An investigation of vital issues that should be addressed to work on a country image

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Abstract

This paper sought to establish the vital issues that should be addressed to work on a national image. The country image is significant as it supports attracting foreign direct investment, tourists, foreign students, and expatriate workers who might bring managerial skills and technological exchange to the country. The paper tried to investigate how much political instability has impacted the national image, analyse the impact of policies on the country image and establish the effect of infrastructure on a country image, and contribute to the literature on the effect of the vital elements on the country image. The research contributes to the components of the national image. The country image is positively interrelated with a view on product integrity, pride of ownership, product gratification, enthusiasm to purchase from specific countries, and general product knowledge (Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2002). Nations historically branded themselves through icons. Symbols like flags, military uniforms, currencies, anthems, and ideology are due to regime changes and stereotypes (Fan, 2010; Dinnie, 2008; Fan, 2006). This research was based on a descriptive approach methodology, combining subjective and quantitative techniques. It was based on 100 stakeholders including politicians, media personnel, community development personnel, traditional leaders, church leaders, and academics and entrepreneurs. The study established that Zimbabwe’s image has been affected by political instability emanating from political activities, policy inconsistencies have affected inward investment in the country and the country’s infrastructure has an immense contribution to the national image. For the country to attract meaningful investment and foreign tourists it needs to deal with its image.

Keywords: Country Image, Strategic Issues, National Branding, Policies, Infrastructure, Political Instability, Zimbabwe

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualisation — P.C.; Methodology — M.A.P.; Formal Analysis — P.C.; Investigation — P.C.; Resources — P.C.; Data Curation — P.C.; Writing — Original Draft — P.C.; Writing — Review & Editing — M.A.P. and P.C.; Supervision — M.A.P.; Validation — M.A.P.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: D72, D78, M31

Received: 16.03.2021
Accepted: 07.11.2022
Published online: 10.11.2022

How to cite this paper: Chawuruka, P., & Phiri, M. A. (2022). An investigation of vital issues that should be addressed to work on a country image. Corporate Governance and Organizational Behavior Review, 6(4), 168–184. https://doi.org/10.22495/cgobrv6i4p16