1 ) Consumer ethnocentrism and attitudes toward domestic and foreign products

Literature review :
The country of origin effect and consumer ethnocentrism
The country of origin effect, also known as the ``made in'' concept, has been broadly defined as the positive or negative influence that a product's country of manufacture may have on consumers' decision processes or subsequent behaviour (Elliott and Cameron, 1994). Within the realm of consumer decision making, country of origin has been defined as an extrinsic cue that acts as a risk mitigant or quality cue for consumers (Cordell, 1992). Such extrinsic cues (others include price, brand name, warranties) serve as intangible product traits that contrast with intrinsic cues (e.g., taste, design), which are tangible aspects or physical characteristics of the product itself (Bilkey and Nes, 1982). Although some studies have questioned the importance of country of origin for much consumer decision making (Elliott and Cameron, 1994; Hugstad and Durr, 1986; Mitchell and Greatorex, 1990; Schooler and Wildt, 1968), recent research has demonstrated that the country of origin has a substantial effect on attitudes toward products and the likelihood of purchasing these products, often demonstrating effects that are as strong or stronger than those of brand name, price, or quality (Ahmed and d'Astous, 1996; Lantz and Loeb, 1996; Okechuku, 1994).
Recent research has linked the country of origin effect to levels of consumer ethnocentrism. Consumer ethnocentrism focuses on the responsibility and morality of purchasing foreign-made products and the loyalty of consumers to products manufactured in their home country (Shimp and Sharma, 1987). Sharma et al. (1995) note that consumer ethnocentrism may result in an overestimation of the attributes and overall quality of domestic products and an underestimation of the quality of foreign products. The measurement of consumer ethnocentrism was made possible with the development of the CETSCALE (Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale) by Shimp and Sharma (1987). The CETSCALE consists of 17 items which measure the tendency of consumers to act consistently towards foreign and domestic products. Such tendencies may precede attitudes, but they are not the equivalent of attitudes, which tend to be object specific.
The relationship between country similarity and the country of origin effect has been researched widely (Johansson et al., 1985; Lantz and Loeb, 1996; Shimp and Sharma, 1987). Wang and Lamb (1983) found a positive bias towards products from countries regarded as culturally similar to the USA (i.e., some European countries, Australia, and New Zealand), and Crawford and Lamb (1981) found a greater willingness to purchase products from source nations that are politically and economically similar to the home country (see also Kaynak and Cavusgil, 1983).
With regard to consumer ethnocentrism, Sharma et al. (1995) suggest that cultural similarity between countries is one factor that may influence the effect of consumer ethnocentric tendencies on attitudes toward foreign products. In an article that examined the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and evaluation of foreign products, Lantz and Loeb (1996) examined the value consumers in Canada and the USA place on a product (computer mousepads) being from their own or another country. In support of their hypotheses, Lantz and Loeb (1996) found that highly ethnocentric consumers, in comparison to individuals with low levels of consumer ethnocentrism, have more favourable attitudes toward products from culturally similar countries.
While the study by Lantz and Loeb (1996) makes an important contribution by investigating the impact of ethnocentrism on consumers' attitudes toward foreign products, its significance is perhaps limited through its use of undergraduate students as subjects. Demographic differences with regard to age and educational level for ethnocentrism have been found previously (Shimp and Sharma, 1987); thus, there is the potential for bias in the establishment of ethnocentrism levels. Another potential limitation of the study conducted by Lantz and Loeb (1996), and perhaps a limitation of other research examining the country of origin effect, concerns the lack of precision as to the definitions of similar and dissimilar countries. For Lantz and Loeb (1996), Canada was regarded as having a shared identity with the USA ``due to a considerable history of trade and social relations,'' while Mexico was deemed to be culturally dissimilar, seemingly because it lacked this historical connection. Many previous studies have also relied on perceptions of cultural similarity and dissimilarity that are only loosely grounded in theory (Kaynak and Cavusgil, 1983). Individual perceptions of cultures as similar or dissimilar may vary considerably, but for the purposes of academic research, a theoretical rationale for the classification of cultures seems advisable. To overcome this limitation, our research utilises the objective values classification of culture proposed by Schwartz (1994), who identified seven value types that can be used to explain differences between cultures and provided a listing of these differences for over 30 countries. A more thorough discussion of Schwartz's (1994) work is provided in the Appendix, and an explanation of the countries used in this study is provided in the methodology section.
Our study focuses on the New Zealand consumer. By using the Schwartz (1994) cultural-level value theory, it is possible to categorise countries as culturally similar and culturally dissimilar to New Zealand in a rigorous manner, so that the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and attitudes toward foreign manufactured products may be examined. Based on the literature discussed above, it is hypothesised that:
H1a: Individuals with high levels of consumer ethnocentrism will have more favourable attitudes toward products imported from culturally similar countries than products from culturally dissimilar countries.
H1b: Individuals with high levels of consumer ethnocentrism will be more willing to purchase products imported from culturally similar countries than from culturally dissimilar countries.
In contrast to ethnocentric consumers, non-ethnocentric consumers have been found to place less emphasis on the origin of the product, but rather evaluate foreign products on their own merits. Non-ethnocentric consumers may even evaluate foreign products more favourably because they are not sourced domestically (McIntyre and Meric, 1994). Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, theoretically to support hypotheses regarding the relationship between individuals with low levels of consumer ethnocentrism and their attitudes toward foreign products. Consequently, the hypotheses tested in this paper concern the attitudes of highly ethnocentric consumers only. However, analyses for individuals with low levels of consumer ethnocentrism have been conducted and are reported later in the paper.
Domestic alternative not available
The above hypotheses provide a replication of previous country of origin research by examining the influence of consumer ethnocentrism in decision situations where a domestic product may be available. However, if a domestically manufactured product is not available, the ethnocentric consumer will have no choice but to purchase imported goods. In countries such as New Zealand, the loyalty of consumers to domestic goods cannot encompass all product categories, because domestic industry does not manufacture all types of products (Garland and Coy, 1993; Herche, 1992). Moon (1996) noted that even highly ethnocentric consumers can have a favourable attitude towards a foreign culture but the question remains as to which countries will be the preferred choice of ethnocentric consumers when purchasing goods not manufactured domestically.
Sharma et al. (1995) provide some insight into this area. They suggest that ethnocentric consumers may distinguish countries based on their similarity to the home country as either in-group or out-group. Ethnocentric consumers are expected to exhibit a greater preference for products from these in-group countries over products from the out-group countries because of their in-group status. Therefore, it could be hypothesised that in a decision situation where domestically manufactured goods are unavailable, ethnocentric consumers will exhibit a preference for products from culturally similar countries over those from culturally dissimilar countries. Once again, the following hypotheses concern the attitudes of ethnocentric consumers only.
H2a: In decision situations in which there is no domestic alternative, individuals with high levels of consumer ethnocentrism will have more favourable attitudes toward products imported from culturally similar countries than products from culturally dissimilar countries.
H2b: In decision situations in which there is no domestic alternative, individuals with high levels of consumer ethnocentrism will be more willing to purchase products imported from culturally similar countries than from culturally dissimilar countries.

