Consumer ethnocentrism in developing countries

Abstract

Previous research has shown that consumers in developed countries display a high level of consumer ethnocentrism by prioritizing local products over foreign manufactured ones. Paradoxically, it is generally believed that consumers from developing countries, and least developed countries, are more inclined to buy imported goods instead of domestic ones. This study examines the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism (C.E) and their willingness to purchase domestic products (W.B.D) in one developing country: Tunisia. To this end, this paper investigates the moderating effect of product country of origin (C.O.O) and conspicuous consumption (C.C) of a number of foreigners in knowingly developed and developing countries such as France, Italy, People's Republic of China and Turkey upon this relationship. Based on a positivist epistemological approach, a questionnaire was developed and successfully administered based on a general sample of 152 individuals living mainly in the second biggest city of Tunisia, Sfax. Data was analyzed and tested by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) following the tow-step approach of Gerbing and Anderson (1988). The results of the analysis show that C.O.O and C.C moderate the intensity of the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and the inclination to buying domestic products. Finally, this study both supports and adds to the existing literature that seeks to understand consumption behaviors in developing countries. It also shows that in developing countries, the relationship between C.E and the consumer's W.B.D is less evident than in developed countries.

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