Skip to main content
Log in

Country branding through Olympic Games

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Brand Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigated whether hosting a major international event impacts the host country's brand image among individuals living outside of the host country. In addition, we also investigated whether there was any effect on intention to purchase products from the host country by non-residents. Using a self-administered questionnaire, data were collected from respondents living in the United States one month before the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, followed by a second questionnaire one month after the games. The results indicate that hosting the Olympic Games had direct and indirect effects on purchase intention due to the change in country brand image. The influence on intention to purchase was greater for unfamiliar products compared with familiar products from the host country. The findings of this study have important implications for country brand image and country branding, as well as for the export of products and brands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aaker, J.L. (1997) Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research 34 (3): 347–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anholt, S. (1998) Nation-brands of the twenty-first century. Journal of Brand Management 5 (6): 395–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anholt, S. (2003) Brand New Justice: The Upside of Global Branding. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anholt, S. (2008) ‘Nation branding’ in Asia. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 4 (4): 265–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azoulay, A. and Kapferer, J. (2003) Do brand personality scales really measure brand personality? Journal of Brand Management 11 (2): 143–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

  • Calder, B.J., Phillips, L.W. and Tybout, A.M. (1981) Designing research for application. Journal of Consumer Research 8 (2): 197–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calder, B.J., Phillips, L.W. and Tybout, A.M (1982) The concept of external validity. Journal of Consumer Research 9 (3): 240–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chao, P. (1993) Partitioning country of origin effects: Consumer evaluations of a hybrid product. Journal of International Business Studies 24 (2): 291–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Churchill, G.A. (1995) Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations. Hindsdale, IL: The Dryden Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dichter, E. (1962) The world market. Harvard Business Review 40 (4): 113–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinnie, K. (2008) Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dzenovska, D. (2005) Remaking the nation of Latvia: Anthropological perspectives on nation branding. Place Branding 1 (2): 173–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, Y. (2006) Branding the nation: What is being branded? Journal of Vacation Marketing 12 (1): 5–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florek, M. (2005) The country brand as a new challenge for Poland. Place Branding 1 (2): 205–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

  • Gudjonsson, H. (2005) Nation branding. Place Branding 1 (3): 283–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, C.M. (1990) Testing the role of country image in consumer choice behavior. European Journal of Marketing 24 (6): 24–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • 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 

  • Keller, K.L. (1993) Conceptualizing, measuring and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing 57 (1): 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • Kelley, H.H. (1973) The process of causal attribution. American Psychologist 28 (2): 107–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. and Cull, C. (2010) China and India's growing energy rivalry. Business Weekhttp://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2010/gb20101215_795065.htm, accessed 10 January 2011.

  • Levin, D. (2010) Why German cars sold in Beijing are made in South Carolina. Fortunehttp://money.cnn.com/2010/10/14/news/companies/BMW_South_Carolina_exports.fortune/index.htm, accessed on 10 January 2011.

  • Loo, T. and Davies, G. (2006) Branding China: The ultimate challenge in reputation Management? Corporate Reputation Review 9 (3): 198–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maheswaran, D. and Chen, C.Y. (2006) Nation equity: Incidental emotions in country-of-origin effects. Journal of Consumer Research 33 (3): 370–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • Nunnally, J.C. (1978) Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olins, W. (2002) Branding the nation – the historic context. Journal of Brand Management 9 (4/5): 241–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • Papadopoulos, N. (2004) Place branding: Evolution, meaning and implications. Place Branding 1 (1): 36–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papadopoulos, N. and Heslop, L. (2000) Countries as brands. Ivey Business Journal (November/December) 30–36.

  • Papadopoulos, N. and Heslop, L. (2002) Country equity and country branding: Problems and prospects. Journal of Brand Management 9 (4–5): 294–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

  • Parameswaran, R. and Pisharodi, M.R. (1994) Facets of country-of-origin image: An empirical assessment. Journal of Advertising 23 (1): 44–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, M.S. and Romeo, J.B. (1992) Matching product category and country image perceptions: A framework for managing country-of-origin effects. Journal of International Business Studies 23 (3): 477–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W.R. (1993) Country-of-origin bias: A regional labeling solution. International Marketing Review 10 (6): 4–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

  • Swart, K. and Bob, U. (2004) The seductive discourse of development: The Cape Town 2004 Olympic bid. Third World Quarterly 25 (7): 1311–1324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (2000) Attributional thoughts about consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research 27 (3): 382–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan, J. (2003) Branding and the international community. Journal of Brand Management 10 (6): 447–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qin Sun.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sun, Q., Paswan, A. Country branding through Olympic Games. J Brand Manag 19, 641–654 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2011.63

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2011.63

Keywords

Navigation