Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Tourism Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman

From branded exports to traveler imports: Building destination image

on the factory floor in South Korea
Jay Sang Ryu a, J.N. Patrick L'Espoir Decosta b, *, Mikael Ande
hn c
a
Texas Christian University, 2722 West Berry Street, Fort Worth, TX 76109, USA
b
Australian National University, 26 Kingsley Street, Acton 2601, ACT, Australia
c
Aalto University School of Business, P.O. Box 21210, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland

h i g h l i g h t s

The summative meaning from association to a country co-defines a country's image.

Destination achieves an extended commercial relevance by transcending commerciality of goods.

PCI affects tourists' decision to ultimately impact their visiting intentions to the country.

Proposes a path model that evaluates theoretical constructs of PCI with those of TDI, in reverse.

Past product purchasing is a significant indicator of visit intention to a country.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In international marketing, it is believed that a positive image of an exporting country positively in-
Received 19 February 2015 fluences consumer behavior toward products from that country. An emerging notion is that a reverse
Received in revised form effect may exist in which positive evaluations of products lead to equally positive image of the origin
8 July 2015
country. Based on a sample of 500 American purchasers of South Korean products the relationship be-
Accepted 11 July 2015
Available online xxx
tween product purchasing and intention to visit is explored using SEM in a model that links product
evaluation with an intention to visit. The study confirmed that consumers' willingness to interact with
South Korea based on past product purchasing was a significant indicator of their intentions to visit the
Keywords:
Product-country image
country.
Tourism-destination image © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Commercial relevance of place
Country-of-origin effect
Country brand image
Desired interaction
Visit intention

