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Internationalisering är en populär trend för svenska företag. För några av dem är det en nödvändig åtgärd för överlevnad och tillväxt. Spanien som marknad är viktig för svenska företag. Vid etablering på den spanska marknaden påverkas svenska företag av vissa förändringar i den rådande miljön. De kan påverkas av ekonomiska, sociala/kulturella, juridiska, politiska och även tekniska faktorer. Företagen har också en marknadsföringsmix att erbjuda som består av produkt, pris, plats och promotion. Denna studie undersöker i vilken grad två av dessa faktorer, produkt och pris måste anpassas eller standardiseras för att passa den spanska marknaden. Författarna undersöker även hur den nya miljön påverkar företagets beslut.   Detta är en kvalitativ studie och den bygger på intervjuer via telefon och Skype med två konsulter och två svenska företag som redan är etablerade i Spanien, Filippa K och ORDNING&REDA. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka i vilken grad de svenska företagen i Spanien anpassar eller standardiserar sina produkter och priser till den nya marknaden. För att kunna dra en slutsats behöver författarna ta reda på hur den spanska marknaden skiljer sig från den svenska.   Slutsatsen är att den spanska marknaden inte skiljer sig från den svenska marknaden i så stora drag men olikheter i köpbeteende existerar. Varje företag måste därför inse sitt eget behov av att göra eventuella förändringar, antingen för sina produkter och/eller priser. De undersökta miljöfaktorerna som påverkar ett företags verksamhet i Spanien utgör inte något problem och det är troligtvis därför företagen inte behöver anpassa sina produkter eller priser i stor utsträckning. Den vanligaste delen att anpassa är texterna på produkterna. Men det är viktigt att beakta den nya kultur och affärskultur som råder samt användningen av det spanska språket och katalanska. Det är även viktigt att ta hänsyn till den ekonomiska situationen i Spanien. Svenska företag har en stor konkurrensfördel eftersom de har en mycket positiv country of origin effekt.   Författarna uppfattade ett samband mellan de undersökta delarna av marknadsföringsmixen med den rådande miljön vilket resulterar i om företaget väljer att standardiserar eller anpassar. / Internationalisation is a popular trend for all companies, not least for Swedish companies. For some it is a necessary action for survival, growth and development. Spain as a market is important to Swedish companies. H&M, Volvo, Saab, IKEA, Ericsson and Scania are some of the already established companies in Spain. During their establishment on the Spanish market, the Swedish companies are faced with certain changes in the environment such as economic, social/cultural, legal, political and also technological factors. The companies has also a marketing mix to offer and to deal with which consists of product, price, place and promotion. This study examines two of these factors, product and price and in which grade these two factors have to be adopted or standardised to the Spanish market. It also studies how the new environment affects the Swedish companies’ to make its decisions. This is a qualitative study and it is based on interviews through telephone and Skype with two consultants and two originally Swedish enterprises that are already established in Spain, Filippa K and ORDNING&REDA. The aim with this study is to investigate in which grade the Swedish companies in Spain need to standardise or adapt its products and prices to the new market. To make a connection the authors need to find out how the Spanish market differs from the Swedish one. The conclusion is that the Spanish market does not differ from the Swedish market in big terms, but different purchasing behaviour exists. Therefore each company has to consider themselves if there is a need to make any changes for their products and price levels. The environmental factors do not pose any difficulties for the companies to operate in Spain and it is probably why the companies which operate there do not need to adapt their products or prices in a big grade. The most common part to adapt is the lyrics on the products. But it is important to consider the different culture in the society and in the business, the use of the Spanish language and the Catalan, and also the economic situation in Spain. The Swedish companies have a great advantage since they have a great country of origin effect. The authors perceived a connection between the examined parts of the marketing mix with the actual environment which concludes in the fact if the companies decide to standardised or adapt.

