¹Department of Management, University of Lausanne (HEC), Lausanne, Switzerland

Correspondence: J-C Usunier, Department of Management, University of Lausanne (HEC), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland. Tel: +41 216923449; Fax: +41 216923495; E-mail: jusunier@unil.ch

Abstract

A popular research topic in international marketing is how a product's country-of-origin influences consumer evaluations (COO research). The purpose of this contribution is to explore how COO research has developed over time in growing disconnection with both consumer and corporate concern. We offer a number of possible explanations to this 'relevance gap,' with the caveat that these explanations may be contingent to the COO case study.