2) INFLUENCE OF CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM ON PURCHASE INTENTIONS: CASE OF CROATIA
The concept of consumer ethnocentrism has been derived from the general concept of ethnocentrism, which was first introduced in 1906 by sociologist William Sumner. In the early eighties, Crawford and Lamb (1981) showed that buying foreign products can cause high emotional involvement especially when it comes to national security or loss of jobs. That argument offered the concept of ethnocentrism beyond psychological and social frameworks, and was recognized in the field of marketing as one of the dynamic factors in consumer purchasing choices.
Consumer ethnocentrism is defined as “the beliefs held by consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality of purchasing foreign-made product and the loyalty of consumers to the products manufactured in their home country.” (Shimp and Sharma, 1987, str. 280). Consumer ethnocentrism has a direct and negative impact on consumers' purchase intention towards foreign products. These imply that the high ethnocentric tendencies lead to unfavorable attitude towards lower purchase intentions for foreign products. According to Shimp and Sharma (1987), consumers refuse to buy foreign products because they consider that they are harmful to the national economy and cause unemployment.
Herche (1992) found that consumer ethnocentrism can predict consumers' preferences to buy domestically produced goods instead of foreign and that the ethnocentric tendencies are better predictors of purchase behavior than demographic or marketing mix variables. The construct of consumers' ethnocentrism relies on the presumption that the consumers' patriotic emotions will have significant effects on attitudes and purchase intentions. Therefore, Shoham and Brenečić (2003) reported that consumer ethnocentrism had a significant impact on consumers' intentions to purchase domestically produced goods. Many other studies have examined the impact of consumer ethnocentric tendencies on purchase intentions. (Yelkur et.al, 2006; Chryssochoidis et al.; 2007; Nguyen, et al., 2008; Evanschitzky, et al., 2008; Ranjbairn, et al.; 2011) However, the results have been different depending on the characteristics of consumers and countries. Only recently, in the former Yugoslavia several studies have been conducted that have examined the impact consumers’ ethnocentric tendencies on purchasing behavior. (Vida, Damian, 2000; Ljubić, et al., 2002; Kesić, et al., 2004.; Kesić, et al., 2005; Reardon, et al., 2005; Čutura, 2006; Dmitrović, Vida, 2007; Dmitrović, et al.; 2009).
Literature suggested that consumers’ ethnocentric tendencies depend on the degree of the development of a country. The original concept of consumer ethnocentrism has emerged in developed countries where consumers generally positively evaluated the quality of domestic products (Herche, 1992; Elliot, Cameron., 1994; Ahmed et al., 2004). Recent research (Supphellen, Gronhaug, 2003; Reardon, et al., 2005; Klein, et al., 2006) have shown that the same concept is applicable in the context of developing countries. Kaynak and Kara (2002) have noted that significant population growth and increasing purchasing power of consumers in such developing countries offer market opportunities to foreign companies whose domestic markets have already reach maturity. However, several studies (Bailey, Pineres, 1997; Ger, et al., 1999; Burgess, Harris, 1999; Batra, et al., Ramaswamy et al., 2000; Balabanis, Diamantopoulos, 2004) conducted in developing countries have confirmed the existence of negative ethnocentric tendency of consumers or favoring of foreign products. However, recent research in Central and Eastern Europe have confirmed the growth of the ethnocentric tendency as a result of low culture of openness and limited cosmopolitanism (Vida, Fairhurst, 1999; Hamin and Elliot, 2006; Vida, Reardon, 2008).

The measurement of consumer ethnocentrism was made possible with the development of the Consumer Ethnocentrism Tendency Scale (Cetscale). In study, Shimp and Sharma (1987) were the first to develop an effective instrument for measuring the ethnocentric tendencies of consumers purchase decision. Through work, they proved that consumer ethnocentrism can measure, explain and provide answers to why and to what extent consumers prefer domestic products instead of foreign. They characterized the scale as a measure of "tendencies" rather than "attitudes" because it also includes the explanation of consumer decisions to buy "the most appropriate product”. It can be concluded that Cetscale is a successful predictor of consumers' beliefs, attitudes, purchase intentions and decision. This scale has been widely used to measure consumer ethnocentrism tendencies in many studies within developed and in the developing countries (Luque-Martinez, et al., 2000; Kaynak, Kara, 2002; Chryssochoidis et al., 2007; Yeong et al., 2007, Wong et al., 2008, Vassella, et al., 2011; Ranjbarian, et al., 2011; Teo, et al.Mohamad, Ramayah, 2011) Although other scales have subsequently been suggested and tested, Cetscale has become the most commonly used instrument for measuring consumer ethnocentrism (Chryssochoidis, et.al., 2007)
Finally, the consumer ethnocentrism must be considered as an influential factor that is used in understanding consumer purchase behavior in order to determine the purchase intentions.
3) Religious beliefs and consumer behaviour: from loyalty to boycotts

literature review :
3.1 Boycotting: (Danish products as a good example)
In September 30, 2005, Denmark's largest newspaper printed 12 drawings depicting Prophet Muhammad implying that Islam preaches violence and condones terrorism. The blasphemous images caused uproar among Muslims around the globe and triggered a diplomatic crisis within Arab and Islamic countries. The Danish newspaper that had published the cartoons refused to apologize maintaining that it is a way to ensure freedom of speech. The Arabic media insisted that the publication of the cartoons had nothing to do with the freedom of expression. According to them, freedoms of expression do not mean freedom of to insult and while demanding an apology, suggested economic boycott and political action ([50] Maamoun and Aggarwal, 2008).
Almost four months after the cartoons were published; the Middle East observed an unexpected indignation. On Friday January 20, 2006, religious clerics all over Saudi Arabia (during the weekly prayer service) called for the boycott of Danish products as a way to react to the cartoons. Within a few days, an enormous boycott of Danish dairy products started in Saudi Arabia. Danish products, from Lurpak butter to Lego toys, were quickly pulled off the shelves in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Algeria, Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia, Jordan, and other countries around the Middle East as Muslims awaited an apology for the cartoons ([50] Maamoun and Aggarwal, 2008).
3.2 Global dynamics and culture: globalisation vs localisation
The literature holds contradicting views regarding culture effect on consumer behavior; this is because culture comprises a certain number of components that include languages, values, attitudes, customs, norms and religions of a group of society ([15] Collinson and Rugman, 2007). [18] De Mooij and Hofstede (2002) and [83] Willer (2006) stressed that consumer behavior in the world will become more heterogeneous and therefore convergence is a myth of international marketing.
Many authors ([8] Assael, 1998; [18] De Mooij and Hofstede, 2002; [37] Huang et al. , 2010) have argued that influence of the globalisation leads to convergence of world's cultures. This convergence will lead to homogeneous needs, tastes, and lifestyles. [48] Levitt (1984) was the first main supporter of the extended debate about standardised global marketing planning and he argued the globalisation of markets eliminates many national differences of world culture. In addition, homogenisation of consumer wants and needs would be created by using new technologies ([18] De Mooij and Hofstede, 2002). Standardisation offers interesting cost savings, due to economies of scale and enables a company to get the greatest advantage from excellent thoughts and ideas and know-how created within the total organisation ([47] Leonidas, 1996). Other advocates of the globalisation approach argue that development of global marketing mix strategies is the main way to succeed in international environments. This view can be justified by the acceleration of internationalisation of world economies and the parallel increase in global competition, improved living standards, economic combination, and trade liberalisation ([48] Levitt, 1984; [47] Leonidas, 1996; [28] Farah and Newman, 2009).