O efeito placebo tem sua origem atrelada aos estudos ligados às ciências médicas e farmacológicas e, basicamente, consiste na capacidade de produtos inertes produzirem efeitos por meio do seu uso ou consumo. Esse efeito passou a fazer parte do escopo do Marketing em 2005, quando estudos mostraram a capacidade do preço gerar modificações sobre o desempenho de um produto. A ideia do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo preço dos produtos está ancorada no fato das crenças globais, que associam preço baixo a produtos de má qualidade, anteciparem as expectativas do consumidor acerca da resposta do produto e, a partir disso, alterarem o seu desempenho. Nessa mesma linha, o estereótipo do país de origem também se apresenta como uma crença global, em que produtos oriundos de países com estereótipo negativo são associados a produtos inferiores e de má qualidade. Sendo assim, esta pesquisa analisou a ocorrência do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo país de origem do produto, analisando, ainda, a interação da força das expectativas e do preço do produto na geração deste efeito. Para tanto, três estudos experimentais foram operacionalizados. O primeiro estudo apresentou as testagens iniciais sobre o efeito placebo gerado pelo país de origem e mostrou que o país de origem com estereótipo negativo é capaz de gerar um efeito placebo negativo sobre o desempenho do produto. Não foi identificado, no entanto, a ocorrência de efeito placebo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. No segundo estudo, analisou-se o efeito placebo do país de origem em cenário de alta e baixa expectativa. Como resultado, obteve-se, em cenário de baixa expectativa, a ocorrência de efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do país de origem. Já em cenário de alta expectativa, os resultados indicam que o fortalecimento das expectativas eliminou o efeito placebo negativo e, além disso, promoveu a ocorrência de um efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. O último estudo observou a interação do país de origem e do preço do produto sobre a geração de efeito placebo. Os resultados mostram que, em cenário de preço baixo, há efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo país de origem com estereótipo negativo, mas não foi observada a ocorrência de efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. Já, em cenário de preço alto, não se observou a ocorrência de nenhum efeito placebo, nem positivo, nem negativo. Ou seja, o preço elevado do produto foi capaz de anular o efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do produto, mostrando a capacidade do preço em compensar os efeitos negativos causados pelo país de origem com imagem desfavorável. Com base nisso, os achados desta tese contribuem para o avanço teórico dos estudos sobre efeito placebo em Marketing, uma vez que adicionam o país de origem como um elemento gerador deste tipo de efeito e, ao analisar a interação do país de origem com o fortalecimento das expectativas e o preço do produto, confirmam as bases conceituais sobre a relação entre esses elementos. Além disso, seus achados, em termos gerenciais, podem promover reflexões por parte das organizações que compõem o seu mix de produtos com bens importados e também que operaram no exterior e fazem investimentos externos diretos em diversas partes do mundo. / The placebo effect has its origin linked to studies related to medical and pharmacological sciences and basically consists in the ability of inert products to produce effects through its use or consumption. This effect became part of the Marketing scope in 2005 when studies showed the ability of pricing to generate changes on the performance of a product. The idea of the placebo effect triggered by product price is anchored on the fact that global beliefs, which associate low price to low quality products, anticipate consumer expectations about the response of the product and, from there, change its performance. Along the same line, the stereotype of the country of origin also presents itself as a global belief in that products from countries with negative stereotypes are associated with inferior and bad quality products. Thus, this research analyzed the occurrence of the placebo effect triggered by the country of origin of the product, also analyzing the interaction of the strength of expectations and of product price in the generation of this effect. For this purpose, three experimental studies were operationalized. The first study presented initial testings on the placebo effect generated by the country of origin and showed that the country of origin with negative stereotypes is able to generate a negative placebo effect on product performance. However, the occurrence of the placebo effect generated by positive stereotypes in the country of origin was not identified. In the second study, the placebo effect of the country of origin in a scenario of high and low expectations was analyzed. As a result, in a scenario of low expectations, the occurrence of a negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the country of origin was obtained. However, in a scenario of high expectations, results indicate that the strengthening of the expectations eliminated a negative placebo effect and in addition, promoted the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin. The last study observed the interaction of the country of origin and the price of the product upon the generation of the placebo effect. The results show that in a scenario of low price, there is a negative placebo effect generated by the country of origin with a negative stereotype, but the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin was not observed. However, in a scenario of high prices, there was no occurrence of a placebo effect, whether positive or negative. In other words, the high price of the product was able to cancel the negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the product, showing the capacity of the price to compensate for the negative effects caused by the country of origin with an unfavorable image. Based on this, this thesis’ findings contribute to the theoretical progress on the studies about the placebo effect in Marketing, once the country of origin is added as a generating element of this type of effect, and when analyzing the interaction of the country of origin with the strengthening of expectations and the price of the product, the conceptual foundations about the relationship between these elements are confirmed. Moreover, its findings in management terms can promote reflections by organizations that compose the product mix with imported goods and also that operate overseas and make foreign direct investments in various parts of the world.

