Country Branding through Olympic Games

  • Qin Sun
  • Audhesh Paswan
Chapter
Part of the Journal of Brand Management: Advanced Collections book series (JBMAC)

Abstract

Recent geopolitical and economic events make it very clear that the global market place is highly interconnected and very competitive (Lee and Cull, 2010; Levin, 2010; Yung, 2011). To gain competitive advantage, countries, in conjunction with their own multinational firms, strive to develop and implement creative nation branding strategies and to promote positive country brand images (Anholt, 1998; Paswan et al, 2002; Loo and Davies, 2006; Szondi, 2006; Greyser, 2008). Countries compete with each other for foreign investment, for tourists, buyers, overseas students and skilled workers (Beverland and Lindgreen, 2002; Anholt, 2003; Black and Westhuizen, 2004; Dzenovska, 2005; Papadopoulos, 2004; Florek and Conejo, 2006; Dinnie, 2008). Several researchers (for example, O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy, 2000; Papadopoulos and Heslop, 2000, 2002; Paswan et al, 2002) have suggested that a country could be considered as a brand, and that countries can change their national brand image. Strategic and tactical activities have been suggested to influence a country’s brand image (Nebenzahl and Jaffe, 1991; Jaffe and Nebenzahl, 1993; Swart and Bob, 2004), including hosting major sporting events. However, to the best of our knowledge, few have examined the effect of hosting a major sporting event on country brand image, and where they have the focus was limited to the impact on the destination’s image and tourism (Gibson et al, 2008).

