Country-of-Origin Effect in International Trade

Due to the globalization tendency, the companies are faced with the situation of responding to identical or increasingly similar needs that evolve in the same direction on different markets. However, at the same time, within the new markets, the companies are confronted with the situation of their products’ rejection due to the fact that the physical or economic access of the consumers to the product, the purchasing behaviour, the consume characteristics and the manner in which consumers can dispose of the product, greatly depend on the culture of each country. This article presents the basic elements of the country-of-origin effect. First, it presents the characteristic of this effect. Secondly, it analyzes the forms in which the country-of-origin effect can have for different specialists or different fields of research. This effect can be called the “prism effect” for the global management, “the made-in principle” for marketing management or “country’s brand” for marketers. Thirdly, the present study analyzes the causes which determine the appearance of this effect. There can be social, economic, environmental, development causes but the most important factor of the country-of-origin effect represents the cultural issues. The fourth part consists of a personal analysis of the causes of the problem, and the fifth presents some ways to overcome a negative effect. In conclusion, we suggest that international companies must pay special attention in analyzing the prism effect of their products on the new market in order to adjust certain perceptions by an adequate marketing.