Validation of country-of-origin effects on crisis spillovers: A meta-analysis

In today's globalized economy and highly interconnected media landscape, the impact of country-of-origin (COO) effects on crisis spillovers has attracted growing interest. However, the majority of the relevant studies are limited to case studies. A clear understanding of the relationship between COO effects and crisis spillovers has yet to be established. To address this gap, a meta-analysis of 24 causal pairs from 9 papers (n = 5746, combined n = 10942) was performed. The results indicate that COO effects can somewhat limit crisis spillovers. Specifically, the COO effect has a medium degree of mitigating effect on morality (r = 0.403) and competence crises (r = 0.240). When the COO is a developed country (r = 0.345), the COO effect can effectively mitigate crisis spillovers to a medium extent, while when the COO is a developing country (r = 0.180), the COO effect is small. Using organizational impressions (r = 0.357) rather than purchase intentions (r = 0.157) as a measurement instrument makes it easier to observe the dampening effect of COO on crisis spillovers. These findings enrich the theoretical framework of public relations and crisis management and provide strategies for business organizations to cope with spillovers.