Contents

1. Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
1.1. Research Backgrounds and Motivations -------------------------------------------------- 2
1.2. Research Objectives ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
1.3. Research contributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
1.4. Research project and Scope of the study -------------------------------------------------- 5
2. Literature Review --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
2.1. Theoretical background --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
2.2. Definitions of research construct ----------------------------------------------------------- 7
2.2.1. COO --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
2.2.2. eWOM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7
2.2.3. Brand image ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8
2.2.4. Perceived quality ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8
2.2.5. Attitude ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
2.2.6. Purchase intention --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
2.2.7. Consumer expertise ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
2.3. Hypothesis development ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10
2.3.1. The Antecedents of Brand image --------------------------------------------------- 10
2.3.1.1. The effects of COO on Brand image ------------------------------------------- 11
2.3.1.2. The effects of eWOM on Brand image ---------------------------------------- 11
2.3.2. The Antecedents of Perceived quality ---------------------------------------------- 12
2.3.2.1. The effects of COO on Perceived quality ------------------------------------- 12
2.3.2.2. The effects of eWOM on Perceived quality ---------------------------------- 12
2.3.3. The Antecedents of Attitude --------------------------------------------------------- 13
2.3.3.1. The effects of Brand image on Attitude --------------------------------------- 13
2.3.3.2. The effects of Perceived quality on Attitude ---------------------------------- 14
2.3.4. The effects of Attitude on Purchase intention ------------------------------------- 14
2.3.5. Moderating effects of Consumer expertise on the relationship between eWOM
and Perceived quality ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15

1
The influence of country-of-orgin and electronic-word-of-mouth on Korean cosmetics
purchase intention among Vietnamese consumers
1. Introduction
1.1. Research Backgrounds and Motivations
Before purchasing products, consumers often take into account a variety of elements
related to the product’s price, it’s functions, consumers’ perceptions on quality or product
information ( Chang & Wildt, 1994). Many consumer research have been conducted in the
past with a significant effort to figure out how purchasing decisions are processed and made.
Among the determinants of consumer purchase intention, country-of-origin (COO) and
electronic-word-of-mouth (eWOM) are considerably influential (Samiee, 2016; Cheung &
Thadani, 2012). The Nielsen Global Brand-Origin Survey (2016) being conducted with
more than 30,000 online respondents from 61 countries about product origin across 40
categories has revealed that brand origin plays a crucial role when it comes to considering
buying products. Nearly three-quarters of global respondents said that brand origin is
equally important or even more important than nine other purchasing motives, including
selection, price, function and quality. Global Trust in Advertising Survey (2015) also from
Nielsen found out that 88% consumers in Southeast Asia had trust in word-of-mouth
recommendations the most among sources of advertising, with Philipino consumers
leading the way at 91%, Vietnamese consumers at 89%, Malaysians at 86%, Singaporians
at 83% and Thais at 82%.
Country-of-origin (COO) effects, defined as the influence of foreigness of products or
services on consumer choice behaviour (Samiee, 2016), has been one of the most
frequently discussed and intensely studied topics in international marketing. Many
previous studies have shown the relationship between COO and consumer purchase
behaviour (Samiee, 2016; Yasin, 2007; Verlegh, 2001; Ashill & Sinha, 2008). Yasin (2007)
have found that consumers often have different perceptions towards products from
different countries, thus COO image plays an important role in consumer buying behaviour.
Many consumers use COO stereotypes to make evaluations of products, for example,
“Japanese electronics are reliable”, “German cars are excellent”, “Italian pizza are
superb”,… They believe that the label “Made in…” is related to the quality of the product
depending on their perception of that country (Yasin, 2007). According to a large-scale
experiment conducted by Verlegh (2001), COO has a direct impact on consumers’
evaluations of products even when other information of the product is available (Verlegh,
2001), and thus affecting the ultimate intention to buy the product (Samiee, 2016).