However, many authors ([82] Warner and Joynt, 2002; [18] De Mooij and Hofstede, 2002; [83] Willer, 2006; [13] Braunsberger and Buckler, 2009) have indicated that patterns of consumer behavior in the international markets show considerable differences and dissimilarities due to the heterogeneity which is caused by cultural differences. Moreover, there are many consumption differences among different countries due to differences in rationality levels ofconsumers buying decisions. Therefore, the assumption of rationality cannot be considered in a cultural context and it is characterised by unrealistic, impractical elements. [18] De Mooij and Hofstede (2002) argued that homogenisation of consumer behaviour will not be created by converging technology and vanishing income differences, rather, consumers' behavior will become more different and heterogeneous as a result of cultural differences. As incomes converge across countries, the manifestation of value differences will become stronger. Therefore, it is obvious that the assumption of homogenisation underestimates the degree of cultural creativity that arises out of the interaction of global and local forces and therefore does not reflect reality because, culture and religious beliefs are among the last areas that are affected by global convergence ([83] Willer, 2006).
Proponents of the localisation philosophy argue that standardisation inaccurately supposes cultural neutrality ([58] Raymond et al. , 2003). Moreover, because of the inherent complexities and differences involved in working and operating in the international marketplace ([64] Roper, 2005), it is more practical that special needs of each overseas market can be considered by a marketing program design ([22] Douglas and Wind, 1987; [47] Leonidas, 1996). The following factors were found to be influencing the consumer behavior and attitudes in the international context.
3.2.1 Religion and religiosity
The starting point of the proposed model is religion. Religion can be considered as catalysts for customer movement from loyalty to boycott. Religion defines and explains the values for life, which in turn are reflected in the values and attitudes of societies and human beings. Such values and attitudes shape form the behavior of institutions and members of cultures ([27] Fam et al. , 2004). For example, many public holidays are often binding to religion. The holy days for each religion differ significantly, for example, Christians view Easter and Christmas Day as two important dates; while Muslims consider Ramadan the holiest month. Religion does not directly impose obligations but usually moralistically sets certain values, beliefs, and practice requirements ([84] Worthington et al. , 2003).
The importance of religious value systems in sociology has been recognised by researchers; however, few studies such as [19] Delener (1990b) and [24] Essoo and Dibb (2004) have fully acknowledged and showed its role in consumerbehavior studies. They argued that consumers' behavior and in turn their purchasing decisions are greatly influenced by religion values. To develop the religiosity concept, two general components of religiosity are identified: religious affiliation and religious commitment ([84] Worthington et al. , 2003).
In order to determine the influence of religion on consumer behavior, this study will look to religiosity in both sides' religious affiliation and religious commitment.
"Religious affiliation or the adherence of individuals to a particular religious group has been termed as ascribed status" ([24] Essoo and Dibb, 2004, p. 686). [34] Hirschman (1983) indicated that religious denominational affiliations may be viewed as "cognitive systems". "A cognitive system can be defined as a (collection) of beliefs, values, expectations and behaviors that are shared by members of a group or a society". This perspective suggests that members of religious group or society may have common and shared cognitive systems, which may control and impact that group's behavior ([24] Essoo and Dibb, 2004). In addition, different aspects of choice behavior will be influenced by religious affiliations ([71] Schiffman and Kanuk, 2006). Therefore, religious affiliations play an important role in forecasting of consumer behavior patterns ([77] Solomon, 2007).
Religious commitment indicates to the degree to which a person adheres to his or her religious values, beliefs, and practices, and uses them in daily living ([84] Worthington et al. , 2003). Consumers' behavior and their purchasing decision can be categorised according to the degree to which consumers adhere to a particular faith, therefore, religiosity term indicates the degree to which people are committed to a particular religious group, the most significant cultural forces and a major influence in buyer behavior ([19] Delener, 1990b; [24] Essoo and Dibb, 2004; [42] King and Crowther, 2004). These religious commitments and beliefs influence the feelings and attitude of people towards consumption. For example, the consumption of pork is prohibited in both Islam and Judaism but it is allowed in Christianity. In effect, religion influences what consumers belief, what they like, and what they dislike ([61] Rehman and Shabbir, 2010).
Regardless of different degrees of religious commitment; religiosity are linked and correlated to particular consumer lifestyles. Consequently, "religiosity is a viable consumer construct because it is correlated with lifestyle variables such as opinion leadership, risk avoidance, credit purchase and life satisfaction" ([24] Essoo and Dibb, 2004, p. 689). Therefore, it is argued that religiousness or religiosity, is an important value in the individual's cognitive structure, and can influence an individual's behavior toward buying products ([46] Lau, 2010).
The connection and relationship between culture and religion can be shown through self identity and family ([49] Lindridge, 2005). Culture can be identified by three ideational themes: " cognitive - language based, symbolic - objects, and structuralist - organisations, with the latter perhaps being the most relevant issue" ([49] Lindridge, 2005, p. 143). Drawing upon the study of Levi-Strauss, the structuralist approach concentrates on culture noticeable within social organisations and structures and the way in which they are learned and acted upon by the individual ([49] Lindridge, 2005). As [59] Reber (1985) considered that religion perpetuates societal structures, such as religious institutions, [49] Lindridge (2005) therefore concluded that religion can be identified with the structuralist approach to culture. "A set of cultural norms and values, perpetuated through a structuralist cultural system, identifiable with collectivism and individualism can be extracted from a religion" ([49] Lindridge, 2005, p. 143). Collectivism and individualism can be represented by the degree a culture supports, fosters and facilitates an independent and distinctive self over other group members ([14] Brewer and Chen, 2007; [49] Lindridge, 2005).
It is evident that a consumer adopts products, behaviors, and practices in an attempt to satisfy the way others look at them. With the dramatic increase in consumer choice, self identity has become a matter of personal selection of self-image ([33] Hamilton and Hassan, 2010). Therefore, in cultural context and to build self identity of customers, conspicuous consumption may lead to boycott based on customers' religious beliefs.
3.2.2 Conspicuous consumption and products
Some researchers such as [10] Belk (1988) and [4] Amaldoss and Jain (2005) consider that the decision to purchase a "conspicuous" product depends not only on the material needs, but also on social needs. In addition, many authors, such as [57] Piron (2000) and [81] Wang and Chen (2004) consider that conspicuous consumption refers toconsumers' who wish to provide evidence of their ability to purchase luxury goods. [53] O'Cass and Frost (2002) assert that one important motivating force that influences a wide range of consumer behavior is the desire to gain status or social prestige from the acquisition and consumption of goods. Therefore, "marketers often create or (re)position products and brands to embody a particular social identity oriented lifestyle" ([60] Reed Li, 2004, p. 286).
However, these consumers can also define themselves by what they do not buy or do not wish to buy "I would never wear a Rolex watch" or "I boycott Nike" or "I boycott Lurpak; Danish products" ([72] Schroeder, 2000). Therefore,consumers may boycott some products or brands not for practical purposes but to give certain image about themselves.
