Ishii, K. (石井健一) & Watanabe, S. (渡邉聡) (2015). Nation brand personality and product evaluation among Japanese people: Implications for nation branding. 日本人の国家ブランドパーソナリティと製品評価 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 11, 51-64. doi: 10.1057/pb.2014.25
This study explores the association between nation brand personality and product evaluation. Conducting an online questionnaire survey in Japan that used the quota sampling method (N=880), the product evaluation of various products (leather shoes, smartphones, movies, automobiles, shirts, mineral water and tour preference) was measured for seven countries (China, Germany, India, Italy, the United States, South Korea and Vietnam). A factor analysis yielded three nation brand personality dimensions (sincerity, competence and warmth), two of which are predicted by the stereotype content model. China was evaluated the lowest on all three dimensions, and China’s brand personality was most negatively correlated with consumer ethnocentrism among seven countries. The contact hypothesis was only partially supported for nation brand personalities. Nation brand personalities were associated with product evaluations in different ways depending on product category. Competence was positively correlated with the evaluation of all the products, while the warmth was positively correlated with the evaluation of fashion-related products and movies. Sincerity was positively correlated with the evaluation of high-tech products and mineral water. Tour preference was most strongly correlated with nation liking. The article discusses implications for nation branding strategies on the basis of these findings.