brand is worthwhile as it leads to customer perception towards the brand as favorable and it is significant to operate in the competitive market.