2
 Electronic-word-of-mouth (eWOM) is any positive or negative statement made by
potential, actual or former customers about a product which is available to a multitude of
people via the internet (Thurau et al, 2004). The Internet have been growing and becoming
an essential part of the lives of millions of people around the globe. As the Internet
developed, it has changed the way people live, socialize as well as buying behaviour, hence
facilitate the growth of social networking service (SNS) and other forms of Internet service.
As the online world has become so popular, the degree to which consumers are using the
Internet to make purchasing decisions is incresing. They often seek out opinions,
experiences and tips of other consumers, search for the product review in other words, to
get the sense of safety and comfortability before they actually buy the product or service
(Pitta & Fowler, 2005). Prior studies have found the impact of eWOM on those sources on
consumers’ purchase intention (Cheung & Thadani, 2010; Erkan & Evans, 2016; Alhidari
et al, 2015). Erkan & Evans (2016) provided a comprehensive conceptual model which
examines the determinants of eWOM information on social media influencing consumers’
purchase intention. Alhidari et al (2015) study pointed out that eWOM has a significant
impact on consumers’ decision-making process both on and through SNS.
According to a report by Korea Cosmetic Association (KCA) in 2018, South Korea is
the 8th largest cosmetics market in the world, with total exports of cosmetics went from
nearly 1,8 billion dollars in 2014 to around 5 billion dollars by 2017. According to ITC
tool trademap, South Korea exported about 145 million dollars of cosmetic products to
Vietnam in 2017, additionally the growth rate in exported value between 2013-2017 in
Vietnam market is 33%, which is relatively high. This means the love of Vietnamese
consumers for Korean cosmetic products are growing quite fast. The Korean wave, or the
Korean fever has been spreaded and had a huge impact on the East and South East Asia in
recent times, including Viet Nam. Young Vietnamese people are obssesed with the stuff
that are related to Korea and the Korean people, which has a significant effect on the
Vietnamese consumers’ perceptions of Korea’s country image and product. In addition, the
development of social networking sites and other Internet services has affected the buying
behaviour of Vietnamese consumers in recent years. According to a report conducted by
statista.com, the number of people connected to social network in Vietnam has increased
from nearly 33 millions of people on 2015 to around 38 millions in 2018. However, the
Facebook users in Vietnam accounted for almost 90% of total social network users in 2018.
This creates an unprecedented opportunity for consumers to share ideas, review products
and seek out opinions and experiences of other consumers about a product, Korean
cosmetics in particular.

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1.2. Research Objectives
1. To examine the effect of COO and eWOM on brand image, perceived quality,
consumer’s attitude and ultimate purchase intention
2. To identify the moderating effect of consumer expertise on the relationship between
eWOM and perceived quality

H1
COO Brand Image
H5
H2
H7
Purchase
Attitude
H3 Intention

H4 Perceived H6
eWOM
Quality

H8

Expertise

Figure 1.1: Conceptual Framework

1.3. Research contributions
While the influence of both COO and eWOM on consumer purchase intention has been
seperately academically researched by a variety of studies, there is little research which
take into account both antecedents COO and eWOM effect simultanously on consumer
decision-making process. A study by Murtiasih et al, 2014 did consider both COO and
WOM influence on brand equity indirectly through brand awareness, brand association,
perceived quality and brand loyalty. This study intends to take it further to explain COO
and eWOM effect on consumers’ purchase intention. Another research by Xiao & Zhang
(2016) pointed out the direct effect of eWOM and country image on purchase intention of
foreign products without considering any psychological aspects of the consumers’
decision-making process. This study intends to examine thoroughly COO and eWOM
effect on purchase intention through brand image, consumer perception of quality and
overall attitude.

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 Because of the potential power that COO and eWOM might have on consumers’ buying
behaviour, specifically COO and eWOM possible effect of Korean cosmetic products on
Vietnamese consumers, understanding the degree to which consumers might react to these
two factors when considering buying products is of paramount importance. Based on the
Thoery of reasoned actions (TRA) and prior research, this study intends to contribute to
current literature review in 2 ways. First, it simultaneously consider COO and eWOM to
explain consumers’ attitude and purchase intention. The number of research papers which
take into account both of the above antecedents is still limited, the goal of the study is to
contribute to this not yet fully-developed area of research. Second, this study plans to give
a clearer view on the crucial role of consumer expertise to get better understanding about
the level of effects of eWOM on perceived quality and purchase intention.
1.4. Research project and Scope of the study
Based on the above research objectives, this study develops the research project and scope
as shown in Table 1-1
Table 1.1: The scope of the study
Items Scope of the study
Types of research Questionnaires are employed to collect empirical data, then test
the hypothesis and draw conclusions of the study
Key issue This study focuses on the application of the Theory of reasoned
actions (TRA) to identify the antecedents COO and eWOM and
examine the role of brand image and perceived quality as
mediators between COO, eWOM and consumer’s attitude as
well as purchase intention. In addition, consumer expertise are
considered as a factor which can strengthen or weaken the
eWOM effect
Dependent variables Brand image, Perceived quality, Consumer’s attitude, Purchase
intention
Independent variables Country of origin (COO), electronic word of mouth (eWOM)
Mediators variables Brand image, Perceived quality, Consumer’s attitude
Moderating variable Consumer expertise
Underlying theory Theory of reasoned action (TRA)