Furthermore, consumers may consume some products in order to demonstrate their religious adherence ([49] Lindridge, 2005). The research of [4] Amaldoss and Jain (2005) identified the existence of two competing social needs among consumers: a need for uniqueness and a countervailing need for similarity. These needs form the basis of what we refer to as the desire for exclusivity and conformity. However, Bourne (1957 cited in [57] Piron, 2000, p. 309) investigated the influence of reference groups on consumer purchasing decisions for a particular products and suggested that such decisions are a function of two forms of conspicuousness: exclusive; and seen or identified by others, visibility.
[57] Piron (2000) considered that visibility relates to where a product is generally consumed and suggest that products are used either publicly under the influence and direct observation of reference groups or privately without any influence. Research ([73] Sen et al. , 2001) suggests that people's consumption decisions are strongly influenced by their reference groups (i.e. groups that an individual uses as a guide for behavior in a specific situation).
[57] Piron (2000) referred to conspicuousness as the social and public visibility surrounding the consumption of a product. For consumption to be conspicuous, they expect it to be a social event, publicly witnessed by other consumers. Therefore, "publicly used products are more conspicuously consumed/used than products that are consumed/used in the privacy of one's home" ([57] Piron, 2000, p. 309). Moreover, he considered that a product's country of origin may have different levels of significance in a consumer's purchasing or boycotting decision whether a product is used publicly or privately where reference group impacts may be decreased and reduced.
In this context, [74] Sirgy et al. (1991) suggested that there is an indirect relationship between country of origin andconsumers' image, creating a desire to be publicly seen with country of origin - rated products congruent with theconsumer's personality. The proposed model shows that religious beliefs (religion, religiosity, culture, and self identify) which can create a conspicuous consumption in parallel with consumer animosity which may lead in result toconsumers' boycott towards particular products.
3.2.3 Consumer animosity in international marketing
Significant attention in international marketing literature has been paid to consumers' animosity as a determinant of global product purchasing behavior ([65] Rose et al. , 2009). Some studies examine the relationships amongconsumer animosity and other issues such as consumer efficacy, and consumers' willingness to participate in boycott activity ([75] Smith and Li, 2010). Tensions among countries are presented throughout the world ([9] Bahaee and Pisani, 2009). These tensions may come from economic arguments and regional disputes (e.g. India and Pakistan) ([63] Riefler and Diamantopoulos, 2007).
Consumer animosity refers to strong negative emotions toward purchasing products from a disliked nation or group. The majority of consumer animosity studies have examined the attitudes of the members of one nation towards the products of another nation ([65] Rose et al. , 2009).
Consumers' animosity can be classified into four categories, namely, stable versus situational and personal versus national ([7] Ang et al. , 2004; [5] Amine et al. , 2005; [37] Huang et al. , 2010). Steady; stable animosity comes from hard and complicated relations in the past between two countries and is a value transferred from one generation to the next, while situational animosity is closely related to present political and economic events. National animosity can be held by consumers toward a particular country based on perceptions of how that country has treated and dealt with their home country (as the US war in Iraq) ([5] Amine et al. , 2005). Personal animosity results from depressing and negative personal experiences that may have happened during contacts with a foreign country or through relations with its citizens and nationals ([5] Amine et al. , 2005).
Furthermore, [43] Klein et al. (1998) were the first to link tensions between countries to consumers' purchasing behavior, i.e. consumers motivation to purchase products stemming from companies linked with a country engaging in disapproved actions or behavior. In this context, [43] Klein et al. (1998) presented the idea of consumer animosity which can be defined as "remnants of antipathy related to previous or ongoing military, political or economic events". Using the Nanjing massacre by the Japanese in 1937 (in which 300,000 Chinese civilians died) as a historical background for the Chinese's still persevering anger against Japan, they empirically showed that Chinese consumers' willingness to purchase Japanese goods had been affected negatively by animosity. However, the quality of products coming from the hated nation is recognised and admitted by consumers harbouring feelings of animosity, but still they tend to reject to purchase those quality products ([63] Riefler and Diamantopoulos, 2007).
Importantly, animosity and ethnocentrism were shown to be distinct constructs ([9] Bahaee and Pisani, 2009; [65] Rose et al. , 2009; [51] Maher et al. , 2010), having obviously different effects on foreign product preferences. Therefore, ethnocentric consumers tend to avoid purchasing goods from any foreign country and feel that purchasing foreign products is wrong because it hurts the national economy, causes unemployment ([39] John and Brady, 2010), while consumers holding feelings of animosity may find it well tolerable and suitable to purchase products from a variety of foreign countries but decline to buy products coming from one particular foreign country which is the target of animosity feelings ([63] Riefler and Diamantopoulos, 2007; [32] Guido et al. , 2010). Previous studies of foreign products have found that consumer animosity has no impact on judgments of product quality, as a result of country-of-origin effects. That is, consumers could recognise that a product is of quality by its country of origin, but still refuse to buy the product due to feelings of hostility towards the country ([25] Ettenson and Klein, 2005; [65] Rose et al. , 2009). Accordingly, the proposed model shows how consumers' animosity in consideration of product country of origin will result in boycott of the country products.
3.2.4 Country of origin
One of the most popular areas of research in international marketing is the country of origin stereotype and its effect on consumer behavior which has gained a research attention in recent years ([29] Fraser and Fraser, 2002; [40] Josiassen and Assaf, 2009). The effects of country of origin upon consumer perceptions, and purchase intentions remain of interest to marketing researchers ([68] Russell and Russell, 2006; [12] Bloemer et al. , 2009).
Some studies support the importance of country of origin on consumers' behavior, and even proposed that the country of origin should be the fifth element of the marketing mix, after price, promotion, product and distribution ([3] Al-Sulaiti and Baker, 1998).
Country of origin is considered a related yet distinct construct from animosity ([5] Amine et al. , 2005). [43] Klein et al. (1998) was the first study which illustrates how buying decisions are influenced by a direct influence of products' country of-origin without considering products judgments. This challenged the common sense in the country-of-origin literature, according to which "made in" effects on consumers' willingness to purchase foreign products were supposed to impact on purchasing decisions indirectly by product judgments ([11] Bilkey and Nes, 1982; [55] Peterson and Jolibert, 1995; [63] Riefler and Diamantopoulos, 2007; [67] Russell and Russell, 2010; [79] Tigli et al. , 2010; [38] Jiménez and San Marn, 2010). In addition, [43] Klein et al. (1998) noted that harbor animosity can be created by consumers toward a specific country while believing that the country produces high quality goods.
In the light of reviewing animosity literature, [5] Amine et al. (2005, p. 128) considered that:
Consumers avoid purchasing products from countries that have engaged in hostile military, political, or economic acts against the consumers' home country, and they find these acts both grievous and difficult to forgive.
At present, innumerable conflicts take place around the world and tensions may exist between nations for different reasons such as military conflicts, divergence over foreign policy, tensions in international business, economic disagreements and religious conflicts ([80] Wang, 2005).
