How the country-of-origin effect influence portuguese consumers’ perceptions and behaviours

: the case of «Portugal sou eu» campaign

Abstract

World countries compete against each other in order to become more influential agents in the economic and cultural spheres and to attract external audiences, mainly foreign investment. Therefore, like brands, that strive for the increasement of their success and value on the market, countries establish campaigns and communication strategies that, positively, promote them internationally. Nonetheless, there are countries which have more value than others, benefiting from a better perception and a higher popularity. As a result, countries, again, just as brands, need to arrange ways to share their best assets with their national and international consumers, in order to create authentic nation brands, which are linked to an idea of quality. But, this is not an easy task, given the fact that, usually, the countries with the biggest economies and cultural strength defeat the least strong national markets. The program Portugal Sou, whose goal is to lead Portuguese people into the buying of national products and/or services by highlighting their countryof-origin, seems to integrate such strategies, given the fact one of the program’s most desired goals is to create a Portuguese nation brand that can be directly perceived as a quality brand that national citizens, as consumers, can trust. This internship report proposes to analyse the existing relationship between the Portuguese consumers and the program Portugal Sou Eu. To accomplish that goal, a study-case on the Portuguese statal program was analysed in order to comprehend what national consumers think, generally, of Portuguese products and/or services and Portuguese products and/or services that are part of the program. Additionally, the casestudy intended to understand if the governmental initiative increases, or not, Portuguese consumers’ level of consumer ethnocentrism. On a broad overview, Portuguese consumers value national products and/or services, especially the items through which the country is more popular for, like the wine. Even though a large part of the country’s population is not aware of the existence of Portugal Sou Eu, consumers who know the program tend to value it. In what regards the impact Portugal Sou Eu has had on the levels of consumer ethnocentrism of the Portuguese, it is important to note that, despite the fact people are aware of the importance of selecting national products and/or services, they end up valuing other factors, namely the price, at the moment of purchase, since there are numerous foreign products which are cheaper than Portuguese options.This research is helpful to understand the current state of topics such as the CoO effect, consumer ethnocentrism, and nation branding, at an international scale, but mainly on Portugal, given the fact there are very few academic works that have crossed such themes with the goal of studying the program Portugal Sou Eu. Within this context, this internship report benefits from having a complete and well-developed literature that was later applied.

Date of Award	1 Feb 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Alexandre Duarte (Supervisor)