The Effect of Brand Prestige and Country of Manufacture on Consumers’ Brand Evaluation and Purchase Intention

The objective of this paper is to examine the effects of brand prestige and country-of-manufacture on consumers' evaluation of brands. Drawing from brand image and country-oforigin literatures, it was hypothesized that consumers' evaluation (and purchase intention) of bi-national brands is a direct function of brand prestige and country-of-manufacture (COM) favorableness. It was also hypothesized that the country-of-manufacture (COM) effect is moderated by brand prestige. This is due to the possibility that prestigious brands are per-ceived to have higher level of workmanship, and workmanship is perceived to be difficult to transfer to foreign countries for manufacturing purposes. A mixed-subjects AN OVA experimental design was used in this study. Results showed significant main effects for brand prestige and COM favorableness across the two product categories. However, only directional support was found for the interaction effect between COM favorableness and brand prestige on consumers' brand evaluation and purchase intention.