The Influence of the Country-of-Origin Ecological Image on Ecolabelled Product Evaluation: An Experimental Approach to the Case of the European Ecolabel

This study investigates the influence of country-of-origin ecological image on the evaluation of ecolabelled products. Based on two experiments involving French consumers, the authors show that the mention of a country of origin with a favourable ecological image has no effect on the evaluation of an ecolabelled product (Studies 1 and 2). However, the mention of a country with an unfavourable ecological image negatively influences the product's evaluation, especially when there is no information about the brand (Study 1). This effect is moderated by the level of confidence towards the product's country-of-origin. The authors consequently draw some business and academic implications from their findings.