Country reputation
Authors: Chariatte Jerome , Ingenhoff Diana 
Published: January 2025

Country reputation is a central target construct in research on country-of-origin effects, international public relations, and especially public diplomacy. Public Diplomacy is about building up international relationships in a networked environment and creating a favorable (foreign) public opinion about the country to advance its goals (Wu & Wang, 2019; Zaharna, 2020). We can distinguish four important attitudinal key constructs relevant to public diplomacy: The country’s image, identity, reputation, and brand.
Buhmann and Ingenhoff (2015) systematize the conceptual differences along two basic axes by differentiating between a) whether the primary perspective focuses essentially on internal (identity, brand) or external (image, reputation) contexts and b) whether the constitutive process relies primarily on individual perceptions (image, identity) or public communication and estimation (reputation, brand).
The country's identity and image are primarily 'perceptive constructs' shaped by individual, subjective perceptions. Conversely, country brand and reputation are 'constructs of representation' developed within public communication which are chiefly acknowledged internationally and built on public estimation.
Based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), these attitudinal constructs always comprise a component of beliefs (the cognitive component) and a component of emotions (the affective component) towards the image object.
Country reputation is a multidimensional attitudinal construct articulated through five distinct dimensions. Four of these dimensions are cognitive and one is emotional. The four cognitive reputation components are defined as 1) Functional, assessing a nation's competitiveness, including its economy, innovation, and government efficiency; 2) Normative, evaluating the integrity, norms, values, and social and ecological responsibilities; 3) Cultural, representing the country's cultural assets and heritage, such as history, traditions, culinary delights, and sport; 4) Natural, concerning perceptions of the country's geographical features. The affective reputation component is called the emotional dimension, reflecting general feelings of attraction and fascination towards the country (Ingenhoff, 2017, 2018; Ingenhoff & Chariatte, 2020). These dimensions collectively shape a country’s attitude towards a nation, encompassing cognitive beliefs and affective responses.
All five dimensions of the attitudinal constructs can be analyzed in terms of their content, details of which are elaborated below based on the example of country reputation.
Fields of Application/theoretical foundation
Studies often examine a country's reputation in the context of agenda-setting processes on public opinion formation (McCombs & Shaw, 1972). Thereby, the media portrayal of countries is investigated, highlighting the unequal visibility of countries in the news agenda and the importance of media frames (e.g., Brewer et al., 2003; Wanta et al., 2004; Jain & Winner, 2013). Many of these studies examine the tonality and valence of media portrayal of countries or the countries' associations with specific issues.
In their 2020 study, Ingenhoff and Chariatte emphasized the importance of considering the perspectives of foreign audiences (the so-called "listening approach") when assessing a country's reputation in public diplomacy. They conducted a thorough content analysis at different communication levels to examine the content and tone of strategic communication. This involved analyzing survey data, news media, and trace data and using structural equation modeling to evaluate both direct and indirect effects of communication on how a country is perceived and portrayed. In country perception studies, so-called country-of-origin effects or destination images are also frequently examined. However, these often only deal with certain facets of the country’s image (e.g., tourism, economy).
References/combination with other methods

Walter et al. (2022) examined the extent to which American media report and frame 55 countries. The sample consisted of the ten highest-circulating US news in 2018. Walter et al. used content analysis but applied recent methodological innovations using a machine learning topic network approach. They identified three central country frames that could serve as a basis for coding, namely "conflict," "economy," and "human interest." Conflict includes topics such as immigration, electoral politics, or foreign affairs, and the economy contains trade relationships. In contrast, human interest includes, for example, sports news or cultural characteristics such as food, fashion, or music.
These coding categories can, among others, also be found in the study of Ingenhoff, Segev, and Chariatte (2020). They analyzed how a country's image varies among nearby and distant countries and whether online search behavior for information about a country is linked to its perception. They conducted a content analysis of Google searches and open-ended survey questions based on the five-dimensional country image model. In another multimethod study (2020), Ingenhoff and Chariatte expand the study’s results: They comprehensively analyze the country's reputation using a combination of media content analysis, Google search analysis, survey answers, and structural equation modeling.
Example study: Ingenhoff et al. (2020)

Theoretical foundation: The study by Ingenhoff, Segev, and Chariatte (2020) is rooted in theories of country stereotypes and news value theory. It investigates whether perceptions of a country differ between distant and nearby countries and considers the impact of digital cross-border sources of information, such as Google. Additionally, the study examines how Google queries from various countries align with open survey responses regarding Switzerland's image and reputation. The theoretical framework includes the five-dimensional model of country images, which encompasses functional, normative, cultural, natural, and emotional dimensions, each with specific subdimensions (Ingenhoff, 2017, 2018; Ingenhoff & Chariatte, 2020).
Methods of data collection: The study employed content analysis on data from multiple sources:

Survey data: A representative survey was conducted in seven countries (N=3,556) in Fall 2016, collaborating with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs/Presence Switzerland. Respondents answered the open question, “What immediately comes to mind when you think of Switzerland? Think about its characteristics and special features, as well as about current events, personalities, organizations, companies, products, etc. Please note down everything that comes to mind when you think about Switzerland”.
Google Trends Data: Top and rising Google searches about Switzerland between 2004 and 2017 (N=3,839) were collected from the same countries using Google Trends.