Country of origin research is well documented in the international marketing literature; however, few studies in developing countries have been conducted to explore country-of-origin effects ([1] Alden et al. , 1999; [76] Sohail and Sahin, 2010). In order to develop effective marketing communication strategies, country of origin can be used to measure the varying perceptions and attitudes of consumers toward products of a clearly identifiable ([52] Orth and Firbasova, 2002).
However, very few studies have been conducted to explore the tensions among countries which stem from a religious conflicts and the impact of this disputes on consumers' behavior towards products of companies from the offending nation (e.g. people in Islamic and Middle Eastern countries have recently expressed anger against Denmark following the publication of prophet Mohammed caricatures in a Danish newspaper).

4) Consumer Ethnocentrism: CETSCALE Validation and Measurement of Extent
Ethnocentrism means culturally-biased judgement. The origin of the concept is attributed to Summer (1906) who explained it as a feeling of superiority for one’s group and all things related to the group. Over the years, the concept has added psychological and now even econo- mic overtones. Ethnocentrism is a concept of interest not only to sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists but also to historians, political scientists, politicians, and administrators.
Consumer Ethnocentrism
The best explanation of the concept is in the words of the originators of the concept (Shimp and Sharma, 1987):
We use the term ‘consumer ethnocentrism’ to represent the beliefs held by American consum- ers about the appropriateness, indeed morality, of purchasing foreign-made products. From the perspective of ethnocentric consumers, purchas- ing imported products is wrong because, in their minds, it hurts the domestic economy, causes loss of jobs, and is plainly unpatriotic; products from other countries (i.e., out groups) are objects of contempt to highly ethnocentric consumers. To non-ethnocentric consumers, however, fo- reign products are objects to be evaluated on their own merits without consideration for where they are made (or perhaps to be evaluated more favourably because they are manufactured out- side the United States).
The CETSCALE: The 17-item, seven-point CETSCALE has much to recommend it. It has been painstakingly constructed and distilled through the stages of item generation, item screening, two purification studies, and four subsequent studies conducted to examine the psy- chometrics of the scale. The framers of the scale, Shimp and Sharma, were able to demonstrate its reliability and validity — convergent, discriminant as well as nomo- logical (Appendix).
The CETSCALE adheres to the viewpoint that con- sumer ethnocentrism is a matter of ‘how ethnocentric?’ and not ‘whether ethnocentric?’ It does not give a con- sumer ethnocentric/not ethnocentric type of categoriza- tion. Rather it gives total scores ranging from 17 to 119.
Lindquist et al. (2001) are of the opinion that the 17 items of the CETSCALE are linked to the following four concepts — ‘it hurts the domestic economy,’ ‘results in loss of jobs,’ ‘is unpatriotic,’ and ‘is tied to product availability,’ though Shimp and Sharma did not classify the items in this manner. There also exists a shorter 10- item version of the CETSCALE (Appendix). It has been used not only by Shimp and Sharma (1987) but also by Steenkamp and Baumgartner (1998), Lindquist et al. (2001), and Douglas and Nijssen(2003).
The CETSCALE has given mixed results in different parts of the world. Results from the US, Russia, Spain, France, Japan, and West Germany support the uni-di- mensionality, reliability, discriminant validity, and nomological validity of the scale (Netemeyer, Durvasula and Lichtenstein, 1991; Durvasula, Andrews and Nete- meyer, 1997; Luque-Martínez, Ibanez-Zapata and Bar- rico-Garcia, 2000). The results obtained by Lindquist et al. (2001) while working with the abridged 10-item CET- SCALE in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, are ‘mixed but generally acceptable.’ Significantly, it was found that different sub-sets of items worked in different countries. Douglas and Nijssen (2003) found that in the Netherlands, the 10-item scale was not uni-dimensional. It had a two-dimensional structure — one dimension consisting of core ethnocentrism items, the other con- sisting of items relating to the availability of domestic products. The predictive validity of the CETSCALE has been found to be inconsistent across product categories (Herche, 1992). Mean scores on the CETSCALE appear stable over time when the population is viewed as a whole but they are not stable for specific sub-groups (Nielsen and Spence, 1997).
It is against this background that the following hypotheses have been proposed. A lack of prior research in India on the psychometrics of the CETSCALE acted as a constraint while framing the hypotheses. * H1: Each of the 17 items of the CETSCALE is able to 
discriminate between high scorers and low scorers in each of the three socio-demographic groups sampled. * H2: The CETSCALE is uni-dimensional in each of the three socio-demographic groups sampled.
H3: The CETSCALE has internal consistency in each of the three socio-demographic groups sampled. H4: The CETSCALE has discriminant validity with respect to related phenomena against which it is tested in each of the three socio-demographic groups sampled. H5: The CETSCALE has nomological validity with respect to each of the variables in its nomological net against which it was tested in each of the three socio-demographic groups sampled.
Extent of Consumer Ethnocentrism
Consumer ethnocentrism is a phenomenon of the deve- loped world (Okechuku, 1994; La Barre, 1994; Good and Huddleston, 1995; Durvasula, Andrews and Netemeyer, 1997; Vida and Fairhurst, 1999). Consumers from less developed countries have repeatedly shown a marked preference for imported goods (Papadopoulos, Heslop and Beraes, 1990; La Barre, 1994; Agbonifoh and Elim- inian, 1994; Mohammad et al., 2000). Research that found consumers of developed countries to have no prejudice for home country products is in a minority (Johansson, Douglas and Nonaka, 1985).
The Indians are generally perceived as clamouring for foreign brands (Varma, 1998). Batra et al,’s (2000) paper contains an account of literature that gives pos- sible reasons for the average Indian’s fondness for fo- reign goods. These reasons include search for status symbols in the hierarchy-conscious Indian society, in- feriority complex vis-à-vis the (erstwhile) foreign rulers, increased contact with the West, rising incomes, chang- ing expectations, and cultural receptiveness to symbol- ism of brands.
But, there exists a different strain of thought too. La Barre (1994) quoting the results of the Bozell-Gallup worldwide quality poll says: ‘India is an import recep- tive country but it has a healthy self image.’ This seeming contradiction is easy to understand when we remember that ‘in India the open mind is as much a cultural heritage as the closed mind’ (Ahmed, 1979). According to Ahmed, the ‘open mind’ of the Indian society can be gauged from the innumerable invaders of alien cultures that have been absorbed into this society; the Indian notion of hospitality that has made Indians tolerant of different cultures, languages, and religions; the lack of traits of revenge and punishment in the people, and the Indians being open not only to experiences of the world of reality but also to a separate reality. The ‘closed mind’ of the Indian society can be evidenced from, among other things, the intolerance and discrimination of lower castes, the authoritarian family structure, concern with status and power, and glorification of the past.
H6: Indian respondents will be less consumer ethnocen- tric than comparable samples from the developed world.
Consumer Ethnocentrism and Socio-demographic V ariables
A good review of literature has been presented by Good and Huddleston (1995) and Al-Sulaiti and Baker (1998) on this aspect of consumer ethnocentrism. Lately, Vida and Fairhurst (1999) have also examined this aspect. Regarding age, the dominant view is that the older will be more consumer ethnocentric than the younger. Re- garding education, there is a near consensus that higher the education level lesser the consumer ethnocentrism. Nijssen, Douglas and Bressers (2002) feel that consumer ethnocentrism is due to lack of knowledge. The results on income are split. Shimp and Sharma (1987) had found those in the lower socio-economic group to be more ethnocentric than those higher up. They attributed this to the fear of losing jobs to foreign competitors. Regard- ing gender, the dominant view is that women will be more consumer ethnocentric.