1. Introduction country-to-good has recently been called into question (White,

Country image constitutes a crucial factor in international
marketing, as notions, stereotypes and ideas about countries and
their products are a pervasive factor in consumer judgment and
decision making (Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009). The
implicit underlying assumption that the country-of-origin effect is
a relevant marketing phenomenon only in the direction of
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Jay.ryu@tcu.edu (J.S. Ryu), patrick.lespoirdecosta@anu.edu.au
(J.N.P. L'Espoir Decosta), mikael.andehn@aalto.fi (M. Ande hn).
2012). Indeed, country image not only affects the evaluation of
goods from a country. Goods, brands and services that are mar-
keted as having a particular origin in turn have an effect on the
image of the country with which they are associated (White,
2012).
The implication is that an oscillatory influence exists between
brands, products and services that goes beyond mere co-
dependence between brands. It therefore follows that the image
of products, services and brands associated with a particular
country is defined in part by the country's image (Bilkey & Nes,
1982; Keller, 1993; Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999). Similarly, a
country's image can be influenced by the aggregate image of the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.07.004
0261-5177/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309
products, services and brands associated with the country (White,
2012). The nature of place, in the phenomenological sense, is
therefore generally understood to be contingent upon the mean-
ing attributed to it (Tuan, 1977). The oscillatory mechanism
involved is derived from the notion that consumers arrive at a
summative value judgment, or attitude, through a subjective
weighting of the aggregate sum of associations relating to the
object they are evaluating (Keller, 1993). This summative value
judgment, or attitude (Ajzen, 2001; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977), is
never static; it remains in flux such that the dynamics of meaning
do not follow a linear transfer path but rather move as a
pendulum. In other words, the meaning derived from an associ-
ation to a country does not rest statically with, for instance, a
product, service or brand, but instead meshes with a pre-existing
meaning attributed to the object. This new summative meaning
then transfers back to become a co-defining element of the
country image.
At a superficial level, the oscillatory nature of meaning
through association sheds light on a co-dependence between
image and commerciality. Specialization and the formation of
clusters are a particularly relevant area in which an individual
firm and its image can have a significant impact on a country's
long-term economic development. This can often also be true at
the sub-national level, such as in provinces, states, cities and
regions. In the case of countries, it is perhaps more reasonable to
assume that the firms, products and brands perceived as being
from a particular country play a role in the formation of atti-
tudes toward the country as a whole, as well as in connection
with various aspects of its culture. In other words, place as-
sumes enhanced relevance by transcending commerciality of
goods to extend into service-related venues, one of which is
tourism.
This paper is consistent with White (2012) in questioning the
assumption that the country-of-origin effect in marketing is
pertinent only in the direction of country-to-good. Regardless of
the nature of the commercial activity involved, such as goods,
services, places, or persons, brand marketing connected with a
particular origin also exerts an influence on the image percep-
tion of the country with which it is associated (ibid), which is
also referred to as Product-Country Image (PCI). In other words,
the evaluation of commercial relevance based on the particular
country of origin also affects the country image and in turn
consumer behavior (cf. Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977; Keller, 1993). As
such, image provides information and knowledge cues to facili-
tate the decision making processes (Gertner & Kotler, 2002). This
paper postulates that in the case of tourists' decision making and
behavior, country image as expressed in PCI ultimately impacts
their intention to visit a destination. Succinctly, this study pro-
poses that any attempt to relate PCI with the image of a desti-
nation as perceived by tourists (Tourism Destination Image, or
TDI) requires the testing of a model that explicitly incorporates
attitudinal theoretical constructs for country images based on its
products to shed light on tourists' intentions to visit a place. In
that sense, through a survey that encompasses product evalua-
tion, the perception of country image and plans to visit South
Korea among Americans, this study bridges the gap revealed in
the literature to draw together the fields of PCI and TDI (see
Hankinson, 2004; Mossberg & Kleppe, 2005). It previses the
integrative models of Nadeau, Heslop, O'Reilly, and Luk (2008)
and of Elliot, Papadopoulos, and Kim (2010) with a path model
that engages the evaluation of theoretical constructs of PCI
pertaining to origin effects with those of TDI, in reverse. That is, it
299
ultimately integrates the various instances of the commercial
relevance of origin to place image.
2. Country image: expressing the commercial relevance of
place image
In marketing literature, country image has been operationalized
differently depending upon the context and scope of research. From
a general perspective, country image refers to consumers' overall
mental maps and opinions about a country based on the informa-
tion and associations attached to the country (Kotler, Haider, &
Rein, 1993). These country-specific knowledge structures and as-
sociations include “representative products, economic and political
maturity, historical events and relationships, traditions, industri-
alization and the degree of technological virtuosity” (Bannister &
Saunders, 1978, p. 562).
Naturally, when country image is considered in conjunction
with consumer products, the term reflects the relationship be-
tween a country and products from (or made in) that country
(Hooley, Shipley, & Krieger, 1988; Li, Fu, & Murray, 1998;
Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2002), or more accurately, a perceived
relationship between a product and a country (Magnusson,
Westjohn, & Zdravkovic, 2011). Consumers often evaluate the
quality of a product based on these countryeproduct associations
(Knight & Calantone, 2000; Laroche, Papadopoulos, Heslop, &
Mourali, 2005) and prefer products from a country that they
perceive favorably (van Ittersum, Candel, & Meulenberg, 2003).
Certainly, perceptions and generalizations made about a country
by relating products to the country serve to reinforce PCI. Ac-
cording to Nebenzahl, Jaffe, and Lampert (1997), PCI not only
provides people with images to support their evaluation of the
country's brands and products but also ultimately influences their
decisions on whether to purchase products from that country. In
order to embrace the multidimensionality and distinctiveness of
the country-image construct (Laroche et al., 2005; Zeugner-Roth &
Diamantopoulos, 2009), this reasoning should by extrapolation
also apply to the purchase of tourism products and offerings from
that country.
According to Nadeau et al. (2008), an explanation of the
possible effect of both product and country images on consumer
attitudes toward a country and its products is in fact embedded
within PCI theory. Read and dissected in reverse, the implication is
that product image influences country image. This can be
observed, for example, in the practice of fashion firms to connect
their brands to fashion-centered countries such as France and
Italy. Fashion firms use these countries' images as the epicenter of
style makers and trendsetters (Amine, 2008; Hauge, Malmberg, &
