Country of Origin effect in Indian consumers on mobile handsets

origination from China. – Prakhash R

The Country-of-Origin effect in international marketing is a phenomenon in which consumers prefer

products that originate from a certain country. This preference is based on perceived quality and
brand loyalty; for example, consumers may associate certain countries with quality products or may
be loyal to a particular brand that originates from that country.

Indians generally perceive Chinese handsets with a mix of skepticism and curiosity. Many Indian
consumers are aware that Chinese handsets offer good value for money and are often the first to try
out the latest innovations in technology. However, there is also a degree of wariness due to the
perception that Chinese handsets may be of lower quality or contain security flaws.

There are several factors that contribute to Indians preferring to buy Chinese mobile handsets over
those from other countries. Firstly, Chinese mobile handsets are usually more affordable than other
brands. This is because Chinese manufacturers are able to keep their production costs low due to
economies of scale and their access to low-cost labor. Secondly, Chinese mobile handsets often offer
superior features and technology compared to their counterparts from other countries. Lastly,
Chinese mobile handsets are often backed by good customer support and after-sales services, which
adds to the overall customer experience.

And there are also several other reasons why Indians may not prefer to buy Chinese mobile handsets
over handsets from other brands originating from different countries. Firstly, Chinese mobile
handsets have a reputation for being unreliable, as many of them are seen as low-quality and prone
to breaking. Secondly, there is a growing concern about data and privacy with Chinese mobile
handsets, as the data collected from these phones could potentially be shared with the Chinese
government. Finally, there is a growing sentiment in India against Chinese products due to the
recent border disputes between the two countries, which has led to the boycott of Chinese
products.

Country of Origin effect in Indian consumers on mobile handsets

origination from USA. – Suneha

The impact of the rapid growth of smartphone users has led to increasingly fierce competition in the
smartphone industry in recent years and made all smartphone companies try to build and maintain
loyalty. In this case, the company does not only require to be able to provide a variety of values or
benefits in order to make consumers choose a particular brand of mobile phone, but the company
must also continue to make various efforts to build customer satisfaction to create loyalty toward
their products.

We will try to understand Country of Origin Effect of American Mobile Handset with an example of
iPhone. iPhone is one of the many respected smartphone manufacturers today. This American
company controls most of the market share in the world. As in [3] Gartner research institute in 2018,
the iPhone recorded 14.1% market share, Samsung 20.5%, Huawei 10.5%, Xiomei 7.5% and Oppo
7.4% and in 2019 decreased to third followed by Huawei with the market share 15.8 while the
iPhone 10.5 and this must be considered by Apple as the iPhone manufacturer.

Country of origin is the country where the company is associated. The influence of country of origin
on Indian’s Brand Perception is interesting to be studied because consciously country of origin
influences the public's view of product quality. Smartphone manufacturers today can easily copy all
aspects of their competitors such as product quality, price fairness and quality of service. However,
the existence of a country of origin label that cannot be copied by other producers will create a
strength point in terms of product marketing because it will create a strong brand image. Indian
consumers have a culture that is more concerned with the country of origin of a product rather than
quality or other things while others were not concerned about it. The culture of consuming such
products can benefit Apple in term of brand image of iPhone products.

USA’a image in Indian marketing perspective can be defined at three levels: 1. overall country image
is the overall beliefs, ideas and impressions of USA as a result of consumer evaluations of their
perceptions about the strengths and weaknesses of the country. 2. Aggregate product country image
is the overall cognitive feeling associated with the product of USA. 3. Specific product country image
is the overall cognitive feeling associated with the product specifications of USA. Country of Origin
indicators according to Indians are country innovation that produced product, technological
advancements from USA, production design, production quality, and brand image. COO is related to
the quality of the product itself. Consumers use the COO to be the standard quality of a product
before the product / service is purchased by consumers. Thus, it creates brand image of these
products.

Based on the research, it is known that country of origin had significant positive effect on brand
image. That is, the better the country of origin of a product will further enhance the brand image of
a product in the eyes of consumers. This means that the better the consumer's assessment of the
country of origin, the better the brand image as seen by consumers of iPhone

Country of Origin effect in Indian consumers on mobile handsets

origination from Korea. – Prachi

When making a purchase, consumers consider both external (such as brand, price, and COO) and
intrinsic (such as taste, design, or ingredients) cues. When consumers are more invested in a
particular product category (such as when purchasing a smartphone), they are more likely to be
choosy with their choice of cues and to substantially rely on those signals. In these situations, COO is
one of the most frequently chosen extrinsic cues by consumers. As a result, COO may play a
significant role in influencing consumers' decisions to purchase imported smartphones. When
consumers encounter foreign brands, COO may significantly influence both their purchasing
behaviour and their relationship with a particular brand.
India's relationship with Korean brands dates back to the 1990s generation. Although Futurebrand
ranks South Korea 49th overall for its overall country brand in terms of business, politics,
and tourism, it has risen to the top 10 list of nations from which to purchase manufactured
goods thanks to Korean companies like Samsung and LG. The Korean Wave (Hallyu), a
term used to characterise the emergence of Korean popular culture, has also contributed to
strengthening Korea's nation of origin effect in India. When electronic businesses like Samsung
and LG first entered the market and gained levels of notoriety that even a few domestic brands have
found challenging to match. It was just a matter of time before social media, e-commerce, and now
OTT, all developed. The three main factors behind the Hallyu Wave in India were KDramas, KPop,
and KBeauty, which have shaped Indian consumers' perceptions of Korean brands in terms of
quality, technology, and affordability. These effects are evident when the above said criterias are
considered by the customers when purchasing mobile devices.

Owners of mobile phones from India place a great deal of importance on a variety of product,
qualities such as the operating system, memory capacity, brand name, pricing, and technical
specifications which they find synonymous with Korean technology and trust their mobile phones.
Alon with this brand recognition and design have eventually become the two most essential aspects
that influence consumers' final decisions when purchasing South Korean mobile phones.

The major Korean mobile hand set player, Samsung (Mobile) has been named as the 'most desired
brand' by TRA Research. Samsung is preferred by Indian consumers because of company’s People-to-
people connections based on shared cultural experiences. As said by Asim Warsi, senior vice
president, mobile business, Samsung India  “Our philosophy of keeping our ear to the ground and
incorporating consumer feedback into our products has enabled us to remain at the top in the
smartphone market.”

Samsung products are widely available and are very popular in India today as it is listening to what
customers are saying. With a focus on consumer-centric innovations, Samsung has pushed the
boundaries of technology and established unwavering standards in the mobile phone market,
resulting in closer, more enduring ties with customers. They focus on not just localization but micro-
localization. As Mr Warsi says “Samsung has always believed in customised innovation and
through our ‘Make for India ‘philosophy, we have been endeavouring to solve India-specific
problems, catering to the needs of our Indian consumers. These products are being
developed by our local R&D teams,”