In addition to the variables of age, education, in- come, and gender, this study examined the variables of socio-economic classification of households (SEC) and quality consciousness for their relationship with con- sumer ethnocentrism. The SEC grade of a household is determined by the occupation and education of the head of the household (Agrawal, 1994). It helps circumvent the problems caused by the rampant misreporting of income by the respondents in India.
It was hypothesized that the desire for foreign products could be a quest for quality especially as preference for foreign goods is higher in the less deve- loped countries and more among the higher income categories.
H7: The different socio-demographic groups will differ with respect to consumer ethnocentrism. The most consumer ethnocentric group will have a higher average age, least education, least average income, significantly more members from the lower SEC grades, significantly more females, and will be the least quality-conscious.
The relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and socio-demographic variables is proposed to be exa- mined not only across the three socio-demographic groups but also within each of the groups sampled by means of testing the hypothesis given below.
H8: In each of the three socio-demographic groups, the more consumer ethnocentric will be the older, the less educated, from the lower income group, from the lower SEC grade, females, and the less quality- conscious.
5) CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM, PARTIOTISM, GLOBAL OPENNEESS AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN EFFECT:

The purpose of this literature review is to highlight what has been studied and established concerning consumer ethnocentrism. Along with research that has been conducted over consumer ethnocentrism, studies concerning global openness, patriotism, and the country of origin effect will also be highlighted. Information that is known about each of these four variables is presented in this literature review and is presented in two sections.
The first section highlights studies that are concerned with the primary area of study, consumer ethnocentrism. These studies include Shimp and Sharma (1987), Fraering (2007), Nielsen and Spence (1992), and Huang, Lin, Chung and Lin (2008). Along with highlighting consumer ethnocentrism, these studies also validate and extend the CETSCALE. Other variables, such as global openness, patriotism, and the country of origin effect, are also highlighted in small portions but are discussed in depth in the second section of the literature review.
The second section of the literature review examines global openness, patriotism, and the country of origin effect. These studies include Suh and Kwon (2002), Elliot, Cameron, and Acharya (1994), Albarq and Nik Mat (1995), Winit, Gregory, and Mascio (2007) and Liu, Murphy, Li, and Liu (2007).
Consumer Ethnocentrism: The first section of the literature review is concerned with presenting research that has been conducted over consumer ethnocentrism and the CETSCALE. The first purpose of this section is to establish the construct of consumer ethnocentrism. The second purpose is to assure the reliability and validity of the CETSCALE.
Consumer Ethnocentrism: Construction and Validation of the CETSCALE (Terence A. Shimp and Subhash Sharma): This study was designed to develop a scale for measuring what the researchers call consumer ethnocentrism. Even though the general applicability of ethnocentrism to the study of consumer behavior has been recognized, no known work has related the concept to suit the study of marketing and consumer behavior. In this case, the researchers use the term consumer ethnocentrism to represent the beliefs held by American consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality, of purchasing foreign made products. To ethnocentric consumers, purchasing imported products is wrong because it hurts the domestic economy, causes loss of jobs, and is unpatriotic. To nonethnocentric consumers, however, foreign products are objects to be evaluated on their own merits without consideration for where they are made.
For the purposes of this study and further research, the researchers developed an instrument, termed the CETSCALE, to measure consumers’ ethnocentric tendencies towards purchasing foreign versus American products. The construction of this unique scale is essential because the classic measure of ethnocentrism is not directly relevant to the study of consumer behavior. After a number of purification studies, it was found that the most reliable and valid form of the CETSCALE consisted of 17 items.
The 17-item CETSCALE was then used to test individuals in four separate studies. Shimp and Sharma termed these studies the “four-areas study,” the “Carolinas study,” the national consumer good study,” and the “crafted-with-pride study.” In these studies, over 3000 people were given questionnaires containing the CETSCALE.
After extensive data had been collected, two hypotheses were proposed regarding the effects of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers’ foreign product related beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and purchase behaviors.

H1: Score on the CETSCALE should be strongly negatively correlated with consumers’ beliefs, attitudes, and purchase intentions toward foreign made products.
H2: Scores on the CETSCALE should be negatively correlated with consumers’ foreign product behavior, however, these correlations should not be as strong as the correlations with behavioral antecedents, because the actual choice between American and foreign made products is determined by a variety of factors other than consumer ethnocentric tendencies (i.e. product availability, price differentiation).
After analyzing the data collected from the four studies, the results support the hypotheses. The results showed that (1) general attitudes toward foreign made products are strongly negatively correlated with ethnocentric tendencies and (2) the stronger an individual’s consumer ethnocentrism, the more likely one is to own a domestic made automobile and/or intend to purchase a domestic made automobile.
The foregoing results support the reliability and validity of the consumer ethnocentrism construct. However, a remaining issue is whether consumer ethnocentric tendencies operate uniformly across all consumers or whether certain population segments are more or less likely to have ethnocentric tendencies. For many individuals, quality of life and economic stability are threatened by foreign competition. The following hypothesis was proposed according individuals feeling threatened by foreign competition. Individuals expected to experience the greatest degree of threat are those in low socioeconomic strata and residents of geographic areas where foreign competitions is the greatest.
H3: Consumer ethnocentric tendencies are especially prominent among individuals whose quality of life and economic livelihood are threatened by foreign competition.
This hypothesis was tested using the data from the Carolinas study. A test of the threat hypothesis involves the relations between CETSCALE scores and age. In support of the hypothesis, older working class individuals showed strong ethnocentric tendencies because these individuals are especially threatened by the prospect of losing their jobs to foreign competition. It was also found that middle and upper class workers, who have relatively more secure jobs, did not strongly correlate with CETSCALE scores.
A final test of the hypothesis that threats enhance consumer ethnocentrism is provided by comparing CETSCALE sores across geographic areas. The Detroit area, which is arguably the most threatened area in the country, exhibits the strongest ethnocentric sentiments and is significantly more ethnocentric than any of the other areas that were tested.
The researchers believe that the concept of consumer ethnocentrism can improve understanding of how consumers and corporate buyers compare domestic with foreign made products and how and why their judgments may be subject to various forms are bias and error. They also believe that highly ethnocentric individuals are probably most prone to biased judgments by being more inclined to enhance the positive aspects of domestic products and to discount virtues of foreign made products.
Long-Term Stability of Ethnocentric Consumer Attitudes (Martin Fraering, University of Evansville): This study is the first cohort longitudinal study of the CETSCALE. The CETSCALE (Shimp and Sharma 1987) introduced the notion of consumer ethnocentrism as a measurable attitude in the United States. Mean CETSCALE scores were calculated to demonstrate differences in patriotic preferences of U.S. made products. Although studies using the
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CETSCALE have been conducted in many countries around the world, longitudinal studies using the CETSCALE have been rare. Only one other longitudinal CETSCALE study has been conducted, Nielsen and Spence (1997). To date there has not been any effort in any country to measure long term changes in consumer ethnocentrism. This study seeks to fill that gap so we can better understand consumer biases against and in favor of foreign made products.