O efeito placebo tem sua origem atrelada aos estudos ligados às ciências médicas e farmacológicas e, basicamente, consiste na capacidade de produtos inertes produzirem efeitos por meio do seu uso ou consumo. Esse efeito passou a fazer parte do escopo do Marketing em 2005, quando estudos mostraram a capacidade do preço gerar modificações sobre o desempenho de um produto. A ideia do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo preço dos produtos está ancorada no fato das crenças globais, que associam preço baixo a produtos de má qualidade, anteciparem as expectativas do consumidor acerca da resposta do produto e, a partir disso, alterarem o seu desempenho. Nessa mesma linha, o estereótipo do país de origem também se apresenta como uma crença global, em que produtos oriundos de países com estereótipo negativo são associados a produtos inferiores e de má qualidade. Sendo assim, esta pesquisa analisou a ocorrência do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo país de origem do produto, analisando, ainda, a interação da força das expectativas e do preço do produto na geração deste efeito. Para tanto, três estudos experimentais foram operacionalizados. O primeiro estudo apresentou as testagens iniciais sobre o efeito placebo gerado pelo país de origem e mostrou que o país de origem com estereótipo negativo é capaz de gerar um efeito placebo negativo sobre o desempenho do produto. Não foi identificado, no entanto, a ocorrência de efeito placebo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. No segundo estudo, analisou-se o efeito placebo do país de origem em cenário de alta e baixa expectativa. Como resultado, obteve-se, em cenário de baixa expectativa, a ocorrência de efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do país de origem. Já em cenário de alta expectativa, os resultados indicam que o fortalecimento das expectativas eliminou o efeito placebo negativo e, além disso, promoveu a ocorrência de um efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. O último estudo observou a interação do país de origem e do preço do produto sobre a geração de efeito placebo. Os resultados mostram que, em cenário de preço baixo, há efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo país de origem com estereótipo negativo, mas não foi observada a ocorrência de efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. Já, em cenário de preço alto, não se observou a ocorrência de nenhum efeito placebo, nem positivo, nem negativo. Ou seja, o preço elevado do produto foi capaz de anular o efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do produto, mostrando a capacidade do preço em compensar os efeitos negativos causados pelo país de origem com imagem desfavorável. Com base nisso, os achados desta tese contribuem para o avanço teórico dos estudos sobre efeito placebo em Marketing, uma vez que adicionam o país de origem como um elemento gerador deste tipo de efeito e, ao analisar a interação do país de origem com o fortalecimento das expectativas e o preço do produto, confirmam as bases conceituais sobre a relação entre esses elementos. Além disso, seus achados, em termos gerenciais, podem promover reflexões por parte das organizações que compõem o seu mix de produtos com bens importados e também que operaram no exterior e fazem investimentos externos diretos em diversas partes do mundo. / The placebo effect has its origin linked to studies related to medical and pharmacological sciences and basically consists in the ability of inert products to produce effects through its use or consumption. This effect became part of the Marketing scope in 2005 when studies showed the ability of pricing to generate changes on the performance of a product. The idea of the placebo effect triggered by product price is anchored on the fact that global beliefs, which associate low price to low quality products, anticipate consumer expectations about the response of the product and, from there, change its performance. Along the same line, the stereotype of the country of origin also presents itself as a global belief in that products from countries with negative stereotypes are associated with inferior and bad quality products. Thus, this research analyzed the occurrence of the placebo effect triggered by the country of origin of the product, also analyzing the interaction of the strength of expectations and of product price in the generation of this effect. For this purpose, three experimental studies were operationalized. The first study presented initial testings on the placebo effect generated by the country of origin and showed that the country of origin with negative stereotypes is able to generate a negative placebo effect on product performance. However, the occurrence of the placebo effect generated by positive stereotypes in the country of origin was not identified. In the second study, the placebo effect of the country of origin in a scenario of high and low expectations was analyzed. As a result, in a scenario of low expectations, the occurrence of a negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the country of origin was obtained. However, in a scenario of high expectations, results indicate that the strengthening of the expectations eliminated