Does the Endorser’s Nationality Matter? An Investigation of Young Taiwanese Consumers’ Selecting Smartphone

Abstract

The use of a wrong celebrity endorser may boost the animosity of local consumers toward a specific country with a complex consumer animosity. Thus, this study aims to examine whether the match or mismatch between the endorser’s nationality and the brand’s country of origin affects consumers’ purchase intention. We use an experimental study to investigate the purchase intention of young Taiwanese consumers toward Korean smartphone brand “Samsung”. Results indicate that the endorser’s nationality does matter. While celebrity endorsement has a consistent positive effect on purchase intention, the effect of the endorser’s nationality varies. Specifically, using domestic celebrity as an endorser has more advantage in enhancing the purchase intentions of consumers who are neutral and dislike Korea than using a foreign celebrity. However, an endorser’s nationality has no significant difference among young Taiwanese consumers who like the Korean culture. Smartphone producers such as Samsung and LG can use the results to promote their new products in a foreign country such as Taiwan and Japan with a complex consumer animosity.