Conspicuous consumption symbolizes ostentatious and material consumption through the purchase of products and services with a higher economic value and that allows their consumers to excel socially. However, conspicuous consumption often does not represent social and environmental values, because their products are often not characterized by being made through sustainable processes. United Nations, through its sustainable development agenda, invited companies to be aware of the social and environmental problems of the world and to be able to generate strategies that can be sustainable over time and allow the growth of both the company and society in general. This study analyses the case of Starbucks as a global and sustainable brand, which also generates conspicuous consumption in emerging markets. In this way, we explain how this brand generates a social status in emerging markets, which allow their consumers to excel socially. On the other hand, we explain how Starbucks contributes positively to sustainability in these types of markets, generating greater well-being for both the environment and society in general. In this way, this brand manages to transmit messages with symbolic values of social status, as well as social and environmental awareness. This research allows us to see how Starbucks is able to generate conspicuous consumption in Colombia, which is the third largest exporter of coffee in the world but is also capable of generating sustainable processes that help Colombian coffee growers and the environment. This research used a quantitative methodology based on a structured questionnaire made for conspicuous consumers of the Starbucks brand in Colombia, whose data were processed through the statistical program PLS 3.2.7. This research details the sustainable processes carried out by this brand in this developing country and the reasons why its consumption in this emerging market is considered conspicuous. For this research, family allocentrism, ethnocentrism, and patriotism are considered antecedents of conspicuous consumption, and brand image and brand loyalty are considered their results.

Consumer animosity represents discomfort towards foreign goods, services and brands originating in countries with which there is some kind of conflict; in this way, a better understanding of consumer behavior in respect of hostilities between countries is sought. On the other hand, the conflicts in Latin America and the Caribbean are often overlooked in the academic literature, which focuses on studying the major Western economies and the great Asian tigers, given their political, economic and military value; for this reason, consumer animosity studies are mostly conducted in these countries. This study seeks to contribute to the scarce literature on consumer animosity in Latin America, through a current conflict between two South American countries, such as Colombia and Venezuela. The data processed through the PLS, allow us to demonstrate how the Colombian consumer, although he may have animosity towards Venezuela, has a positive image of the fast-food restaurants of Venezuelan origin in Colombia. In this way, this study shows that consumer animosity is not widespread, but must be studied specifically for each type of product, service, or brand.

Numerous studies have identified that ethnocentric consumers prefer buying products produced nationally rather than products from overseas. Nevertheless, this study has been focused on big economies, that’s why its application in developing countries is still scarce, especially if we want to know their relationship with a global and foreign brand that operates in these developing countries. On the other hand, this study has been centralized in products, and that is the reason why the studies in hedonic services are also scarce. The objective of this study is to identify the antecedents and consequences of ethnocentrism in hedonic services by applying the variable to a developing country such as Colombia. Considering the cultural and economic importance of Colombian coffee and, regarding a global brand, foreign and hedonic services like Starbucks. This allows the presentation of a theoretical model that forms the basis of an empirical study with a sample of 305 consumers of Starbucks in Bogotá. Via data analysis with Smart PLS 3.0, it was observed that although the Colombian consumer is ethnocentric, they do possess loyalty towards the cited global brand. These results provide us with implications for the management of international businesses as well as with future research pathways.