Analyzing the Effects of Country-of-Origin and Corporate Reputation on Buyer's Initial Trust

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of country-of-origin (COO) and corporate reputation on buyer’s initial trust in electrical household appliances industry. In addition, the study explores the effects of buyer’s traits (general trust and ethnocentrism) and the role of product guarantee on initial trust. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, self-completed by 384 buyers in Tehran (selected by convenient sampling). Relationships between constructs are tested by using multiple regression analysis and employing SPSS (16.0). Results of study support the view that COO and corporate reputation can create trust in buyer i.e. both of them have a significant main effect on initial trust. Also, higher level of general trust in buyer leads to more initial trust and guarantee has a positive effect on it. But, ethnocentrism had no significant effect on trust in buying foreign products.