In the fall of 2005 and winter of 2006, 178 Business Administration students were surveyed to measure ethnocentric attitudes. The data collected from 05-06 was then compared to data obtained in 2000 to determine possible differences in attitudes toward the purchase of foreign goods. Before analyzing and comparing the data collected in 05-06, the researchers made the following hypothesis:
H1: The strength of ethnocentric attitudes among consumers has declined since 2000
H2a: Scale reliability as measured by Cronbach’s Alpha will be 0.90 or higher. H2b: Construct reliability measured by Composite Reliability will be 0.90 or higher.
H3: Variance Extracted will be greater than 0.50
Hypothesis 1 proposes that college students are less biased against the purchase of foreign made goods in 2005 than in 2000. Recent research has shown a downward trend in the ethnocentric attitudes of consumers, from a mean score 68.58 (Shimp and Sharma 1987) to 45.2 (Fraering and Elahee 2001), and 43.87 (Yoo and Donthu 2005). In this research, the students surveyed in 05-06 had a mean CETSCALE score of 43.2, a decrease in two points from the students surveyed in 2000. An analysis of the variance test indicates that the difference in these mean scores is not significant. Therefore, Hypothesis 1 is not supported.
Hypothesis 2a anticipates that the reliability of the structural equation model in this research as measured by Cronbach’s Alpha will be excellent, 0.90. Using SPSS Release to calculate Cronbach’s Alpha, the reliability in this study was measured at 0.94. Therefore, Hypothesis 2a is supported.
Hypothesis 2b predicts that Composite Reliability will be 0.90 or higher. After calculating the Composite Reliability, the research showed a solution of 0.93. Therefore, Hypothesis 2b is supported.
Hypothesis 3 asserts that Variance Extracted will be greater than 0.50. Hypothesis 3 was not supported as the statistic is 0.45. However, other studies have reported similar results for Variance Extracted.
The results of this research indicate that consumers are willing to make purchase decisions based on considerations such as style, finish, and quality, despite where the product was made. They are also less likely to equate the purchase of American goods with patriotism, or equate the purchase of foreign goods with a decrease in the number of jobs in the United States. Most importantly, this research confirms that the CETSCALE remains a highly reliable survey with Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.94 and Composite Reliability of 0.93.
A Test of the Stability of the CETSACLE, A Measure of Consumers’ Ethnocentric Tendencies (James A. Nielsen and Mark T. Spence): A consumer’s ethnocentric behavior can be measured by the CETSCALE. The CETSCALE is a multi-term measure that reflects a consumer’s preference for products made domestically over those made in foreign countries. This study investigates the stability of the CETSCALE over an eight week period during the summer of 1992, a period that included two patriotic events that were expected to affect the mean scores of those surveyed. Put simply, the higher the score, the greater the tendency to favor products produced domestically.
In this case, random samples of 426 adults in South Caroline were surveyed by phone. The subjects were surveyed over an eight week period with 55 subjects being surveyed each week. Among those surveyed were active military, former military, and non-military. Another important aspect of the study was the weeks in which certain subjects were surveyed. The researchers expected the sample mean scores in the weeks of the two patriotic events to be higher than the mean scores of the weeks where no such event was taking place. The survey that was conducted over the phone consisted of the 17 item CETSCALE. The researchers made the following hypotheses before analyzing their data.
H1: CETSCALE scores will be higher for older adults than for younger adults. H1a: Patriotic events will have a positive moderating effect on age.
H2: CETSCALE scores will be higher for women than for men.
H2a: Patriotic events will have a positive moderating effect on gender.
H3: CETSCALE scores will be higher for active and former military personnel than for those who have not served in the military.
H3a: Patriotic events will have a positive moderating effect on military service.
H4: The higher the CETSCALE score, the greater the likelihood of owning an American made automobile.
To be consistent with Shimp and Sharma (1987), hypothesis 4 should be supported. Levin (1992a, b) reports that foreign car imports are viewed by the American public as being the biggest problem in the trade deficit. Therefore, it is assumed that ownership of a foreign made car is a way of demonstrating a lack of consumer ethnocentrism.
After studying their results, the researchers found that females and those who have served in the military or are currently in the military are more ethnocentric. Women are marginally more ethnocentric than men and those in the military are significantly more ethnocentric than those who have not been in the military. Therefore, hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 are all supported.
Counter to expectations, there was no significant effect due to whether or not the data was collected during the week of a patriotic event. However, the patriotic events must be examined because of the significance they had on hypothesis 3a. Consistent with hypothesis 3a, there was an increase in CETSCALE scores for non-military personnel from non-patriotic weeks (those weeks without any patriotic events) to patriotic weeks (those weeks in which the two patriotic events occurred). However, for military personnel there was an opposite effect. CETSCALE scores decreased significantly from non-patriotic weeks to patriotic weeks. From this data, the researchers concluded that if the patriotic events are viewed in isolation, CETSCALE scores appear stable over time. However, this is not true if subgroups like the military and non-military are examined.
The final hypothesis explored the relationship between CETSCALE scores and automobile ownership. Consistent with hypothesis 4, those who owned domestic automobiles had significantly higher CETSCALE scores.
Allocentrism and Consumer Ethnocentrism: The Effects of Social Identity On Purchase Intention (Yu-An Huang, Ian Phau, Chad Lin, Hsien-Jui Chung, and Koong Hao-Chiang Lin): In this study, the researchers examine the effects of allocentrism and consumer ethnocentrism on intention to purchase domestic versus imported products. The study focuses on the current phenomenon known as the “Korean Wave” in Taiwan. Although consumer ethnocentrism has helped explain why certain consumers are more negatively biased than others against foreign products, previous research has not examined whether the national social identity of ethnocentric consumers can be influenced across different in-group identifications. Allocentrism is defined as the tendency to define oneself in relation to others. Examining allocentrism can help to explain the influence that these in-group identities have on consumer ethnocentrism.
In-group identities that will be examined are parents and friends. Previous studies on consumer ethnocentrism, specifically those addressing in-group identities, have left gaps in our understanding of the relationship between allocentrism and consumer ethnocentrism. By collecting 433 mall intercept interviews, this study hopes fill the gaps in the allocentrism and consumer ethnocentrism relationship.
Before examining the data, the researchers purposed the following hypothesis.
H1a: Allocentrism toward parents has a positive impact on consumer ethnocentrism. H1b: Allocentrism toward friends has a negative impact on consumer ethnocentrism.
H2a: Consumer ethnocentrism has a positive impact on intention to purchase domestic products. H2b: Consumer ethnocentrism has a negative impact on intention to purchase foreign (Korean) goods.
H3a: Allocentrism toward parents has a negative impact on consumer ethnocentrism when parents have a favorable attitude toward Korean television dramas.
H3b: Allocentrism toward friends has a negative impact on consumer ethnocentrism when friends have a favorable attitude toward Korean television.
H4a: Consumer ethnocentrism has a positive impact on intention to purchase Korean products when parents have a favorable attitude toward Korean television dramas.