The units of analysis are the open survey answers and the Google search queries. These were coded into multiple categories using polytomous nominal scales. A comprehensive codebook based on the five-dimensional model of country images guided the coding process (see Table 1).
Table 1.
Coding scheme for country reputation applied in the study by Ingenhoff, Segev and Chariatte (2020).

Country Dimensions Variables (based upon the five-dimensional country image model)

Codes

Reliability
 

Nature dimension of the country image: relates to the natural qualities of the country
 
 

1.Landscape (aspects of geographical location, size, /weather/topography)
2. Preserved nature 3. Activities related to the landscape (e.g., good spot for winter sports)
 

κ = .82, p < .001
for the five country image dimensions
κ = .78, p < .001 for the variables of the subcategories of the country dimensions
 

Functional dimension of the country image: relates to the political, economic and social aspects of a country’s competitiveness and effectiveness
 

1. Education system 2. Science and innovation 3. Products (e.g., Switzerland’s watches.) 4. Economy (economical wealth and autonomy, currency and exchange rates, tax system, investments, industry related information)
5. Infrastructure (e.g., transport system)
6. politics (political system, international relations, political votes, political actors like politicians or parties)
7. Living- and working conditions (job market, cost of living)
8. Security aspects.

 

Normative dimension of the country image: relates to the integrity of a country and its norms and values
 

1. Environmental protection
2. Freedom and human rights 3. Civil rights
4. International solidarity (collaboration and engagement)
5. Ethical issues (e.g., bank scandals)
6. Conflict avoidance (e.g., peace, neutrality)
7. tolerance and openness (e.g., towards minorities, strangers)

 

Culture dimension of the country image: relates to cultural aspects of Switzerland

1. Sports
2. Typical dishes
3. Cultural offer (e.g., theatre, design, architecture),
4. Personalities (e.g., athletes, tv stars)
5. Traditions
6. History
7. Cultural diversity

 

Emotional dimension of the country image: relates to feelings of sympathy and fascination towards the country
 

1. Sympathy towards citizens
2. General positive/negative comments on the country

 

Other (e.g., confusions with other countries)

 

 

Example Study: Jain & Winner (2013)
Theoretical Foundation: Jain & Winner's (2013) study is grounded in the theories of agenda-setting and agenda-building. Based on this approach, the authors assume that the media can adopt public relations messages (such as press releases) and that media coverage can shape the perception of countries. Therefore, the study analyzes a country’s information in press releases and its media portrayal and how this is connected to people’s attitudes toward a nation and its economic performance. By examining the transference of both issue salience and attribute salience (substantive and affective attributes), the authors explore how media portrayal impacts public attitudes and economic performance (Kiousis et al., 2007; McCombs et al., 1997). The study differentiates between substantive and affective attributes: Substantive attributes describe the qualities or characteristics of the issues, objects, or people being discussed. In this study, these are attributes based on the six dimensions of Anholt’s NBI (people, products and services, governance, tourism, culture, investment and immigration). Subattributes are more specific aspects within these broader categories. For example, subattributes within the 'people' category might include perceptions of the population as welcoming, friendly, or educated. On the other hand, affective attributes refer to the tone or emotional valence in which these substantive attributes are presented, which can be positive, negative, or neutral.
Methods of data collection: Data were retrieved from the Factiva database, including press releases from PR Newswire US (N=598) and news articles from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (N=488), collected between April 1 and June 20, 2009. For the survey and economic performance results, the study consulted secondary data from the same year, which came from Simon Anholt’s Nation Brand Index, the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce.
The analysis involved coding press releases and news articles to capture the salience and tone of the issue (see Table 2). Issue salience was recorded using dichotomous nominal scales (presence=1; absence=0), while tone was assessed on an ordinal scale (negative=1, neutral=2, positive=3).
Table 2.
Coding scheme for country issues and attributes applied in the study by Jain & Winner (2013).

Substantive attributes, i.e.,
variables of issue salience

Subattributes
(shortened description of items)

Reliability

People
 

a) Welcoming people
b) Friendly people
c) Qualified/educated people
 

 
Press releases: Holsti 0.90, κ = 0.67.
 
For both variables of issue salience and codes: Holsti 0.96, κ = 0.66.
 
Media articles:
Holsti 0.97, κ = 0.70.
 
For variables of issue salience: Holsti 0.93, κ = 0.70.
For codes: Holsti 0.98 and κ = 0.66.
 
 
 

Products and services

a) Innovative products/services
b) High quality products/services
c) Creative place with cutting edge ideas
 

 

Governance

a) Competently and honestly governed
b) Respect of citizen rights and fair treatment
c) Responsible behavior in international peace and security
d) Responsibly protect the environment
e) Responsibly reduce the world poverty

 

Tourism

a) Like to visit the country if money were no object
b) Country is rich in natural beauty
c) Historic buildings and monuments
d) Host of international events

 

Culture

a) Excels at sports
b) Rich cultural heritage
c) Interesting place for contemporary culture (films, music,…)

 

Immigration and Investment

a) Willingness to live and work for substantial period in the country
b) Quality of life
c) Good place to study
d) Businesses to invest in
e) Equal opportunity

 

Literature:

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