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 Testing location and Consumers
sample
Analyzed unit Individual level
Research instruments Survey:

2. Literature Review
2.1. Theoretical background
The theory of reasoned action (TRA) is one of the three classic models in the field of
social psychology. Being developed by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), the model aims to
explain the relationship between beliefs, attitudes, norms, intention and behaviour of
individuals.
TRA points out that the most important determinant of behavior is behavioral intention,
and direct determinants of individuals’ behavioural intentions are their attitudes toward
performing the behaviour and subjective norms associated with a behaviour (Montano &
Kasprzyk, 2015). Many prior research have used this theory to examine the relationship
between eWOM and purchase intention (Cheung & Thadani, 2012; Doh & Hwang, 2009;
Fan & Miao, 2012). But these scholars chose only two components of the TRA model as
attitudes and behavioral intentions to explain the impact of eWOM on purchase intention.
Attitude is strongly and positively related to purchase intention (Kim & Hunter, 1993).
According to Li (2010), attitude is an individual positive or negative emotional state about
performing the target behaviour.TRA suggests that an individual’s purchase intention
towards a product is determined by consumers attitudes as well as by beliefs of the
perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Carr and
Sequeira, 2007).
A country has a positive image on specific product category dimensions, which are very
important to product classification, then consumers would perceive these products more
favorably and, based upon TRA, positive attitudes would result in higher purchase
intention toward products of this category from that country (Roth and Romeo, 1992).
Hsieh et al. (2004) also point out that consumers’ attitudes toward COO image could affect
their brand purchase intention.

6
Figure 2.1: Theory of Reasonned Action from Davis, Bagozzi et Warshaw (1989)
2.2. Definitions of research construct
2.2.1. COO
Country of origin (COO) was defined as: the country where corporate headquarters of
the company marketing the product or brand is located. (Johansson et al. (1985) and
Ozsomer and Cavusgil (1991)). Normally, this is the home country for a company. Country
of origin is incident to certain brands. For example, Sony imply Japanese origin. Bilkey
and Nes (1982), Cattin et al., (1982), Han and Terpstra (1988), Lee and Schaninger (1996),
Papadopoulos (1993) and White (1979), define the product’s country of origin as the
country of manufacture or assembly. It mentions that the final point of manufacture which
can resemble a company’s headquarters. While, Bannister and Saunders (1978), Chasin
and Jaffe (1979) and Nagashima (1970, 1977) used the term “made in …..” to define the
COO of the product.
In the present market, defining the COO is very complex. The growth of multinational
companies and the evaluation of products, with components from many different source
countries, result in identifying difficultly “made in …..” (Baker and Michie (1995), Baughn
and Yaprak (1993), Chao (1993), Yaprak and Baughn (1991)). For example, Sony is a
Japanese manufacturer, but some of its products are assembled in Singapore ( a country
outsite Japan). The product assembled in Singapore would be meant “assembled in
Singapore” and if it is assembled in Japan, it would be signified “made in Japan”.
In this study, cosmetic COO is defined as the country where a specific cosmetic product
is produced at that country. For example, 3CE lipsticks is manufactured at Korea, therefore
the COO of 3CE lipsticks is Korea.
2.2.2. eWOM
The appearance of Internet-based media has facilitated the development of Word-of-
mouth online - electronic Word-of-mouth (referred to as eWOM). The most frequently
cited definition of eWOM was constituted by Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) “any positive or
7
negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or
company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet”.
Researchers also indicated that comments influences attitude towards the brand, as the
existence of excessively positive comments leads to more desirable attitude toward the
brand, while the presence of negative comments leads to negative influence towards the
brand (Lee et al., 2009).
According to Duan et al (2008) electronic words of mouth is an online network proposal
where the affirmative and unconstructive information circulated among actual buyers as
well as prospective consumers. It’s an influential alternative to socialize the instructions
from one individual to the next. Thurau et al (2004) examined that electronic words of
mouth is a declaration about the invention and corporation prepared by possible, authentic
along with ex-regulars through the World Wide Web. Moreover Cheung, et al (2008)
recommended that it’s a dominant advertising effort in which clients make use of different
websites to create awareness regarding products. eWOM occurs on a wide range of online
channels, such as blogs, emails, consumer review websites and forums, virtual consumer
communities, and SNSs (Social Network Sites).
This study defines eWOM as consumers’ perception that the comment about a specific
cosmetic product is helpful in related purchase intention.
2.2.3. Brand image
According to Aaker (1997), brand is image that people can be remembered, which make
a positive brand and easy to remember by public. A brand can be seen as a guarantee that
a product bears uniform, unique, or superior quality (Motameni & Shahrokhi, 1998).
Murphy (1990) said that brand is a complex phenomenon: “Not only it is the actual product,
but it also the unique property of a specific owner and has been developed over time so as
to embrace a set of values and attributes – both tangible and intangible – which
meaningfully and appropriately differentiate products which are otherwise very similar”.
Hsieh and Setiono (2004), a charming image attract the consumers that will purchase the
product and to differentiate the brand from its competitors. Furthermore Keller (1993)
identified that brand image is the opinion about the product which is likeness of customer’s
memory of the product.
In this study, cosmetic brand image is the current view or opinion of the customers about
brand of a cosmetic product. For example, people know that Mamode is a South Korea
cosmetic brand.
2.2.4. Perceived quality