Power, 2009), reinforcing the notion of a reciprocal relationship
between country image and product image (Jansson & Power,
2010). This underscores the premise of this paper: while con-
sumers judge products and brands based on the name of their
country of origin, their perception of a country is also affected by
the image its products convey (White, 2012). For example, just as
“being South Korean” conveys a certain meaning to the Samsung
brand in the minds of consumers, the idea that Samsung is South
Korean also contributes to an understanding of the country of
South Korea.
A country image effect on consumer behavior has been a
common topic in marketing, but the term has not been consis-
tently defined (Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009). None-
theless, “place” is a conceptual construct of exploration that is
common to both PCI and TDI. Place is broadly defined here to
300 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309
refer to a geopolitical entity that includes country, state, province
and region. Place image as a concept is central to theories of
place branding and marketing; however, as Elliot et al. (2010)
note, its complexity and theoretical implications for both PCI
and TDI have not yet been fully circumscribed and thus require
further scrutiny. Given the premise in this study of the oscillatory
nature of the influences between the relevance of commerciality
(from goods to services) and image, the theoretical discussion
necessitates navigation between PCI and TDI through the initial
stage of product perception to the final effects (of image) on
attitude formation toward a place as expressed in behavior, such
as tourists' intention to visit. Furthermore, if the image of a place
has a significant influence on consumer behavior, the theoretical
shortcut between PCI and TDI should lie in attitude theory
(Nadeau et al., 2008). Papadopoulos, Heslop, and Bamossy
(1990), Parameswaran and Pisharodi (1994), Laroche et al.
(2005) and Zeugner-Roth and Diamantopoulos (2009) recognize
that consumer attitude is the most appropriate means to clarify
the operationalization of country image, as it serves to concep-
tualize and measure country image. While attitude is the com-
posite of cognitive, affective and conative responses to the object,
the first two independently affect the last (Liska, 1984). This
study defines and operationalizes country image as the sum-
mation of consumers' cognitive (beliefs) and affective
(emotional) responses (to PCI) toward a particular country, which
leads to certain behaviors regarding the country (conative
response), including the desire to interact with the country
through tourism.
2.1. Country brand image through products
Succinctly, consumers evaluate a product based on the factors
associated with the product (Szybillo & Jacoby, 1974), which leads
them to form a summative judgment (attitude) toward the
product; a judgment that ranges from good to bad or pleasant to
unpleasant (Ajzen, 2001). In the context of country-of-origin ef-
fect, a country functions as one important factor that helps con-
sumers form a judgment toward a product. To many, country
image affects consumers' evaluation of and attitudes toward
products from that country (e.g., Han, 1989; Laroche et al., 2005;
Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999; Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos,
2009). Amine (2008) claims that the impact of country image is
identified across different product categories, such as hedonic
(e.g., apparel) and utilitarian products (e.g., automobiles and cell
phones). However, because other countries can easily copy the
features of these products, brands are generally considered sig-
nificant means of product differentiation (Gertner & Kotler, 2002).
But, as Han and Terpstra (1988) assert, the influence of country
image on consumer product evaluation and attitude is often
greater than a brand name. It is logical to assume that firms,
products and brands that are perceived as constituents of a
particular country play a role in the formation of attitudes toward
the country as a whole in various contexts, including its desir-
ability as a tourist destination. This supports the emerging notion
that a reverse effect may exist in the relationship between prod-
uct- and country-image perceptions. That is, consumers' percep-
tion of a country's image may be influenced by their perception of
products from that particular country (Sun & Paswan, 2011;
White, 2012; Zevedo, 2004), and their perception of product
quality is a major determinant in shaping their image of the
country (Sun & Paswan, 2011). The reputation of product quality
or a company's craftsmanship expressed as constitutive
competitive assets in the combination of brand name and signif-
icance enhances the image of the country with which the brand,
product or company are associated (Loo & Davies, 2006) in an
increasing number of contexts (Aaker, 1991), including tourism
and travel. The implication is that a co-branding strategy exists
between a country and its products as an effective marketing
practice for brand positioning and communication of both the
country and its products in an increasingly competitive global
marketplace (Balabanis & Diamantopoulos, 2004; White, 2012).
This product-country co-branding phenomenon is part of a
conscious branding effort countries employ to attract, for
example, investment, skilled workers and tourists (Gertner &
Kotler, 2002). As tourism constitutes one of the most relevant
commercial activities in the contemporary global economy
(Ashley, De Brine, Lehr, & Wilde, 2007), branding a country as a
tourism destination (Zevedo, 2004) requires the destination im-
age to be constructed and conveyed, ultimately influencing
consumers' intentions to visit the place (Beerli & Martin, 2004;
Chen & Tsai, 2007; Kim & Richardson, 2003). In that sense,
proposing an evaluative model of these constitutive elements of
place branding (Anholt, 2004) requires an integrative approach
that reconciles the role played by the products of a particular
country, through the creation of a favorable country image, in
determining the attitude of potential tourists toward a destina-
tion (evaluation) as expressed in their travel plans. This study
relates American consumers' attitudes toward South Korean
products to their summative evaluation as expressed in their
intentions to visit the country. Based on the different levels
involved in the summative evaluation in consideration, the hy-
potheses drawn from the above discussion are developed in
phases.
2.2. Development of hypotheses
2.2.1. Product evaluation to product attitude
There is a general consensus that consumers form their atti-
tudes toward a product based on their evaluation of the product
in various contexts (Erickson, Johansson, & Chao, 1984; Manrai,
Lascu, & Manrai, 1998). Knight and Calantone (2000) found that
U.S. and Japanese consumers form favorable attitudes of a product
when they perceive it to be reliable and of good quality. Carter
(2009) reached a similar conclusion regarding U.S. consumers
by demonstrating a positive link between product evaluation and
product attitude. More recently, Lee, Lee, and Garrett (2013)
confirmed that consumers' satisfactory judgment on product
functionality leads to positive attitudes toward the product. In
view of the earlier theoretical discussion of a potential linkage
between consumers' attitudes toward a country's products and
their intention to visit that country based on their perception of
the country's image, this study proposes the following
hypothesis:
H1: Consumers' evaluation of South Korean products has a
positive impact on their attitude toward the country's products
and offerings.
2.2.2. Product evaluation to country image
White (2012) posited that consumers develop the image of a
country based on their evaluation of products from that country
and validated this proposition across a variety of product cate-
gories and countries with different levels of economic
 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309 301

