The ‘made-in’ effect: Effect of Country-of-origin on Consumers’ Buying Decision of Cloths (A Case of COO’s Effect on Mekelle University Students)

Globalization opened opportunities to cross-boundary trade where by customers can access various products which are made in different countries. For this fact customers’ evaluation of products has been affected by the image of the country at which the product is made, usually called country of origin. Because of expansion of international trade which involves cross country involvement of companies and emerging of multi-national companies, customers’ purchase decision becomes more complex. Nowadays, country of origin is affecting customers’ preference of products and their purchase decision. This research is concerned with assessing effect of country of origin on Ethiopian customers’ preference of products and their buying decision. The main targets of the study are students of Mekelle University. Data has been collected from 315 students of different departments of College of Business and Economics. In the sampling process a combination of probability and non probability sampling techniques are used to address the ultimate sample elements. The research design applied is descriptive research design. Moreover, descriptive analysis is used to analyze the data collected from the respondents. And the finding shows that country-of-origin has effect on university students buying decision.