8
 Perceived quality is a characteristic that it is recognized in the course of practice and it
can not be evaluated. Consequently, Trijp et al (1995) clarified that perceived quality can
be scrutinized thoroughly during the confidential perception of prospect. Perceived Quality
is defined as the consumers’ judgment about an entity’s (service’s) overall excellence or
superiority (Zeithaml (1987), in Rowley (1998)). Specifically, perceived quality is the
impression of excellence or superiority that a customer experiences about a product, brand
or business, derived from sight, sound, touch and scent. Furthermore, perceived quality has
direct attention to an objective quality approach that undertake to discover quantifiable
more than that assessable facts taking place in already explained principles (Zeithaml et al.,
1988).
Perceived quality is a result of consumers’ subjective judgment on a product or a
consumer judgment on the accumulative product benefits and a subjective feeling on
product quality (Zeithaml (1988), Dodds et al. (1991) and Aaker (1991)). Aaker (1991)
argues that perceived quality can show the salient differentiation of a product or a service
and becomes a selective brand in consumers’ mind. Bhuian (1997) also consider that
perceived quality is a judgment on the consistency of product specification or an evaluation
on added value of a product.
Perceived quality definition of this study is a consumer subjective judgment on a specific
cosmetic product quality, and consumer will evaluate that product quality from their
previous experiences and feelings.
2.2.5. Attitude
According to Oliver (1981) and Mazursky (1983), there are differences between
satisfaction and attitudes, it is claimed that customer satisfaction is rather temporary and it
is specifically related to consumption while attitudes are more lasting and permanent.
However, Botton and Drew (1991) and Yi (2006) said that satisfaction is a causing factor
for attitude. And satisfaction promptly leads to attitude toward purchase (Oliver, 1981 and
Mazursky, 1983). According to the TPB (Ajzen, 1991), attitude is defined as the degree to
which a person has a negative or positive evaluation of a particular behaviour. Buying
intentions and buying behaviour are forecasted through attitudes. In other words, the more
favourable the attitude with appreciation to the behaviour, the stronger the individual's
intention of behaviour performs.
The modern father of Marketing (Kotler and Keller, 2009) has given a standard
understanding of attitudes, which are formed through experience and learning and that
attitudes influence buying behavior of any product. Popescu and SteluţaUţă (2013) defined
attitude as the result of affective processes and knowledge that creates the predis-position

