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A COOL Effect: The Direct and Indirect Impact of Country-of-Origin Disclosures on Purchase Intentions for Retail Food Products

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  • Berry, Christopher
  • Mukherjee, Amaradri
  • Burton, Scot
  • Howlett, Elizabeth

Abstract

Retailers recently became required to provide specific country-of-origin information for muscle cuts of beef, chicken, pork, lamb, and goat. Drawing from the consumer inference and activation theory literatures, hypotheses are offered regarding how consumers use country-of-origin labeling (COOL) to draw inferences related to specific product attributes and how these inferences, in turn, lead to differences in mediation effects for purchase intentions. Results from a pilot study and two experiments reveal that consumers are more likely to purchase meat when it is identified as a U.S. product. Furthermore, the relative strength of the mediating effects of perceived food safety, taste, and freshness differs as expected. The authors show how the direct and indirect effects of the country-of-origin disclosure are attenuated by the presentation of objective information about the meat processing systems of competing countries. Given the recently mandated COOL disclosures, results have important implications for food retailers, members of the supply chain, and consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Berry, Christopher & Mukherjee, Amaradri & Burton, Scot & Howlett, Elizabeth, 2015. "A COOL Effect: The Direct and Indirect Impact of Country-of-Origin Disclosures on Purchase Intentions for Retail Food Products," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 533-542.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:91:y:2015:i:3:p:533-542
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2015.04.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Lim, Kar H. & Hu, Wuyang & Nayga, Rodolfo M., Jr., 2021. "Consumer Preference for Grass-Fed Beef: A Case of Food Safety Halo Effect," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 46(3), September.
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    9. Xenia Raufeisen & Linda Wulf & Sören Köcher & Ulya Faupel & Hartmut H. Holzmüller, 2019. "Spillover effects in marketing: integrating core research domains," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 9(3), pages 249-267, December.
    10. Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran & Gomes, Emanuel & Collinson, Simon & Parry, Glenn & Bustinza, Oscar F., 2018. "Selling digital services abroad: How do extrinsic attributes influence foreign consumers’ purchase intentions?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 173-185.
    11. Christopher Berry & Scot Burton & Elizabeth Howlett, 2017. "It’s only natural: the mediating impact of consumers’ attribute inferences on the relationships between product claims, perceived product healthfulness, and purchase intentions," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 698-719, September.
    12. Mukherjee, Amaradri & Jha, Subhash & Smith, Ronn J., 2017. "Regular Price $299; Pre-order Price $199: Price Promotion for a Pre-ordered Product and the Moderating Role of Temporal Orientation," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 201-211.
    13. Eng, Teck-Yong & Ozdemir, Sena & Michelson, Grant, 2016. "Brand origin and country of production congruity: Evidence from the UK and China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5703-5711.
    14. Fabio Boncinelli & Andrea Dominici & Federico Bondioni & Enrico Marone, 2024. "Consumers bahavior towards the country of origin labeling policy: The case of the pasta market in Italy," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 46-69, January.
    15. Paohui Lin & Hsientang Tsai & Tzuya Ho, 2020. "Food Safety Gaps between Consumers’ Expectations and Perceptions: Development and Verification of a Gap-Assessment Tool," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-17, August.
    16. Zachary S Johnson & Yichao Tian & Sangwon Lee, 2016. "Country-of-origin fit: When does a discrepancy between brand origin and country of manufacture reduce consumers’ product evaluations?," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(4), pages 403-418, July.
    17. Xia Li, 2022. "The impact of place-of-origin on price premium for agricultural products: empirical evidence from Taobao.com," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 561-584, June.
    18. Souiden, Nizar & Amara, Nabil & Chaouali, Walid, 2020. "Optimal image mix cues and their impacts on consumers’ purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).

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