The main objective of this chapter was to determine the variables that explain and moderate the intention to purchase regional a specific product, in particular, wine. Some of the selected variables were directly related to regional development. To achieve that goal, and based on the literature review, authors designed a structural model to study the ROO effect in the Spanish wine market. The model proposes direct and indirect effects of the following antecedent variables on the purchase intention: the region's image, the region's image as a producer in this product category, the perceived quality of the region's products, and consumer ethnocentrism. The results of this study contribute to guiding decision-making on the strategies to be implemented by regional public institutions in collaboration with the wine industry, both of them responsible of creating value for the region.
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In the purchase of certain categories of food products, especially those in which it is difficult to evaluate their intrinsic attributes (nutritional and organoleptic qualities such as taste, colour or texture), the extrinsic attributes take on great importance in the process of consumer choice (such as brand or functionality and design of packaging) .One such extrinsic attribute that can become a key to this differentiation is the provenance or geographical origin of the product. Such is the importance that this aspect may have in the purchase decision that it has come to be known as the fifth element of the marketing mix (Baker & Currie, 1993).
The terms “made in” effect, “country-of-origin” (COO) effect, “region-of-origin” (ROO) effect, or, in general, “place-of-origin” effect reflect the implications that the geographical provenance of the product has for consumers’ purchasing decision processes (Bilkey & Ness, 1982; Johansson, 1989), i.e., in such aspects as the perceived quality, preference, or intention to purchase a particular product. Papadopoulos and Heslop (2003) define the “place-of-origin” effect as “a set of strengths and weaknesses linked to the place of origin that add or detract value from the product for consumers”. This added value can come from environmental and human factors already existing in the place. It may manifest itself in different ways: through the consumer’s perceived quality of the product (Han & Terpstra, 1988; Ahmed & d’Astous, 1992, 1996, 2001, 2007; Verlegh et al., 2005; Veale & Quester, 2009), through their attitudes and preferences (Bigné & Cuenca, 2000; Van Ittersum et al., 2003; Orth et al., 2005; Font i Furnols et al., 2011; Gracia et al., 2011), or through their purchase intention (González & Villanueva, 2001; Cerviño et al., 2005; Montesinos & Currat, 2007; Auger et al., 2010; Godey et al., 2012).