9
to act on convictions. Therefor Eagly and Chaiken (1993; cited in Popescu and SteluţaUţă
(2013)) admitted that the proposed definition of attitude constitutes key features of attitudes
including tendency, entity (or attitude object) and evaluation. Attitudes are crucial factors
which can dramatically influence consumer behavior.
In this study, cosmetic attitude is defined as the result of experience and knowledge that
influences purchase intention of a specific cosmetic product.
2.2.6. Purchase intention
Purchase intentions are personal action tendencies relating to the brand (Bagozzi et al.,
1979 and Ostrom, 1969). Intentions are distinct from attitudes. Whereas attitudes are
summary evaluations, intentions represent the person’s motivation in the sense of
consumer’s conscious plan to exert effort to carry out a behavior (Eagly and Chaiken
(1993), p. 168). As studied by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), purchase intention is defined
that it correlate with behavior that was formed from attitude, and this is referring to future
behavior. Similar to these prior definitions, Bian & Forsythe (2012) explained that
purchase intention refers to the likelihood that a person will purchase a product.
Based on the above literature review, the purchase intention applied in this study refers
to the likelihood of consumer who will purchase a specific cosmetic product.
2.2.7. Consumer expertise
Park and Kim (̣ 2008) indicated that consumer expertise plays an important role as
moderating variable in the impacts of eWOM on consumer purchase decision. Consumers
with low expertise are more likely to base on the peripheral cue to process information and
make purchase decisions.
According to Alba and Hutchinson (1987), consumer expertise is defined as the ability
to perform product-related tasks successfully. That definition derived from receivers’
ability, prior knowledge. Alba and Hutchinson (1987) suggested that product-related
expertise include advertising exposures, information search, interactions with salespersons,
choice and decision making, purchasing, and product usage, build up consumer expertise
various situations.
In this study, consumer expertise is defined in a simple way as consumer’s degree of
knowledge and experience related to cosmetic product.
2.3. Hypothesis development
2.3.1. The Antecedents of Brand image

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2.3.1.1. The effects of COO on Brand image
The mutual effect of brand name and COO information on consumer perception had
been well studied (D’Astous and Ahmad, 1999; Hsieh et al., 2004; Kotler and Gertner,
2002; Nebenzahl et al., 2003; Papadopolous, 1993). Most of researches had proven a
significant effect of COO information and/or brand name on consumer perception. A
significant impact of country image on brand image perception was well supported
(D’Astous and Ahmad, 1999; Hsieh et al., 2004; Hsieh and Lindridge, 2005; Cervino et al.,
2005; Kotler and Gertner, 2002; Stennkamp et al., 2003). In line with these researches, we
expect that COO information will have a significant impact on brand image perception.
Well-known COO for the product will have a positive significant impact while unknown
COO will have significant negative impact. Particularly, Korea is well-known as cosmetics,
so that the cosmetic brand origin from this country will have some competitive advantages.
As concerns brand-origin effects, Takhor and Lavack (2003) declared that COO is one such
cue that plays potentially important role in determining a brand’s image. When the brand
is created, it sometimes comes out to consumers in association with its origin.
H1: COO information has a positive effect on brand image perception.
2.3.1.2. The effects of eWOM on Brand image
With the rapid and growing advancement of internet usage now people can post their
reviews, recommendations, tips on the virtual atmosphere (Gaitan, Javeir, Cataluna,
Esteban & Correa, 2013). Word of mouth is an evaluation of product and services
(Anderson, 1998). WOM opens up the door for people to give their opinions about brands
with other people trust (Mayzlin, 2006; Patel, 2015). Brand association is created with the
help of direct experience of purchasing and also by the information flow to the consumer
through WOM (Hertel, 1986), and sets of brand association is brand awareness and brand
image (Keller, 1993). According to Keller (1993) Online and internet has more impact on
creating and establishing brand image, and the strong impact of brand image is made
through WOM which creates strong impact on brand judgment (Herr, Kardes, & Kim,
1991). As defined by the American Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA),
word of mouth (WOM) is the act of consumers providing information to other consumers’
(WOMMA, 2008). As different eWOM platforms may influence the level of eWOM
adoption (Lee &Youn, 2009) with different weights, this study intends to investigate
eWOM effects from social networking sites as one of the most popular virtual communities
for Taiwanese people to seek opinions about beauty care products. A recent survey found
that most consumers perceive online opinions to be as trustworthy as brand websites
(ACNielsen, 2007). The research Conducted in Iran shows that eWOM is an effective and