development. Sun and Paswan (2011) found that the positive

relationship between product evaluation and country imaged-
people affect and desired interactiondwas supported in the case
of both hedonic products (backpacks) and utilitarian products
(color televisions) among U.S. consumers (a developed country)
and Chinese consumers (a developing country). Although their
study did not include country belief as a component of country
image, several researchers have established country image as a
composite of country belief, people affect, and desired interaction
(e.g., Heslop & Papadopoulos, 1993; Laroche et al., 2005;
Papadopoulos et al., 1990; Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos,
2009). Based on these theoretical arguments from extant litera-
ture, this paper postulates the following hypotheses:

H2a: Consumers' evaluation of South Korean products has a

positive impact on their beliefs toward South Korea.
H2b: Consumers' evaluation of South Korean products has a
positive impact on their affection toward the people of South Fig. 1. Proposed research model.
Korea.
H2c: Consumers' evaluation of South Korean products has a
positive impact on their desire to interact with South Korea.
country image:

2.2.3. Product attitude to country image
Consumer attitudes toward products from a specific country are
a significant determinant affecting the image of a country (Martin &
Eroglu, 1993). In a similar vein, consumer perceptions of a country's
brand image can be positively influenced by positive experience
with the country's cultural products (Jun & Cho, 2006). Kang and
Yang (2010) demonstrated that the reputation of South Korean
corporations enhances consumers' attitudes toward its products
and the country, indicating a possible positive relationship between
South Korea and its products (those made in South Korean factories
affiliated with South Korean corporation). There does not appear to
be any study that explicitly examines the relationship between
product attitude and country image, although there are references
in the literature to the fact that country image is comprised of
country belief, people affect, and desired interaction, providing a
basis for the following hypotheses:
H3a: Consumers' attitudes toward South Korean products have a
positive impact on their beliefs toward South Korea.
H3b: Consumers' attitudes toward South Korean products have
a positive impact on their affection toward the people of South
Korea.
H3c: Consumers' attitudes toward South Korean products
have a positive impact on their desire to interact with South
Korea.
2.2.4. Country belief and people affect to desired interaction
Many researchers have incorporated cognitive, affective, and
conative dimensions of attitude from attitude theory to explore
country belief, people affect, country image and desired interac-
tion with the country, respectively (Heslop & Papadopoulos, 1993;
Laroche et al., 2005; Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009).
Zeugner-Roth and Diamantopoulos (2009) posit that consumers'
beliefs and affection toward a country and its people indepen-
dently influence their desire to interact with attitude (Liska,
1984). By investigating Belgium consumers' perception of the
country images of Denmark and Spain, Brijs (2006) empirically
confirmed that there are positive causal paths linking country
belief and people affect to desired interaction. This paper ad-
vances the following hypotheses based on the preceding works
regarding the interrelationships among the three components of
H4: Consumers' beliefs toward South Korea have a positive
impact on their desire to interact with South Korea.
H5: Consumers' affection toward South Koreans has a positive
impact on their desire to interact with South Korea.
2.2.5. Desired interaction to intention to visit
According to Crompton (1979), consumers' need for social in-
teractions is a primary factor in their decision to become tourists.
Uysal and Jurowski (1994) confirm that consumers decide to visit a
particular destination in order to facilitate social interaction. More
recently, several researchers have established a positive relation-
ship between desired interaction and intention to visit a foreign
country in various tourism settings. Chen and Chen (2011) argue
that a desire to interact with local people and cultures motivate
consumers to participate in international volunteer tourism. Simi-
larly, when selecting a foreign country for study abroad, students
place significant emphasis on social factors, such as interacting
with people in the host country and learning about its culture
(Nyaupane, Paris, & Teye, 2011). In light of these findings, this paper
subsequently posits:
H6: Consumers' desire to interact with South Korea has a posi-
tive impact on their intention to visit South Korea.
Fig. 1 presents the proposed research model illustrating the
causal relationships among constructs of interest to this study.
3. Method
3.1. Measures
The survey instrument that was employed to assess the pro-
posed model in this study is comprised of three sections (see ap-
pendix 1). The first measures how consumers perceive the image of
South Korean products in general. Several researchers have justi-
fied adopting a “global” evaluation of general products rather than
specific products or brands from a particular country (Crawford &
Garland, 1988; Laroche et al., 2005). A three-item semantic differ-
ential scale used in Bluemelhuber, Carter & Lambe's study (2007)
was adapted to examine consumers' attitudes toward South
Korean products, and consumers' evaluations of South Korean
302 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309
products were measured by six items adapted from the previous
study (Klein, Ettenson, & Morris, 1998). The measurement used the
seven-point Likert scale, with responses ranging from “strongly
disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (7).
The second section measured how consumers perceive the im-
age of South Korea. Laroche et al. (2005) approached country image
through consumers' cognitive, affective, and conative perceptions
toward the country. These perceptions were reflected in con-
sumers' country beliefs (cognitive), people affection (affective), and
desired interactions (conative) and were measured through three
semantic differential scales, each consisting of three items, also
using the Likert scale.
The last section of the survey included two items to examine
consumers' intention to visit South Korea using the Likert scale,
adapted from a behavioral intention study by Davis, Bagozzi, and
Warshaw (1989). The demographic information of survey partici-
pants was also collected in this section.
3.2. Sampling and data collection
This study collected data through an online survey from a con-
sumer panel of an online research firm. The survey participants
were U.S. male and female consumers aged 18 years and above, and
the sample size was set at 500. Korean-Americans were excluded
from the sampling to avoid any favorable bias toward South Korea
and its products. In addition, incomplete surveys were excluded,
which explains the fact that no missing data has been identified in
the results. The sample consisted of 311 females and 189 males with
a mean age of 46.5. Various sample size testing methods were
referenced to assess the adequacy of the sample size. Siddiqui
(2013) & Stevens (2002) recommended 15 cases per indicator as
a cutoff sample size. Westland (2010) suggested the following
equation: n  50r2 e 450r þ 1100, where n is sample size and r is
the ratio of indicators to latent variables, to identify the minimum
sample size. The sample size of 500 in the present study satisfies
the lower sample size threshold for structural equation modeling
(Westland, 2010).
3.3. Analysis
This study used Cronbach's alpha to evaluate the internal reli-
ability of scale items and computed the correlations and descriptive
statistics of each construct. The data met the requirements of
normality (see appendix 2), and a full review of inter-correlations
among measurement items is available in appendix 3. A two-step
approach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) was
employed to evaluate (1) the reliability and validity of the mea-
surement model with a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA); and (2)
the proposed research model illustrating the hypothesized re-
lationships among constructs with the structural equation
modeling (SEM) technique. The overall suitability of the model was
assessed by Kline's (2005) recommendation, which includes Chi-
square (c2), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA),
Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Standardized RMR (SRMR). SPSS
18.0 and LISREL 8.80 were used for the analysis.
4. Results
4.1. Measurement model testing
The reliability and validity of the measurement model were
tested using a confirmatory factor analysis. One item from the
product evaluation scale was excluded from the analysis due to a
low squared multiple correlation (Hooper, Coughlan, & Mullen,
2008). The fit statistics met the suggested cutoff values (Hu &
Bentler, 1999; Steiger, 2007) and confirmed an excellent model
fit: c2 ¼ 394.24 with 137 df at p-value < 0.001; RMSEA of 0.063;
CFI of 0.99; and SRMR of 0.32. Cronbach's alpha for each construct
was in the range of 0.89e0.98, and factor loadings ranged from
0.73 to 0.98 with p-values < 0.001. The composite reliability (CR)
ranged from 0.89 to 0.98, and the average variance extracted (AVE)
ranged from 0.73 to 0.95. The results of the measurement model
and descriptive statistics are presented in Tables 1 and 2,
respectively.
4.2. Structural model and hypothesis testing
Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to evaluate
the proposed research model and hypotheses. The overall fit
indices suggested a good model fit: c2 ¼ 470.53 with 142 df at p-
value < 0.001; RMSEA of 0.069; CFI of 0.99; and SRMR of 0.052
(see Fig. 2). All proposed paths in the research model were sta-
tistically significant. The standardized path coefficients are shown
in Table 3.
Consumer evaluation of South Korean products had a positive
impact on consumer attitudes toward the products, supporting
Hypothesis 1 (b ¼ 0.71, p < 0.001). It also positively affected con-
sumer beliefs toward South Korea, supporting H2a (b ¼ 0.62,
p < 0.001), consumer affection toward its people, supporting H2b
(b ¼ 0.41, p < 0.001), and consumer desire to interact with the
country, supporting H2c (b ¼ 0.13, p < 0.01).
With regard to the relationship between consumer attitudes
toward the product and the country image, the results sup-
ported the hypothesized relationships. Consumer attitude to-
ward South Korean products had a positive impact on consumer
beliefs toward South Korea (H3a: g ¼ 0.14, p < 0.001), consumer
affection toward its people (H3b: g ¼ 0.37, p < 0.001) and
consumer desire to interact with the country (H3c: g ¼ 0.18,
p < 0.001).
Both consumer beliefs toward South Korea and consumer
affection toward South Koreans increased their desire to interact
with the country. Thus, H4 (g ¼ 0.21, p < 0.001) and H5
(g ¼ 0.47, p < 0.001) were supported respectively. Lastly, con-
sumer desire to interact with South Korea positively affected
their intention to visit the country. Thus, H6 was supported
(g ¼ 0.68, p < 0.001).
5. Discussion
5.1. From positive attitude to products to intention to visit
Countries create, maintain, and enhance their images through
various resources. Such resources include countries' inherited and
natural assets (e.g., beautiful scenery, rich culture and traditions, or
favorable weather) or man-made assets (e.g., products, events,
people, or technologies) (Kotler et al. 1993). While early studies on
country image centered more on inherited and natural assets, the
focus of recent studies has shifted to man-made assets (Kang &
Yang, 2010; Lee, Toth, & Shin, 2008; Sun & Paswan, 2011; White,
2012).
The present research conceptualized country image as con-
sumers' cognitive and affective responses toward a particular
country, which lead to their desired interaction with the country
(Laroche et al., 2005; Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009). It
 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309 303