a negative placebo effect and in addition, promoted the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin. The last study observed the interaction of the country of origin and the price of the product upon the generation of the placebo effect. The results show that in a scenario of low price, there is a negative placebo effect generated by the country of origin with a negative stereotype, but the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin was not observed. However, in a scenario of high prices, there was no occurrence of a placebo effect, whether positive or negative. In other words, the high price of the product was able to cancel the negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the product, showing the capacity of the price to compensate for the negative effects caused by the country of origin with an unfavorable image. Based on this, this thesis’ findings contribute to the theoretical progress on the studies about the placebo effect in Marketing, once the country of origin is added as a generating element of this type of effect, and when analyzing the interaction of the country of origin with the strengthening of expectations and the price of the product, the conceptual foundations about the relationship between these elements are confirmed. Moreover, its findings in management terms can promote reflections by organizations that compose the product mix with imported goods and also that operate overseas and make foreign direct investments in various parts of the world.

This dissertation study examined the effect of country-of-origin (COO) fit on consumer brand attitude in cross-border strategic brand alliance (SBA). Also, this study investigated the effects of consumer product knowledge by dividing it into subjective and objective knowledge dimensions. It was found that cross-border SBA can be a viable market entry strategy for host and partner brands. Specifically, cross-border SBA creates positive synergistic effects when the COO fit is high. In addition, in a low COO fit situation, the partner brand suffering from less favorable country image would be able to benefit from the established brand equity of the host brand and thus gain favorable consumer product evaluation. Also, consumers with low and high product knowledge are more likely to be affected by COO fit information than those with moderate product knowledge. It was found that subjective knowledge is more related to consumer heuristics and decision making processes than objective knowledge. Implications and suggestions for future research in this area are provided. / text

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Place branding scholars and practitioners increasingly highlight the influence that corporate image can exert on the image of the country of origin (COI). Yet, there is remarkably little theoretical and empirical research on this influence. In this qualitative and quantitative study the researcher aims (1) to analyse whether corporate image affects COI; (2) to identify consumer-related and company-related factors that affect the influence of corporate image on COI; (3) to examine the influence of corporate image- (net valence and consistency) and corporate-related factors (number of corporate brands and accessibility) on COI; (4) to investigate the moderating effects of corporate familiarity, business familiarity and consumer ethnocentrism on the influence of corporate image-related factors on COI; and (5) to describe the COI not only in terms of lists of attributes, but also in terms of holistic impressions. This study focuses on the case of Spain and is based on empirical evidence provided by undertaking, firstly, in-depth interviews with 13 place branding experts and, secondly, a face-to-face survey of 300 British people aged 18 and over living in London or Greater London, selected using a multi-stage area sampling technique. The findings reveal (1) the statistically significant positive impact of corporate image on one dimension of COI (political beliefs); (2) six consumer-related (awareness of the corporate brand’s COO; power of the corporate brand image; strength of the corporate brand-country association; brand image fit; brand image unfit; strength of the industry-country association) and four company-related (extent to which the company plays up or down its COO; the company’s international and market visibility; the number of corporate brands operating in the market) factors that influence the impact of corporate image on COI; (3) that corporate image- and corporate-related factors explain collectively 10 per cent or over of variance in the affective dimensions of COI and a smaller proportion of variance in the cognitive dimensions of COI; (4) that business familiarity has a significant effect moderating the influence of net valence on COI; and (5) that tourism is the dominant element of the image that British people have of Spain. Theoretical (conceptual model, first study testing the influence of corporate image on COI) and managerial (guidelines for selecting corporate brands to be included in country branding campaigns) implications of these findings are considered, and finally, limitations of the study and future research directions are suggested.