11
influential tool which has a positive impact on brand image, eWOM helps in building good
brand image and has direct effect on it (Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012).
H2: Electronic word of mouth has a positive impact on brand image.
2.3.2. The Antecedents of Perceived quality
2.3.2.1. The effects of COO on Perceived quality
The quality of a product is one in the important aspect for customers and frequently
positivelyaffected when using COO. Businesses think that when people evaluate an
advertisement, they will perceive quality of the product higher (Lotte Schwerzel, 2018).
Products with a high perceived quality might impact strongly on the attitude and purchase
intentions of customers. One of the prominent benefits of a working and effective COO
marker was that it was seen as a evidence of product quality and that it deputized a
trustworthy for quality (Diamantopoulos et al. 2012). Besides, the study of Cameron and
Elliot (1994) showed that when product advertisement were completely the same except
for stated COO, the perceived quality of the product increased for products that were
congruent with the COO. However, this was only the case when there were no other cues
to interpret quality (Cameron & Elliot, 1994). According to the study of Hof et al., (2013),
evaluate the effectiveness of slogans when using different languages, showed that the
customer will be a higher perception of product quality when advertising in foreign
languages. A study of Steenkamp and Verlegh (1999) even found that the COO effect was
more significant for product quality attributes than for product attitudes and purchase
intention. From the above studies, can showed that there is a positive relationship between
Korean products outside of Korea and "Korean wave"perceived quality. Especially, for
Korean cosmetics can have considerable influence perception of quality initially of the
consumer. Therefore, it is believed that receivers will evaluate perceived quality to be
useful once it is country of origin. Thus, we can hypothesized that:
H3: COO has a positive effect on perceived quality
2.3.2.2. The effects of eWOM on Perceived quality
Between electronic words of mouth and perceived quality there is direct association
(Gruen et al., 2006). A stydy of Richins and Root-Shaffer (1988) for that electronic
words of mouth have considerable dominance over the perceived quality. According to
Day (1971) prospects have a tendency to judge the information from their friends,
colleagues and homie. They considered their messages more reliable as compare to
salespersons. Furthermore Bock et al (2012) enlightened that electronic words of
mouth have supremacy over the perceived quality because it is believed as a well-known

12
structure, which is generally associated with the consumers’ perceptions. Accrue perceived
quality of the consumers is strong affected by electronic words of mouth for the reason that
perceptions changed due to the electronic words of mouth (Korgaonkar and Karson; 2007).
Brown and Reingen (1987) explained that words of mouth have a momentous impact
over the perceived quality since it relates with the thoughts as well as with the actions of
the consumers. Out of, messages through the electronic words of mouth have a strong
effect on the temporary and enduring judgment of the regulars usually linked with the
perceived quality (Bone, 1995). Words of mouth gives an opportunity to the customer to
construct the best alternatives in order to enhance perceived quality (Chaniotakis and
Lymperopoulos; 2009). As everyone knows, South Korean has a strong culture with
people with smooth skin and white light so the quality of cosmetics of the country is always
the first choice of consumers.. Therefore, we believe that perception of quality initially of
Korean cosmetics is strongly influenced by the electronic words of mouth between people
with each other . Therefore, the relationship between eWOM and perceived quality can be
proposed in this study. Thus, this study hypothesized:
H4: eWOM has a positive effect on perceived quality.
2.3.3. The Antecedents of Attitude
In the early 60's, the term attitude in psychology was firstly introduced by Herbert
Spencer and Alexander Brain. At that time the term "attitude" meant an inner state of
readiness to perform a task (Cacioppo et al., 1994). Attitude is a part of belief. People can
consider their beliefs as causes of the attitude (Kordnaeij et al., 2013). The attitude is
defined as a person's positive or negative feelings about an action in general. In other study,
( Kordnaeij, 2013), people's attention to a product or vice versa can be drawed by attitudes.
Therefore, we can assume that the consumer’s attitude is their overall assessment of a
concept (Monirul and Hui Han, 2012).
2.3.3.1. The effects of Brand image on Attitude
The previous studies had shown that the brand identify can be used to distinguish
products ( goods or services) from their competitors. The study of Keller, 2003 and Lassar,
Mittal and Sharma, 1995 contended that over the time, a product’s identify may evolve,
gain new attributes based on the views of consumers, and formal marketing efforts are not
necessary. According to the study of Keller 1993, the positive brand knowledge favorably
transforms customer perceptions, preferences, and behaviors toward a specific marketing
mix, enhancing brand attitude, brand choice, and brand loyalty. The study of Laroche, Kim,
Zhou ( 1996) confirmed that the brand familiarity has effects on confidence, suggesting
that a consumer's confidence toward a brand may result from his/her familiarity or

