The Unknown Charm of Finnish : Exploring how Finland as a country of origin and Finnish country image effects on purchase intentions

Sammanfattning: Today when the global competition is getting fiercer and the world can be seen as a one big market, the countries of origin and country images have a significant role when consumers are evaluating products and services. Therefore, this research will focus on Finland as a COO and on Finnish country image.  The purpose of this thesis is to find out how foreign consumers perceive Finland as a COO and Finnish country image. Which attitudes they have towards it and how they affect purchase intentions. In addition, the purpose is to provide valuable knowledge for the stakeholders, in order to improve the promotion of Finland. The method used in this study is qualitative included with a few quantitative elements. Methods were chosen in order to understand what kind of attitudes and perception foreign consumers have about Finland and why. General perception and attitudes towards Finland and Finnish country are rather good, but general atmosphere is that foreign consumers are lacking knowledge and base their perception on neighboring countries.