Ethnicity versus country-of-origin effects: A situational process-focused approach towards designer fashion brand evaluation

The globalization of trade and the increasingly mixed identities of consumers suggest that researchers on “country of origin” (COO) should go beyond nationality. Thus, we propose the “ethnicity of origin” (EOO) construct as an alternative to COO. We focus on a privileged area of investigation – fashion – and operationalize the construct through three variables: the designer’s birthplace, educational background and headquarters location. We conduct a cross-national experimental factorial analysis on a sample of 980 respondents from China, France and Italy. Results suggest that the three variables have an impact on brand evaluation. The indirect impact on willingness to buy (WBUY) and willingness to recommend (WREC) is also supported. However, correlations vary according to the ethnicity of the consumer. More specifically, our results stress that ethnicity cues have a strong influence on potential Chinese customers. Moreover, consumer ethnocentrism acts as an important moderator of the relationship between ethnicity cues and perceived brand image evaluation. EOO cues should be taken into account as strategic branding levers when defining marketing strategies in the fashion industry. Findings support our suggestion that studies on COO should address a situational focused approach to ethnicity.