Abstract:
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influence of country of origin effect on export marketing performance in the cotton industry of Zimbabwe. Specific variables studied were brand image, customer attitude, customer product evaluation and export market performance. There is little research on the influence of country of origin effect on export marketing performance in the cotton industry of Zimbabwe, hence, the need to carry out this study. The research was conducted through a survey where pre-coded structured questionnaires were administered to respondents from the 5 cotton trading companies. A total of 80 questionnaires were sent to the respondents in the cotton industry. The main data analysis method used was factor analysis using inferential statistics which are total variance explained and rotated component matrix. Hypotheses were tested using one sample T test. Cronbach’s alpha proved that the data obtained from the sample was adequate and reliable. Results from the study showed that cotton buyers consider the image of the country when evaluating products; Despite country image organizations prefer cotton lint from Zimbabwe; A positive word of mouth is spread about cotton lint from Zimbabwe; I have or would recommend Zimbabwean produced lint to other organisations; Your organizational perception of a country portrays the reputation of organisations within that country; There will always be continuous purchase of cotton lint from Zimbabwe; There is guarantee you would recommend lint from Zimbabwe. The study brought significant contribution in understanding the concept of country of origin effect in the cotton industry. The study recommended that brand image can be made positive by organizations through unique marketing strategies which can separate the perception customers have about a country to the image of the product; Organizations must ensure customer attitude is positive about the organization; The product must be of high quality so that cotton lint from can be competitive on the global market. Beside the findings, this study had limitations, including a smaller sample size. So, future studies can be done researching the same topic but using a sample which is bigger in size and a geographical delimitation which is wider.