Keywords

Host Country Purchase Intention Olympic Game Brand Image International Business Study 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Aaker, J.L. (1997) Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research 34(3): 347–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Anholt, S. (1998) Nation-brands of the twenty-first century. Journal of Brand Management 5(6): 395–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Anholt, S. (2003) Brand New Justice: The Upside of Global Branding. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.Google Scholar
  4. Anholt, S. (2008) ‘Nation branding’ in Asia. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 4(4): 265–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Azoulay, A. and Kapferer, J. (2003) Do brand personality scales really measure brand personality? Journal of Brand Management 11(2): 143–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Balmer, J.M.T. and Gray, E.R. (2003) Corporate brands: What are they? What of them? European Journal of Marketing 37(7/8): 972–997.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Baron, R.M. and Gary, D.A. (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 51(6): 1173–1182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Berkowitz, P., Gjermano, G., Gomez, L. and Schafer, G. (2007) Brand China: Using the 2008 Olympic Games to enhance China’s image. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 3(2): 164–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Beverland, M. and Lindgreen, A. (2002) Using country of origin in strategy: The importance of context and strategic action. Journal of Brand Management 10(2): 147–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Black, D.R. and Westhuizen, J.V.D. (2004) The allure of global games for ‘semi-peripheral’ politics and spaces: A research agenda. Third World Quarterly 25(7): 1195–1214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Bosnjak, M., Bochmann, V. and Hufschmidt, T. (2007) Dimensions of brand personality attributions: A person-centric approach in the German cultural context. Social Behavior and Personality 35(3): 303–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Boulding, W., Kalra, A., Staelin, R. and Zeithaml, V.A. (1992) Conceptualizing and Testing a Dynamic Process Model of Service Quality. Marketing Science Institute. Technical Working Paper, pp. 92–121.Google Scholar
  13. Calder, B.J., Phillips, L.W. and Tybout, A.M. (1981) Designing research for application. Journal of Consumer Research 8(2): 197–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Calder, B.J., Phillips, L.W. and Tybout, A.M (1982) The concept of external validity. Journal of Consumer Research 9(3): 240–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Caprara, G.V., Barbaranelli, C. and Guido, G. (2001) Brand personality: How to make the metaphor fit? Journal of Economic Psychology 22(3): 377–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Chao, P. (1993) Partitioning country of origin effects: Consumer evaluations of a hybrid product. Journal of International Business Studies 24(2): 291–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Churchill, G.A. (1995) Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations. Hindsdale, IL: The Dryden Press.Google Scholar
  18. Dichter, E. (1962) The world market. Harvard Business Review 40(4): 113–122.Google Scholar
  19. Dinnie, K. (2008) Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.Google Scholar
  20. Dzenovska, D. (2005) Remaking the nation of Latvia: Anthropological perspectives on nation branding. Place Branding 1(2): 173–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Fan, Y. (2006) Branding the nation: What is being branded? Journal of Vacation Marketing 12(1): 5–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Florek, M. (2005) The country brand as a new challenge for Poland. Place Branding 1(2): 205–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Florek, M. and Conejo, F. (2006) Export flagships in branding small developing countries: The cases of Costa Rica and Moldova. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 3(1): 53–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Gibson, H.J., Qi, C.X. and Zhang, J.J. (2008) Destination image and intent to visit China and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Journal of Sports Management 22(4): 427–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Gilmore, F. (2001) A country — can it be repositioned? Spain — the success story of country branding. Journal of Brand Management 9(4–5): 281–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Greyser, S.A. (2008) The three levels of branding at Beijing, http://conversationstarter.hbsp.com/2008/08/branding_at_beijing.html, accessed 10 May 2009.Google Scholar
  27. Gudjonsson, H. (2005) Nation branding. Place Branding 1(3): 283–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Han, C.M. (1990) Testing the role of country image in consumer choice behavior. European Journal of Marketing 24(6): 24–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Insch, G.S. and McBride, J.B. (1998) Decomposing the country-of-origin construct: An empirical test of country of design, country of parts and country of assembly. Journal of International Consumer Marketing 10(4): 69–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Jaffe, E. and Nebenzahl, I. (1993) Global promotion of country image: Do the Olympics count? In: C. Papadopoulos and L. Heslop (eds.) Product-Country Image: Impact and Role in International Marketing. New York: International Business Press, pp. 433–452.Google Scholar
  31. Johansson, J.K. (1993) Missing a strategic opportunity: Managers’ denial of country-of-origin effect. In: C. Papadopoulos and L. Heslop (eds.) Product- Country Image: Impact and Role in International Marketing. New York: International Business Press, pp. 77–86.Google Scholar
  32. Keller, K.L. (1993) Conceptualizing, measuring and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing 57(1): 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Kelley, H.H. (1967) Attribution theory in social psychology. In: D. Levine (ed.) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, pp. 192–238.Google Scholar
  34. Kelley, H.H. (1973) The process of causal attribution. American Psychologist 28(2): 107–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Knight, J.G., Holdsworth, D.K. and Mather, D.W. (2007) Country-of-origin and choice of food imports: An in-depth study of European distribution channel gatekeepers. Journal of International Business Studies 38(1): 107–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Kotler, P.H. and Gertner, D. (2002) Country as brand, product, and beyond: A place marketing and brand management perspective. Journal of Brand Management 9(4/5): 249–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Lee, J. and Cull, C. (2010) China and India’s growing energy rivalry. Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2010/gb20101215_795065.htm, accessed 10 January 2011.Google Scholar
