Country-of-Origin Effect and Consumer Purchase Intentions in the Indian Automobile Market: The Roles of Reflexiveness, Habituation, and Cognition

The country-of-origin (COO) effect plays a significant role in shaping consumer perceptions across industries, yet its influence on the rapidly evolving Indian automobile sector remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of reflexiveness, habituation, and cognition on consumer purchase intentions toward domestic and foreign automobiles in India. Using a standardized scale by Siamagka and Balabanis (2015), survey data were collected from 271 respondents, primarily from urban India. Regression analysis revealed that reflexiveness and habituation positively and significantly influenced purchase intention, while cognition exerted a small but significant negative effect, suggesting that strong foreign brand associations may reduce preference for Indian cars. Employment status emerged as a differentiating factor, with self-employed individuals showing a greater inclination toward foreign automobiles, whereas age and gender had no significant impact. The findings also highlighted limited adoption of electric vehicles (6.1% of cars owned), pointing to infrastructural and informational barriers. This study contributes to COO literature in the Indian context and provides actionable insights for automobile marketers and policymakers to strengthen consumer confidence in domestic brands.