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The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception and selection of interior merchandise
Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613571408461824 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Erasmus, Alet C. (Aletta Catharina) |
| author_browse | Erasmus, Alet C. (Aletta Catharina) |
| author_facet | Erasmus, Alet C. (Aletta Catharina) |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2015 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2014. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/46275 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:38:15.902Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/46275 The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception and selection of interior merchandise Erasmus, Alet C. (Aletta Catharina) Gaum, Bernice UCTD Major household appliance industry Brands Brands’ country of origin Country stereotypes Brand equity Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2014. The study aimed to explore and describe consumers’ reliance on brands, specifically the Country of Origin (COO) of brands as a heuristic, i.e. the perceived quality of a selected category of interior merchandise and to subsequently explain how COO influences consumers’ quality perceptions and product choices. The study focussed on major household appliances, due to the prominence of brand names and the COO on these products. In other interior merchandise product categories such as furniture and textile products, the brand name and COO is not necessarily that prominent or visible. A survey was conducted in the Tshwane metropolitan, which is a wealthy urban area in South Africa and a key role player in the economic sector. The study was conducted in the context of an emerging economy, where international brands have penetrated the market and made a wider range of products and brands available to the consumer. The data was collected by using convenience sampling methods supplemented by snowball sampling. It involved the self-completion of a structured questionnaire by 450 willing respondents who fit the prerequisite for the study, i.e. males and females, 25 years and older who belong to the middle to upper socio-economic group (earn R5000 or more per month) and who have an education level of grade 12 or higher, regardless of population group. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, as well as exploratory factor analysis, specifically Principal Axis Factoring, using an Oblimin rotation with Kaiser Normalization to determine the underlying factors associated with the quality indicated by brand names and the associations consumers make of brand names and specific product characteristics. Calculations of means, standard deviations, Cronbach’s Alpha, Anova, t-tests and post hoc Sheffe’s tests were calculated where significant differences between demographics were investigated for further interpretation. The study concluded that consumers are relatively brand conscious, men more so than women and that they are brand familiar in terms of various major household appliance brands. Quality as the most important branded product meaning were confirmed, as well as the use of brands as an indicator of performance and functional product attributes, i.e. value for money. Brands are also frequently used, especially by females, as an indicator of the product’s environmental and ethical compliances, but less so to infer its status implications. The study did however confirm younger consumers use brand names to a greater extent to infer social status than older consumers. It also revealed that the Black and other population group use brand names as an indication of status characteristics significantly more than White consumers. Consumers seem to have little knowledge of the COO of brands; they do however have strong stereotypes of Western and Eastern countries as well as South Africa, where Western countries enjoy more positive stereotypes than the others. These stereotypes also seem to strongly influence their overall quality perceptions of major household appliances, especially in terms of durability, performance and prestige. The COO of a brand can therefore have implications for its brand equity and should be addressed in brand management and marketing initiatives. tm2015 Consumer Science MConsumer Science Unrestricted 2015-07-02T11:08:33Z 2015-07-02T11:08:33Z 2015/04/14 2014 Dissertation Gaum, B 2014, The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception and selection of interior merchandise, MConsumer Science Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/46275> A2015 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/46275 en © 2015 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Major household appliance industry Brands Brands’ country of origin Country stereotypes Brand equity The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception and selection of interior merchandise |
| title | The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception
and selection of interior merchandise |
| title_full | The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception
and selection of interior merchandise |
| title_fullStr | The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception
and selection of interior merchandise |
| title_full_unstemmed | The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception
and selection of interior merchandise |
| title_short | The influence of country of origin on consumers’ quality perception
and selection of interior merchandise |
| title_sort | influence of country of origin on consumers quality perception and selection of interior merchandise |
| topic | UCTD Major household appliance industry Brands Brands’ country of origin Country stereotypes Brand equity |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/46275 |