  38. Levin, D. (2010) Why German cars sold in Beijing are made in South Carolina. Fortune http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/14/news/companies/BMW_South_Carolina_exports.fortune/index.htm, accessed on 10 January 2011.Google Scholar
  39. Loo, T. and Davies, G. (2006) Branding China: The ultimate challenge in reputation Management? Corporate Reputation Review 9(3): 198–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Maheswaran, D. and Chen, C.Y. (2006) Nation equity: Incidental emotions in country-of-origin effects. Journal of Consumer Research 33(3): 370–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Nauright, J. (2004) Global games: Culture, political economy and sport in the globalized world of the 21st century. Third World Quarterly 25(7): 1325–1336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Nebenzahl, I.D. and Jaffe, E.D. (1991) The effectiveness of sponsored events in promoting a country’s image. International Journal of Advertising 10(1): 223–237.Google Scholar
  43. Nunnally, J.C. (1978) Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
  44. Olins, W. (2002) Branding the nation — the historic context. Journal of Brand Management 9(4/5): 241–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. O’Shaughnessy, J. and O’Shaughnessy, N.J. (2000) Treating the nation as a brand: Some neglected issues. Journal of Macro Marketing 20(1): 56–64.Google Scholar
  46. Papadopoulos, N. (2004) Place branding: Evolution, meaning and implications. Place Branding 1(1): 36–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Papadopoulos, N. and Heslop, L. (2000) Countries as brands. Ivey Business Journal (November/December) 30–36.Google Scholar
  48. Papadopoulos, N. and Heslop, L. (2002) Country equity and country branding: Problems and prospects. Journal of Brand Management 9(4–5): 294–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Papadopoulos, N., Heslop, L., Graby, F. and Avlonitis, G. (1987) Does Country of Origin Matter? Some Findings from a Cross-cultural Study of Consumer Views About Foreign Products. Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute. Report no. 87–104.Google Scholar
  50. Parameswaran, R. and Pisharodi, M.R. (1994) Facets of country-of-origin image: An empirical assessment. Journal of Advertising 23(1): 44–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Paswan, A.K., Kulkarni, S. and Ganesh, G. (2002) Nation branding: Loyalty towards the country, the state and the service brands. Journal of Brand Management 10(3): 233–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Preacher, K.J. and Hayes, A.F. (2004) SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 36(4): 717–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Roth, M.S. and Romeo, J.B. (1992) Matching product category and country image perceptions: A frame work for managing country-of-origin effects. Journal of International Business Studies 23(3): 477–497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. Smith, W.R. (1993) Country-of-origin bias: A regional labeling solution. International Marketing Review 10(6): 4–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Shimp, T.A., Samie, S. and Madden, T.J. (1993) Countries and their products: A cognitive structure perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 21(4): 323–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Sun, Q. (2008) Does perceived product quality impact perception of country-of-origin? A preliminary investigation. Proceedings of AMA 2008 Winter Educator’s Conference; 15–18 February, Chicago, IL. Chicago: American Marketing Association.Google Scholar
  57. Swart, K. and Bob, U. (2004) The seductive discourse of development: The Cape Town 2004 Olympic bid. Third World Quarterly 25(7): 1311–1324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. Sweeney, J.C. and Brandon, C. (2006) Brand personality: Exploring the potential to move from factor analytical to circumplex Models. Psychology & Marketing 23(8): 639–663.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Szondi, G. (2006) The role and challenges of country branding in transition countries: The central and eastern European experience. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 3(1): 8–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Tse, A., Kwan, C., Yee, C., Wah, K. and Ming, L. (1996) The impact of country of origin on the behavior of Hong Kong consumers. Journal of International Marketing & Marketing Research 21(1): 29–44.Google Scholar
  61. Vahie, A. and Paswan, A.K. (2006) Private label brand image: Its relationship with store image and national brand. International Journal of Retailing and Distribution Management 34(1): 67–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  62. Verlegh, W.J.P. and Steenkamp, J.E.M. (1999) A review and meta-analysis of country-of-origin research. Journal of Economic Psychology 20(5): 521–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  63. Wang, C. and Lamb, C. (1983) The impact of selected environmental forces upon consumers’ willingness to buy foreign products. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science 11(2): 71–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  64. Weiner, B. (2000) Attributional thoughts about consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research 27(3): 382–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  65. Wong, P.T.P. and Weiner, B. (1981) When people ask ‘why’ questions, and the heuristics of attributional search. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 40(4): 650–663.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Xing, X. et al (2008) Olympic games host and bid city marketing: Exploring issue management in the relationships among event stakeholder groups. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship 9(4): 321–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Yan, J. (2003) Branding and the international community. Journal of Brand Management 10(6): 447–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  68. Yung, J. (2011) China, U.K. sign $4 billion in deals. The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073981202636162.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection, accessed 10 January 2011.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© The Editor(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Qin Sun
  • Audhesh Paswan

There are no affiliations available

Personalised recommendations