<p>Research Question: What is it that determines if large companies in the same country and industry use their Country of Origin or not when they want to attract new customers abroad?</p><p>Purpose: Our purpose with this Minor Field Study is to find out if companies within the Brazilian textile industry are using their COO and identify which factors that determine why they use it or not. By analyzing these factors, if and why they are important or not, we can develop a model with the purpose to give companies an idea of how close they are from to being able to use their COO. </p><p>Method: We have worked with a qualitative research method where we interviewed two Brazilian companies, CI Hering and Karsten, which is working within the Brazilian textile industry.</p><p>Theoretical framework: Our theories are mainly concerning the subjects of branding, nation brands, COO and competitive identity. We have also studied the so called Nation Brands Index and its hexagon. We will use theories of nation branding and COO to illustrate their importance to a country’s international companies. </p><p>Empirical framework: This part will show the outcome of our interviews with Hering and Karsten but also present some data on the nation brand of Brazil and activities linked to it.</p><p>Conclusion: We have found that there are six factors that mainly determine if a company will use its COO when trying to attract new customers abroad, and how appropriate this will be. The six factors are: Strong identity/image, brand awareness, knowledge, consistent and strong nation brand, research and willingness. Our final conclusions are that international companies that want to manage their reputation can benefit from relating their identity to some of the aspects in the national identity of their country. Associating to your COO is a way of doing this that aligns your company´s image to the image of your home country.</p>

<p>Sverige är i ekonomiska sammanhang ett litet land, en begränsad hemmamarknad tvingar företag utomlands för att möjliggöra en expansion. Sverige är internationellt känt som en designnation och uttrycken ”Swedish Grace” samt ”Swedish Modern” har blivit synonymt med kvalitet, säkerhet och nytänkande. Problemet som denna uppsats ämnar att undersöka är i vilken utsträckning svenska design-</p><p>företag anpassar eller standardiserar svenskheten vid en utlandsetablering.</p><p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att med en jämförande studie utvärdera och analysera hur tre stycken små och ett stort svenskt designföretag väljer marknadsföringsstrategi</p><p>vid en utlandsetablering. Vi har ingående studerat dessa fyra företag och datainsamlingen har skett med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer med representanter från företagen.</p><p>Vår undersökning har visat att valet att anpassa eller standardisera svenskheten är kunskap- och erfarenhetsstyrt, men även beroende av företagets storlek. Skillnaderna vi sett mellan det stora och de mindre företagen kan följaktligen kopplas samman med ekonomiska förutsättningar samt deras erfarenhet från den nya marknaden.</p>

The incentive to investigate the origin of meat products and their related consumer atti-tudes have shown to be a serious and debated topic especially after receiving a lot of focus in media. The specific origin discussed in this thesis lies within the suggestion of introducing an EU origin marking or what also can be referred to as “Made in EU” labelling. During the investigation of whether this creates a negative or positive attitude many factors are needed to be considered. The nationalistic feelings that still exist within the member states is one of the major obstacles but also information and consumer awareness concerning what EU stand for. The focus is on Swedish consumers’ perspective and the effects of implementing “Made in EU” are considered solely on the Swedish market. The theoretical framework is constructed around the central concept of country of origin (COO) that can be noted as of key relevance when investigating consumer behaviour. An analysis model is also introduced to give a deeper understanding of the connections between findings and the theoretical concepts. The fundamental methodology that was cho-sen in order to investigate these attitudes was found to be through the use of focus groups. These were carried out in combination with a secondary data analysis for the clarification of knowledge concerning the topic. What results shown from this study and the connected conclusions can be summarised in a few lines. First, Swedish consumers had generally a negative attitude towards introducing this label. The reason was that the consumers on one hand could not associate the origin as EU at the same time as Swedish consumers prefer to buy Swedish meat which is related to the Swedish model. Secondly, the factors brought forward that were influencing the COO shows what the attitude consist of, for instance stereotypes and perception. Thirdly, this research has managed to bring together new findings, previous COO studies with theoretical concepts and thereby created knowledge about Swedish ethnocentrism and cultural and economical aspects the Swedish consumers use when evaluating meat. Finally, the research method and theoretical concepts can be applied to other areas such as different products or countries.