Effects of ethnocentric tendency on consumers' perception of product attitudes for foreign and domestic products

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and product attitudes, including country of origin, and to investigate whether ethnocentric tendencies and product attitudes vary by demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach -Data for the study were collected through a face-to-face survey of consumers in Turkey. Of the 300 questionnaires distributed, 283 were accepted as usable for the study. Consumer ethnocentrism was measured by CETSCALE. Findings -The findings show that shoppers with high levels of ethnocentricity are more likely to be less educated and to earn lower monthly income than those with low levels of ethnocentric tendency. As expected, those with low-ethnocentricity levels perceive foreign products more favorably than their high-ethnocentricity counterparts.Research limitations/implications -The study has two limitations. First, the research sample was located in only one Turkish city which is a clear constraint on the generalizibility of the results. Second, consumers were asked to evaluate the attributes of foreign-origin products without reference to a specific product group. Practical implications -These findings provide useful market intelligence for marketing strategists targeting Turkey, but must be generalized with caution. Originality/value -This paper both supports and contributes to the existing literature by examining consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin together.

When Does It Pay off to Link a Brand Name to a Country?

“…The younger generation in Romania as well as the women and university educated respondents tend to have weaker attachment to the communist ideology and are less ethnocentric than their male and older counterparts as well as the relatively poorer consumer segments. The results are, therefore, consistent with the studies conducted by other scholars such as Sharma, Shimp, and Shin (1995); Ueltschy (1998); Watson and Wright (2000); and Erdogan and Uzkurt (2010), who found that younger consumers have more open attitudes towards foreign products, and are less ideologically disposed (O'Cass & Lim, 2002;Wang, Siu, & Hui, 2004;Hsu & Nien, 2008).…”

“…Bilkey & Nes, 1982;Peterson & Jolibert, 1995;Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999;Pecotich & Rosenthal, 2001;Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2002;Kaynak & Kara, 2002;Pharr, 2005;Vida & Reardon, 2008). Consumer ethnocentrism (CE) may lead to exaggerating the quality of locally made products while undervaluing that of foreignmade products (Huddleston, Good, & Stoel, 2001;Erdogan & Uzkurt, 2010). These perceptions tend to be guided by rational, emotional, and even moral considerations.…”

“…Previous studies disclose that demographic factors such as age, education, income (Watson & Wright, 2000;Erdogan & Uzkurt, 2010), gender (Sharma, Shimp & Shin, 1995), and occupation (Carauna & Magri, 1996;Othman, Ong, F.S. & Wong, 2008;Ramsaran-Fowda, 2010;Hamelin, Ellouzi & Canterbury, 2011) impact consumer ethnocentrism.…”

How Do Consumers Adopt Imported Products in an Era of Product Overcrowding?

“…Companies seeking to trade or sell their products in foreign countries not only need to know how their products are perceived by consumers in those countries [4], [10], [69], but also how their potential consumers perceive the product's country of origin for that specific product category. In other words, if potential consumers identify the product's country of origin as a renowned manufacturer for those products, they are likely to be more favorable toward purchasing products from that country regardless of its level of development.…”

“…Previous research has shown that consumers often evaluate imported goods differently than they do identical domestic products [4], [5]. Imported products frequently confront consumers with innovation and new cultures as well as alternative business ideas and practices e.g.…”