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Online Channels and the Country of Origin

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International Marketing Strategy

Part of the book series: International Series in Advanced Management Studies ((ISAMS))

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the relationship between the online channel and the COO. Indeed, the online channel is rapidly assuming a growing role in the international distribution, but studies on the relationships between the online channel and the COO not yet seem to have a consolidated framework. In the context of marketing channels, it is relevant to explore what role the online channel can play in creating value for the market through the COO. The online channel allows conveying the COO and has become crucial to presence and competitiveness in international markets. Moreover, the COO can serve as an important research reference for online customers who recognize the value of certain products. Against this background, this chapter explores the current and potential roles of the online channel in the valorization of the COO from the perspective of omnichannels, taking into account specific experiences in international markets. In particular, based on abundant data collected through a digital method approach, this study primarily considers the US food and beverage sector, including olive oil and wine products.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    To understand user intent, it is necessary to analyse the online keywords users employ to identify problems and their solutions. Several tools such as Google Trends, SEMrush, AdWords, and Keyword.io can be used. The starting point is always the list of words that identifies the categories of problems or needs and products (goods or services) useful for the desired purpose. To understand user intent, therefore, it is necessary to consider search engine results pages (SERP), or the pages on which search engine results are displayed. Along with user intent, observing SERPs reveals the type of content that best meets users’ needs (e.g., text, images, videos, and infographics) and areas not yet covered by online offerings.

  2. 2.

    The information presented here was taken from a broader study on the fashion clothing sector analyzing the balance sheet data of 40 companies and groups in the sector with about 100 brands (excluding groups and companies that, although of Italian origin, have long since been acquired by foreign groups; Pegan et al., 2013).

  3. 3.

    According to the definition of SEO, keywords are words and phrases searchers enter into search engines, also called search queries (https://moz.com/learn/seo/what-are-keywords, 2018; retrieved May 25, 2018).

  4. 4.

    We decided to use these numbers (1 for heads and 2 or more for long-tail keywords) because the first keyword captures the majority of users’ searches.

  5. 5.

    As pointed out by Drinks Association (2017), E. and J. Gallo Winery, one of the biggest US wine companies, coined the term “moscato madness” to describe the rapid grow of this wine in the US market. In 2015, more than 20 million people in the USA bought moscato over a 3-month period. This fruity grape probably is a gateway into wine for first-time drinkers and is most popular with millennials. A recent Wine Searcher article noted that the site was “rather shocked to see that the year-to-date figure of 273,261 was far in advance of that for prosecco, which has only reached 128,615 keyword searches in the same period,” making moscato the most-searched sparkling wine in the world.

  6. 6.

    Google’s ranking algorithm gives prominence to pages based on the languages in which web browsers are configured and the hosting locations. Thus, for any search made from the USA, Google selects pages that match the browser’s language, usually English, and pages hosted on servers in that country are considered to be more relevant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

    Giovanna Pegan, Donata Vianelli & Patrizia de Luca

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  1. Giovanna Pegan
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  2. Donata Vianelli
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  3. Patrizia de Luca
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Pegan, G., Vianelli, D., de Luca, P. (2020). Online Channels and the Country of Origin. In: International Marketing Strategy. International Series in Advanced Management Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33588-5_7

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