Miu Miu Diffuses Prada: Coupling Country-of-Origin versus Country-of-Manufacture Effects with Brand Authenticity and Contagion

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to investigate: (1) whether incongruence (or conflicting COO-COM scenario) versus congruence (or matching COO-COM scenario) between COO and COM images for parent and diffusion brands affect consumers' purchase intentions with respect to levels of purchase involvement (high versus low involvement brands); and (2) how conflicting versus matching COO-COM situations lead to perceptions of contagion and brand authenticity for everyday consumer products and brands. In four experiments, the authors find that due to contagion (i.e., the notion that objects may acquire a special aura or essence or charisma) beliefs of consumers, consumers viewed parent brands as more contagious and authentic over diffusion brands during conflicting COO-COM situations; while they preferred diffusion brands over parents during matching COO-COM situations. The research aims to broaden the scope of COO-COM and diffusion branding literature with psychological phenomena of contagion and authenticity.