Further, consumers express a marked preference for locally made products when price, technical features, and brand name are invariant, and where the locally made product is perceived to be superior or, at least, not significantly inferior to an overseas-made product. Where the locally made product is perceived to be of inferior quality to the imported product, consumers generally prefer an imported product. Thus, while consumers rate country or origin after product quality and price, when these other factors are equivalent, the fact that the product is promoted as locally made is a positive influence on product choice. It is widely believed that firms choose joint venture forms overseas when confronted with high socio-cultural distance. Recent data from a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms is used to test the contingency hypothesis.
Results indicate the usefulness of the contingency approach for modeling choice of joint ventures.
With increasing globalization of trade, and growing reliance on quality as a competitive weapon, the ISO-9000 international quality standards have become a major force to be reckoned with for U.S. companies doing business directly or indirectly with the European Community or any of the 50 countries that have adopted the standards. Important implications for management and public policy are discussed. Document last modified on January 30, 1997.