Table 1
Measurement model results.

Constructs and items Factor loadinga Critical ratio

Product Attitude (Cronbach's a ¼ 0.98; CRb ¼ 0.98; AVEc ¼ 0.95)

Negative e Positive 0.97 29.86
Unfavorable e Favorable 0.98 30.25
Bad e Good 0.97 29.78
Product Evaluation (Cronbach's a ¼ 0.93; CR ¼ 0.93; AVE ¼ 0.73)
Carefully produced and have fine workmanship 0.90 25.67
A very clever use of color and design 0.73 18.74
A very high degree of technological advancement 0.88 24.76
Usually quite reliable and seem to last the desired length of time 0.89 24.98
Are usually a good value for the money 0.86 23.79
Country Belief (Cronbach's a ¼ 0.89; CR ¼ 0.89; AVE ¼ 0.74)
Poor e Rich 0.74 18.86
Low level of education e High level of education 0.91 25.73
Not technically advanced e Technically advanced 0.91 25.49
People Affect (Cronbach's a ¼ 0.90; CR ¼ 0.90; AVE ¼ 0.76)
Not trustworthy e Trustworthy 0.91 26.11
Not hard working e Hard working 0.77 20.03
Not likeable e Likable 0.93 26.87
Desired Interaction (Cronbach's a ¼ 0.91; CR ¼ 0.91; AVE ¼ 0.78)
We (should not e should) have closer ties with South Korea 0.86 23.91
South Korea is (not ideal e ideal) country 0.87 24.11
I (would not e would) welcome more investment from South Korea 0.91 26.23
Visit Intention (Cronbach's a ¼ 0.97; CR ¼ 0.97; AVE ¼ 0.94)
I like the idea of visiting South Korea 0.98 29.57
If possible, I would visit South Korea 0.96 28.60

