Influence of Country of Origin on Brand Evangelism (E-WOM): The Mediating Role of Consumer Engagement in an Emerging Market

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of country of origin (COO) on consumer attitudes and brand evangelism in Ghana’s telecommunications industry. The research uses a multi-study approach, examining three telecom brands (A, B, and C) in Ghana. The data was collected online and offline, with a month delay to reduce method bias. The study found that the COO significantly influences consumers’ affective and cognitive engagements with telecom brands A and B, but does not directly impact behavioral engagement of any of the brands. The study emphasizes the importance of emotional and cognitive connections in driving brand evangelism as behavioral engagement alone may not translate into evangelism. The findings suggest that telecom brands can leverage their COO to enhance consumer engagement and foster brand evangelism by emphasizing positive associations with their origin. This research fills a gap in the literature by exploring the COO effect on telecom brands’ consumer engagement and brand evangelism. However, limitations include the focus on Ghanaian consumers and the use of PLS-SEM analysis, suggesting opportunities for further research in different cultural contexts and alternative methodologies.