A meta-analysis of the antecedents and outcomes of consumer foreign country image perceptions: The moderating role of macro-level country differences

We propose a conceptual model of the key antecedents and outcomes of consumer perceptions of the two components of foreign country image (CI), namely, general country image (GCI) and product country image (PCI), which we meta-analytically tested with input derived from 253 studies included in 176 empirical articles published in the last five decades. Our meta-analysis revealed that both GCI and PCI were positively influenced by foreign brand-, product-, and country-familiarity. Both GCI and PCI were negatively driven by consumer ethnocentrism and animosity, while patriotism generated a negative effect on PCI, but not on GCI. Consumer demographics rarely exhibited a significant association with each of these two image dimensions, with the exception of education that positively affected PCI and income that positively impacted GCI. GCI exhibited a positive effect on PCI perceptions, while both of them had a strong positive impact on evaluation, attitude, and purchase intention associated with foreign products. With a few exceptions, the previous construct associations were moderated by differences between reference and focal countries with regard to their level of economic development, degree of innovativeness, level of industrial performance, and degree of political risk. Finally, study-related time period, focal fieldwork country, and product involvement type exhibited strong control effects.