The country-of-origin effect on consumer willingness to buy beers : the impact of "made in Belgium" on Vietnamese consumers

Abstract

Nowadays, all over the world, whether in Asia or Latin America, consumers are faced with making choices between products from all countries. In order to understand consumer purchasing decisions, numerous studies have been conducted and have shown the influencing effect of country-of-origin. The chosen subject of this thesis was the impact of "Made in Belgium" on the Vietnamese consumer purchasing behaviour on beers. The main objectives were therefore to establish which variables and factors favour the willingness to buy a Belgian product with a “Made in Belgium” label and to understand the Vietnamese perception of Belgian beers. Our study was done in two parts. The first being the theoretical part, requiring the reading of many scientific articles and studies in order to understand the factors that influence the purchasing behaviours of consumers and especially the Vietnamese. The country-of-origin was studied in depth in order to ascertain the impact it had on purchasing intentions. The second part, the empirical part, was carried out in two stages. The first part was conducted by interviewing Vietnamese consumers and professionals in the beer sector in Vietnam. The second step was achieved by an online survey reaching a larger number of people, targeted as Vietnamese currently living in Vietnam and who consume beer. From these two parts, some interesting and significant results have been shown. The main result of this study is that "Made in Belgium" does have an impact on the consumption and perception of Belgian beers by Vietnamese consumers. Indeed, the Vietnamese consider Belgian beers as being of high quality and are fond of foreign beers in general. Moreover, Belgian beer has earned a positive and solid reputation in Vietnam with many consumers considering Belgium to be the best producer in the World. To conclude, the findings of this thesis may prove to be both thought-provoking and valuable for any Belgian company eager to integrate the Vietnamese market and, more particularly, beer companies. They can now benefit from some constructive insights regarding the perception of Belgium in Vietnam as well as the impact of Made in Belgium on the purchasing behaviour of the Vietnamese.