How can Country-of-Origin image be leveraged to create global sporting goods brands?

• We investigate brand creation factors in two sporting goods sectors.
• Sport is a location-specific determinant of Country-of-Origin (CoO) image.
• CoO image with sport product category-country associations enables brand creation.
• We extend the stakeholder model of brand creation by location-specific factors.

While much marketing research has focused on brand creation and management, less is known about the creation of sport brands. This paper complements the stakeholder model of branding and brand creation, which highlights the role of a firm's stakeholders in the analysis of brands, by including country-specific factors based on location and Country-of-Origin (CoO). Using a sample of innovative New Zealand-based firms, our qualitative study uses a comparative case method in two subsector settings to investigate how they have built outdoor sport brands based on that country's particular country-specific factors. We show how firms are able to leverage New Zealand's strong sport product category-country associations to create brand value. Our findings confirm that CoO image together with sport product category-country associations enables the creation of brands in sport product categories. Our paper contributes to theory and practice by extending understanding of brand creation by demonstrating the importance of location and product category. Further research directions are suggested.