The model fit indices: c2 ¼ 394.24 (df ¼ 137), p-value < 0.001; RMSEA ¼ 0.063; CFI ¼ 0.99; SRMR ¼ 0.032.
a
Standardized solution; all significant at 0.001.
b
Composite reliability.
c
Average variance extracted.

Table 2 various products and countries). When consumers evaluated

Correlation matrix and descriptive statistics. South Korean products positively, they displayed favorable beliefs
(n ¼ 500) toward South Korea's economic and technological advancement
PA PE CB PEA DI VI Ma SDb
and educational level (country belief). Likewise, consumers'
positive evaluations of South Korean products led them to form an
Product attitude (PA) 1 4.58 1.38
affection toward South Koreans (people affect) and to view the
Product evaluation (PE) 0.67 1 4.41 1.02
Country belief (CB) 0.56 0.66 1 4.27 1.19 country as good, including as a strategic partner (desired
People affect (PEA) 0.61 0.61 0.62 1 4.79 1.16 interaction).
Desired interaction (DI) 0.65 0.64 0.66 0.74 1 4.26 1.29 As proposed, consumers' attitudes toward South Korean prod-
Visit intention (VI) 0.53 0.54 0.48 0.46 0.64 1 3.65 1.78
ucts were positively related to:
All correlations significant at the 0.01 level.
a
Mean. (i) Their beliefs about South Korea;
b
Standard deviation.
(ii) Affection toward its people; and
(iii) Desire to interact with the country.

proposed that products contribute to the creation of the image of a
country with which the products are associated and that the
country's image positively impacts consumers' intention to visit the
country. Ten hypotheses were sequentially proposed to examine
these relationships, all of which were supported by the research
findings.
Consumers' evaluation of the quality, design and value of
South Korean products positively affected their attitudes toward
the products, and even the affection that consumers feel toward
the country in general can similarly influence their attitudes
(Chen, Mathur, & Maheswaran, 2014). This outcome was consis-
tent with previous studies that demonstrated the positive asso-
ciation between consumers' product evaluations and product
attitudes (Carter, 2009; Knight & Calantone, 2000; Lee et al.,
2013). This study's findings are also similar to those of Sun and
Paswan (2011) and White (2012), which established a positive
association between product evaluation and country image (with
These outcomes were parallel to the findings of prior studies
showing that consumers' attitudes toward a country's products
are an important determinant of consumers' attitude formation
toward country image (Jun & Cho, 2006; Martin & Eroglu,
1993).
With regard to the interactions among components of
country image, this research supported the two-component
view of country image; i.e., that consumer belief about a
country and affection toward its people both influence con-
sumers' desire to interact with the country (Brijs, 2006;
Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009). This study found con-
sumers to be more willing to interact with South Korea when
they believed the country to be economically and technologi-
cally advanced and its people to be well-educated, trustworthy,
diligent and likable.
It is thereby confirmed that consumers' willingness to
interact with South Korea serves as a significant indicator of
304 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309

Fig. 2. Structural model with hypotheses testing.

Table 3
Hypothesis testing results.

Hypothesis Coefficient S.E.a C.Rb Result

H1 Product evaluation / Product attitude 0.71*** 0.043 16.52 Supported

H2a Product evaluation / Country belief 0.62*** 0.059 10.40 Supported
H2b Product evaluation / People affect 0.41*** 0.052 7.81 Supported
H2b Product evaluation / Desired interaction 0.13** 0.056 2.33 Supported
H3a Product attitude / Country belief 0.14*** 0.052 2.71 Supported
H3b Product attitude / People affect 0.37*** 0.037 7.21 Supported
H3c Product attitude / Desired interaction 0.18*** 0.045 3.94 Supported
H4 Country belief / Desired interaction 0.21*** 0.046 4.51 Supported
H5 People affect / Desired interaction 0.47*** 0.046 10.22 Supported
H6 Desired interaction / Visit intention 0.68*** 0.040 16.88 Supported

The model fit indices: c2 ¼ 470.53(df ¼ 142), p-value < 0.001; RMSEA ¼ 0.069; CFI ¼ 0.99; SRMR ¼ 0.052.
**
Significant at 0.01 level; *** Significant at 0.001 level.
a
Standard error.
b
Critical ratio.

