Purpose - Literature on country of origin effect has mostly focused on the effect a country has on the consumers’ perceived quality of local products. However, there are many cases in which product image might be considered much stronger than Country image, that being a potential resource that could be exploited for economic growth. Thus our research tries to shed light on the potential influence of local products on the economic development of a territorial area. Finally our study shows that local products perceived as being of high quality, have a great impact on country image for tourism or business opportunities, above all when scarce information on the product area is available to consumers. Design/methodology/approach - The conceptual framework above presented was tested in Irpinia, a little area in Southern Italy, well known for its local production of typical food and wines. Our research goals were to discover and analyze those factors that may influence country perception related to the consumption of local products. On this basis, our unit of analysis was composed by people hosted by tourist facilities (hotel, restaurants, etc,) located in Irpinia. Research method is mainly quantitative: data collection was performed by mean of a semi-structured questionnaire; interviewees were selected through not probability sampling procedure, whereas data analysis, performed through SPSS software, involved multivariate techniques. Findings - By giving reasons why tourists chose Irpinia (area or products), the research shows that there could be a dyadic association between country of origin and product image. Practical implications - The paper provides, through a literature review and an empirical study, an innovative marketing and communication tool regarding both product/brand tactics and the improvement of tourism and territorial business opportunities. Originality/value - While most literature focuses on the effects of country of origin effect over perceived product quality, the study proposes to use local products as marketing and communication tools to promote the area. The paper also highlights the dyadic relationship between product/brand and country of origin. These considerations allow the paper, with an adaptation of the initial framework, to provide academic and practical suggestions in operative marketing and communication regarding product/brand and territorial touristic development
Local products as a key for economic development drive by tourism: a case study research in Irpinia
ADDEO, FELICE;
2010-01-01
Abstract
Purpose - Literature on country of origin effect has mostly focused on the effect a country has on the consumers’ perceived quality of local products. However, there are many cases in which product image might be considered much stronger than Country image, that being a potential resource that could be exploited for economic growth. Thus our research tries to shed light on the potential influence of local products on the economic development of a territorial area. Finally our study shows that local products perceived as being of high quality, have a great impact on country image for tourism or business opportunities, above all when scarce information on the product area is available to consumers. Design/methodology/approach - The conceptual framework above presented was tested in Irpinia, a little area in Southern Italy, well known for its local production of typical food and wines. Our research goals were to discover and analyze those factors that may influence country perception related to the consumption of local products. On this basis, our unit of analysis was composed by people hosted by tourist facilities (hotel, restaurants, etc,) located in Irpinia. Research method is mainly quantitative: data collection was performed by mean of a semi-structured questionnaire; interviewees were selected through not probability sampling procedure, whereas data analysis, performed through SPSS software, involved multivariate techniques. Findings - By giving reasons why tourists chose Irpinia (area or products), the research shows that there could be a dyadic association between country of origin and product image. Practical implications - The paper provides, through a literature review and an empirical study, an innovative marketing and communication tool regarding both product/brand tactics and the improvement of tourism and territorial business opportunities. Originality/value - While most literature focuses on the effects of country of origin effect over perceived product quality, the study proposes to use local products as marketing and communication tools to promote the area. The paper also highlights the dyadic relationship between product/brand and country of origin. These considerations allow the paper, with an adaptation of the initial framework, to provide academic and practical suggestions in operative marketing and communication regarding product/brand and territorial touristic developmentI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