13
experience with the brand. On the other hand, there is evidence showing that intention to
buy a particular brand is positively affected by attitude toward the same brand and
negatively affected by attitudes toward other brands in the choice set (Laroche and Bri-
soux, 1989). Intention to buy a specific brand will be positively affected by a consumer's
attitude toward the same brand and negatively affected by his/her attitudes toward other
competing brands in the choice set. The study of Keller 2003 claimed that consumers may
have a brand node with a variety of associations linked to that node, including attributes,
usage occasions, benefits, and attitudes. Moreover, in the study of Yu, Kim and Kim (2012)
showed that brand prestige and fashionability were important to Japanese tourists , who
spent more on Korean cosmetics. This suggested that the purchase of Korean cosmetics by
Japanese tourists is affected by Korean brand prestige and fashionability. Based on the
above explanations, it could be completely believed that consumers have good attitudes to
products which create an positive image in their mind. Thus, it can be hypothesized that:
H5: Brand image has a positive effect on overall attitude.
2.3.3.2. The effects of Perceived quality on Attitude
Perceived quality is customer perception of general quality or superiority of one product
or service - with attention to the purpose of that product or service- in comparison to other
alternatives (Keller, 2008). Perceived quality is a general and intangible feeling about a
brand. The identification and measurement of its main dimension will be useful, but it
should not be forgotten that perceived quality is a general perception (Kia, 2012). The
previous study of Kirmani and Zeithalm (1993) showed that “brand attitude is one of the
consequences of perceived quality along with perceived value and brand image”.
According to Ciornea (2013), quality plays an important role in customer’s satisfaction.
Several other studies indicated that perceived quality has a positive effect on brand attitude
(Homer, 2008; Lee et al., 2010; Yu and Dong, 2010). In the case of cosmetics, the studies
of Chae, 2001; Hong, 2007, discovered that the most important attribute for customers
buying cosmetic products is skin friendliness, regardless of their age, gender, and lifestyles
in addition to their quality and price. Accordingly, high quality can lead to the high level
of the consumer’s ability to keep buying products. Consumer’s attitude and sastifaction are
affected by the quality of products. Thus, this study proposed that:
H6: Perception of product quality has a positive effect on overall attitude.
2.3.4. The effects of Attitude on Purchase intention
Attitude shows the psychological tendency of consumer’s liking or disliking. Attitude
was found to be an important predictor of behavioral intention. The study of Madden et al.,
(1992) showed that in Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), consumers’ attitudes have a
14
positive influence on their intentions to buy a product. Among the studies that have
assessed this relationship for Halal products ,Lada et al. (2009), found that there is a
positive relationship between attitude and intention to choose Halal products. Attitudes
towards an object can affect the information which related to processing, judgements and
resulting behaviors compared to positive or ground attitudes (Pretty and Krosnick, 2014).
In the previous study of Azmawani et al.,2015, intentions are “the person’s motivation
in the sense of his or her conscious plan to exert effort to carry out a behavior” . Purchase
intention is the consumers’s possibility of buying product, which can predict the occurrence
of actual purchase behavior ( cited in Dods te al 1991, Zeithaml, 1998). Consumers who
have positive purchase intention will form positive commitment. Commitment can be in
repurchasing intention or consumer’s loyalty form. Therefore, this study hypothesized that:
H7: Attitudes has a positive effect on purchase intention
2.3.5. Moderating effects of Consumer expertise on the relationship between eWOM
and Perceived quality
Consumer expertise refers to the kind of consumer who has a high level of knowledge
or skill about a specific area. eWOM may affect different kinds of consumer at different
levels on their perceptions of product quality. Several previous research have shown the
deep relationship between eWOM, consumer expertise and purchase intention ( Cheung et
al, 2012; Park & Kim, 2008; Fan & Miao, 2012). Park & Kim (2008) concluded that
consumers with different levels of expertise prefer different types of review messages, and
the effect of eWOM on purchase intention is stronger for non-experts than for experts. The
study also found that non-experts depend on the amount of reviews more than experts do
(Park & Kim, 2008). Cheung et al (2012) showed that consumer expertise plays a crucial
role in moderating the effects of eWOM on consumer purchase decisions, but with a
negative moderating effect. Thus, people with higher level of expertise are less influenced
by others’ opinions or actions (Cheung et al, 2012). Meanwhile, according to Chang &
Wildt (1994), perceived quality serves as a important determinant and has direct impact on
purchase intention. Hence, this study expects that eWOM might have less effects on experts
in terms of quality perception than on non-experts. In other words, people with prior
knowledge may be less affected by others’ opinion on quality of the product than people
with no prior knowledge or experience
H8: Consumer expertise has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between
eWOM and perceived quality

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