Abstract:

This article examines the (in)compatible patterns between the specific positive emotions and country of origin information. Both happiness (self-focused) and peacefulness (other-focused) with positive valence are primed, and America and China as different country of origins are designed in two experiments. In the happy condition rather than in the peaceful condition, stronger purchasing intention and more positive advertisement attitude are evaluated by consumers to the American product compared to the Chinese product. In addition, the moderating role of chronic self-consciousness is found to explain the mechanism behind the compatibility of emotional directions and country of origin information. Implications of the findings are also discussed for increasing the effectiveness of marketing strategy related country of origin and advertising of country image.

Key words: Positive emotions, Country-of-origin effect, Self-construal, Self-consciousness