This paper describes the results of a study about the "Made in ..." phenomenon, conducted in Japan, the United States, France, Germany, Italy and the UK. The first section summarizes the position of country labels in times of increasing international competition for consumer products. It becomes clear that even nowadays in times of increasing liberalization of trade, country labels can still also be a possibility for discriminating activities. The second section describes the product characteristics which consumers are spontaneously associating with certain countries. It shows that quality, reliability and price level are highly influencing the image of countries' products. This spontaneous impression is proved by the results of image profiles for the different countries. They show the clear differences between products of the different countries and the differences between domestic and foreign image. The buying preferences show the strong position of national products when purchasing daily-life goods, but also the success of the Japanese manufacturers in the field of technical appliances. The consumers clearly differentiate the leading companies of various business sectors by countries. Typical brands for nearly all countries are the automotive manufacturers and the consumer electronic industry, especially for Japan.
This paper discusses aspects of the "country-of-origin", or "made in", concept. This refers to the notation included on the labels of products that are sold in countries different than their country of manufacture. Although this is a legal requirement in most cases, many manufacturers elect to stress the country of origin of their products, using it as a main selling point in marketing strategy. The made-in concept may also enter strategic decision making when the location of production is moved to a foreign country, causing a change in the "made in" notation on the label; and when a government uses it to encourage consumers to buy locally-produced goods through "buy domestic" campaigns.