their intention to visit the country. This outcome was expected,
as the direct correlation between a desired interaction with a
country and an intention to visit it has already been estab-
lished in various contexts (Chen & Chen, 2011; Nyaupane et al.,
2011).
By situating the sequence in which a country like South Korea
uses products as antecedents to ultimately become a desirable
tourist destination, this study complements Nadeau et al. (2008),
who failed to emphasize the importance of the sequence
involved from product evaluation to image creation and the
intention to visit. In the data presented herein, the predictive
strength of the exogenous construct of “product evaluation” is
high. The effects of reported quality evaluation and attitudes are
significant to the extent that the connection (in this study) from
the initial independent variable can be traced through several
mediating steps (including product image, country image
formation, etc.) all the way to the intention to visit as the
outcome variable. For historical reasons, South Korea constitutes
a unique representation of how a country's image creation is
initially driven by an evaluation of the quality of its products and
brands to ultimately create a country of origin effect on the
intention to perceive the country as a tourist destination. Linking
back to the notion that associations determine the nature of a
place, associations to the country image of South Korea based on
exposure to products and brands related to the country influence
how South Korea is viewed as a destination. At the same time,
the idea of South Korea as a tourist destination affects how its
products and brands are perceived, thereby creating a sustained
oscillation of meaning between these two dimensions of com-
mercial relevance in which the country image of South Korea
manifests itself.
It should be noted that, although South Korea arguably owes its
 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309
positive reputation primarily to its success as an exporter and
secondarily as a tourist destination, the method employed here
cannot account for the historical sequence in which this tran-
spired; it merely links these two aspects. A strong case can be
made that South Korea's industrial success in exports from factory
floors indeed preceded the subsequent increase in the country's
visibility that contributed to its burgeoning success as a tourist
destination.
Essentially, the outcome (intention to visit) is the result of
meaning valence multiplied by meaning intensity (meaning
valence x meaning intensity ¼ visit intention). In other words, there
is a multiple threshold that combines product visibility with
product meaning to ultimately influence the visiting intention
outcome. Presentation of the product affects the visibility of the
country to eventually impact intention to visit the country through
the creation and attribution of meaning to the country. It is
fundamentally a country-of-origin effect working in reverse (in-
verse as used by White, 2012).
6. Final considerations
The present research has significant theoretical implications, as
it clearly confirms the proposed model. In international market-
ing, the image of a country is assumed to influence consumer
behavior toward products from that country. An emerging notion
of a country image-product relationship posits that a reverse ef-
fect exists in which products affect country image (Loo & Davies,
2006; Sun & Paswan, 2011; White, 2012). However, this reverse
relationship remains an understudied research topic that requires
additional empirical support to receive scholarly attention in the
field of international marketing. The findings in this study suggest
that international marketing and tourism marketing scholars
could benefit from diversifying their approaches to more broadly
consider the interrelation among various aspects of a destination's
commercial relevance, including country-of-origin effect and
country image effects on destination branding.
Though the construct of country image has been a frequent
subject of debate (Zeugner-Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009),
there is nevertheless some agreement that attitude theory
provides an appropriate theoretical foundation through which
it can be assessed (Parameswaran & Pisharodi, 1994; Zeugner-
Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009). By providing empirical evi-
dence for the two-component view of country image (PCI and
TDI) based on attitude theory, this study adds value to the
extant literature on country image constructs and contributes
to the expansion of this research area in international and
tourism marketing.
Country image in the context of international marketing and
tourism forms two research domains that have been examined
independently (Nadeau et al., 2008). However, some researchers
have argued that these two domains are inter-related (Mossberg &
Kleppe, 2005), as product-based country image (PCI) contributes
to the creation of tourism-based country image (TDI), and attitude
theory serves as a theoretical foundation to merge both country
image concepts (Nadeau et al., 2008). By empirically demon-
strating that product-based country image has a positive impact
on country image, which in turn makes it more likely for con-
sumers to visit the country, this study supports the notion that
country image in international marketing and tourism contexts
are linked. Tourism and destination marketers and managers
should be cognizant of this characteristic of country image and
could benefit from integrating the various aspects of the
305
commercial relevance of place in their international promotion
and marketing campaigns, thereby acknowledging the significance
of the “oscillating” path between origin effects and destination
image. This paper strives to bridge the gap between the existing
literatures in these two domains.
Since this research demonstrates that products have positive
impacts on consumers' perceptions toward country image, policy
makers would be well-served to cultivate country image and
reputation through product image. This finding has practical im-
plications for how a country should utilize its industries to enhance
a country's image and its competitiveness, particularly in the
tourism industry. With globalization, products travel around the
world in the form of imports and exports, and the country image
attached to these products travels along with them and is trans-
ferred to the products' end users. An increasingly global pool of
consumers who are impressed by products of high quality and
superior design from a specific country have the potential to
become visitors to that country. Therefore, a co-branding strategy
between a country's manufacturing and tourism industries would
be a mutually beneficial partnership. On the smaller scale of regions
or cities, an inverse effect of products on places can be applied as
well. Policy makers could develop and market region- or city-
specific indigenous products or industry clusters to attract inter-
national visitors who wish to have product- or industry-related
experiences.
7. Limitations and future research
Consumers' attitude toward a country's products may vary
depending on product categories. For example, South Korean car
brands are perceived less favorably than their competitors from
Europe and Japan. However, consumers have a positive image of
South Korea as a producer of innovative and high-quality smart
phones and electronic goods due to industry leaders such as
Samsung and LG (Schultz & Maguire, 2013). Although the use of
general products in this research has been justified by a group of
scholars (Laroche et al., 2005), future research could approach the
same topic with a focus on specific products in order to overcome
the perceptual discrepancies consumers may hold toward different
products from the same country. This could also serve to demon-
strate how this issue pertains to the development of a country's
image.
The central issue of this paper is essentially the question of
whether successful exports create a path to visibility for the
country. Alternatively, do certain industries linked to particular
product categories actually drive TDI? It could be beneficial to take
these questions further to examine whether certain country images
that are driven by perceptions about their exports would take
different forms in different cultural and developmental contexts. If
so, is there a divergence in the effects on consumers' intentions to
visit those destinations based on those contexts? In that perspec-
tive, the outcome of this study would benefit from an extended
qualitative foray into the implications of the relationship between
psychographic characteristics and destination types, with an
emphasis on a broader theoretical underpinning. Finally, on a
general level there are opportunities to further examine cross-
pollination between the various academic sub-disciplines con-
cerned with the forms of the commercial relevance of place,
including origin effect research, place branding, tourism and public
diplomacy. The type of lateral interaction between these areas, such
as those discussed in this study, could certainly provide viable
advances across these fields.
Appendix 1
Appendix 2. Descriptive statistics, skewness and kurtosis of measurement items.

PA1 PA2 PA3 PE1 PE2 PE3 PE4 PE5 CB1 CB2 CB3 PEA1 PEA2 PEA3 DI1 DI2 DI3 VI1 VI2

N Valid 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500
Missing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mean 4.61 4.56 4.57 4.33 4.44 4.38 4.36 4.51 3.80 4.42 4.59 4.55 5.09 4.73 4.46 4.02 4.30 3.64 3.67
Std. deviation 1.375 1.439 1.405 1.170 1.088 1.225 1.137 1.133 1.267 1.367 1.310 1.269 1.243 1.301 1.435 1.323 1.430 1.759 1.858
Skewness 0.111 0.163 0.185 0.065 0.380 0.083 0.033 0.065 0.008 0.141 0.088 0.124 0.280 0.165 0.205 0.172 0.167 0.009 0.043

J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309

Std. error of skewness 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109
Kurtosis 0.089 0.094 0.032 0.866 1.183 0.638 1.110 0.668 0.384 0.116 0.101 0.372 0.141 0.204 0.122 0.411 0.219 0.860 0.975
Std. error of kurtosis 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218 0.218

Appendix 3. Covariance matrix.

PA1 PA2 PA3 PE1 PE2 PE3 PE4 PE5 CB1 CB2 CB3 PEA1 PEA2 PEA3 DI1 DI2 DI3 VI1 VI2

PA1 1.89
PA2 1.88 2.07
PA3 1.82 1.92 1.97
PE1 1.08 1.11 1.12 1.37
PE2 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.83 1.18
PE3 0.98 1.00 1.00 1.13 0.89 1.50
PE4 0.95 0.98 0.99 1.08 0.75 1.08 1.29
PE5 0.89 0.93 0.93 1.00 0.83 1.04 1.01 1.28
CB1 0.83 0.87 0.85 0.80 0.57 0.85 0.69 0.68 1.61
CB2 0.94 0.97 0.98 0.83 0.62 0.95 0.81 0.81 1.18 1.87
CB3 0.90 0.94 0.94 0.89 0.69 1.06 0.85 0.85 1.06 1.49 1.72
PEA1 1.07 1.10 1.08 0.85 0.69 0.85 0.74 0.73 0.82 0.98 0.91 1.61
PEA2 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.66 0.54 0.69 0.61 0.66 0.51 0.85 0.89 1.07 1.54
PEA3 1.10 1.12 1.11 0.89 0.66 0.83 0.76 0.73 0.77 1.00 0.97 1.40 1.20 1.69
DI1 1.14 1.17 1.15 0.91 0.70 0.90 0.81 0.83 0.91 0.99 0.97 1.25 0.98 1.22 2.06
DI2 1.09 1.11 1.11 0.89 0.66 0.87 0.77 0.77 1.02 1.08 0.95 1.11 0.79 1.09 1.41 1.75
DI3 1.21 1.27 1.22 1.01 0.73 1.04 0.87 0.87 1.04 1.11 1.06 1.29 0.97 1.23 1.64 1.50 2.05
VI1 1.27 1.26 1.27 1.04 0.86 1.07 0.92 0.92 1.02 1.04 0.95 1.06 0.71 1.02 1.43 1.42 1.51 3.09
VI2 1.33 1.32 1.34 1.07 0.88 1.11 0.95 0.95 1.05 1.07 1.01 1.12 0.72 1.06 1.49 1.45 1.57 3.09 3.45

307
308 J.S. Ryu et al. / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 298e309

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sumer behavior.

L'Espxoir Decosta, J.N. Patrick, Ph.D is a senior lecturer at

the Australian National University in the Research School