H4b: Consumer ethnocentrism has a positive impact on intention to purchase Korean products when friends have a favorable attitude toward Korean television dramas.
As anticipated, the level of allocentrism toward parents was positively related to the level of consumer ethnocentrism, and allocentrism toward friends was negatively related to consumer ethnocentrism related to consumer ethnocentrism. Therefore, hypotheses 1a and 1b are supported. In addition, the level of consumer ethnocentrism was positively related to the intention to purchase Taiwanese (domestic) products, and negatively related to the intention to purchase Korean (foreign) products. Therefore, hypotheses 2a and 2b are supported.
In order to shed some light on the antecedents and consequences of consumer ethnocentrism, the researchers found it desirable to investigate the possible moderating effects of the attitudes of parents and friends toward Korean television dramas. The results in the group of parents who had an attitude that was favorable toward Korean dramas were different from expected results. Specifically, the effects of allocentrism toward parents on consumer ethnocentrism as well as the effect of consumer ethnocentrism on intention to purchase Korean products were all nonsignificant. Therefore, hypotheses 3a and 4a were not supported.
In a similar comparison, the group of friends whose attitude toward Korean television dramas was favorable showed a significant positive effect between allocentrism toward friends and consumer ethnocentrism. The effect of consumer ethnocentrism on intention to purchase Korean products was also found to be significant. Therefore, hypotheses 3b and 4b were supported.
The findings of this study suggest that the effects of allocentrism and consumer ethnocentrism are more complex that previously thought.
Other Variables: The second section of the literature review is concerned with the patriotism, global openness, and country of origin effect. The first purpose of this section is to establish the relationships between consumer ethnocentrism and both global openness and patriotism. The second purpose of this section is to understand current research regarding the country of origin effect. Some of the following studies conduct research on only one variable, while others test multiple variables.
Globalization and Reluctant Buyers (Taewon Suh and Ik-Whan G. Kwon): One of the purposes of this study is to examine the roles of globalization in buying behaviors using a path model. The path model encompasses global openness, consumer ethnocentrism, and product judgment as influencers on reluctance to buy foreign products. Reluctance to buying foreign products is also defined in this study as the perceived guiltiness and tendency to avoid buying foreign made products. In this case, university students majoring in business from both America and Korea were given questionnaires regarding global openness, consumer ethnocentrism, product judgments, and reluctance to buy foreign products. The country of origin in this case was Germany since both U.S. and Korean consumers are familiar with German made products.
Before conducting the questionnaire and after a lengthy research process, the researchers made the following hypotheses:
H1a: American consumers’ global openness will negatively affect their consumer ethnocentrism.
H1b: Korean consumers’ global openness will not significantly affect their consumer ethnocentrism.
H2: Consumer ethnocentrism will negatively affect buyers’ general judgments on foreign products.
H3: Consumer ethnocentrism will be positively correlated with consumers’ reluctance to buy foreign products.
H4a: General product judgments will negatively affect American consumers’ reluctance to buy foreign products.
H4b: General product judgments will not significantly affect Korean consumers’ reluctance to buy foreign products.
After conducting primary research, the researchers found that some of their hypotheses were supported and others were not. Hypothesis 1, which proposed the negative relationship between global openness and consumer ethnocentrism for the U.S. sample and the non-significant relationship for Korean sample, is supported. In this case, the U.S. sample had a significant negative relationship between global openness and consumer ethnocentrism.
Hypothesis 2 suggested that consumer ethnocentrism significantly affected product judgment. The researchers found that consumer ethnocentrism negatively affects product judgment only for the Korean sample and not significant for the U.S. sample. Therefore, hypothesis 2 is not supported.
Hypothesis 3 proposed a positive relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and reluctance to buy foreign products. This hypothesis was supported for both the U.S. and Korean samples. After comparing the results for this hypothesis to hypothesis 2, the researchers concluded that the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on reluctance to buy foreign products was higher than that of product judgments.
Hypothesis 4, suggesting that general product judgments will negatively affect American consumers’ reluctance to buy foreign products, and not significantly affect Korean consumers’ reluctance to buy foreign products, is well supported by the primary research. Product judgment appears to have a significant impact on the reluctance to buy foreign products for the U.S. sample, but not did have a significant impact on the Korean sample.
In conclusion, the researchers’ investigation showed that global openness has a significant affect on consumers’ ethnocentric behavior in a certain cultural context. In the same context, the research found that the impact of global openness on reluctance to buy foreign products is mediated by consumer ethnocentrism. It was also found that consumer ethnocentrism plays an important role in determining the amount of reluctance to buy foreign products. Along with consumer ethnocentrism, product judgments also play a part in the amount of reluctance consumers have. However, product judgments only affected those consumers in a Western culture (i.e. U.S.) where consumers’ reluctance to buy foreign products could be decreased by product quality, lowering consumer ethnocentrism, and developing global openness. Therefore, consumers in different cultures, who have different tastes, preferences, perceptions, needs, and motivations, are sufficiently different even after being exposed to extreme amounts of globalization.
An Empirical Investigation of Consumer Ethnocentrism in Australia (Greg Elliot, Ross Cameron, and Chandrama Acharya): There has been much debate as well as general agreement in international marketing literature that products are evaluated, not just on intrinsic attributes of the product, but also on the country of origin of that product. This is widely known as the country of origin (COO) effect. Many studies have pointed to a systematic bias in favor of products manufactured in certain countries, based on a number of variables. These variables include level of economic development of the country and perceived product quality. An underlying theme of the discussion is that these biases are expressions of a more pervasive and generalized concept known as consumer ethnocentrism. Shimp and Sharma (1987) coined the term “consumer ethnocentrism” to represent the belief held by American consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality, of purchasing foreign products. The basic construct of consumer ethnocentrism assumes that the consumers’ patriotic emotions have significant effects on attitudes and purchase intentions.
This paper examines, first, the evidence for the existence of consumer ethnocentrism, as defined by Shimp and Sharma, in Australia. Second, this paper will examine evidence for the existence of home country bias, through the use of conjoint analysis. Third, the links between these two issues are explored, and the question regarding whether the CETSCALE can adequately measure the ethnocentric behavior of consumers to buy domestic products is examined.
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The primary research for this paper was administered through mail questionnaires to a sample of one thousand randomly selected graduate students of an Australian university. A total of 275 completed questionnaires were received of which 248 were useable. These questionnaires consisted of the CETSCALE, Country of Assembly Scale, Country of Design Scale, and a five point rating scale used to measure purchasing intentions. Three different product categories were also considered according to their presumed level of involvement, car (high involvement), jeans (medium involvement), and tinned pineapple (low involvement).
After primary research had been conducted, the degree of consumer ethnocentrism among Australian consumers can be easily interpreted from the total CETSCALE score. Basically, a higher mean scale value indicates higher consume ethnocentrism. From the gathered results, it is evident that Australian consumers display similar levels of consumer ethnocentrism to similar groups in foreign countries. More importantly, the researchers found, is the degree to which consumer ethnocentrism impacts consumers’ actual or expressed purchase behavior. If consumer ethnocentrism does impact purchase intentions, then it should be revealed in a systematic bias in favor of the home country’s (i.e. Australian) products both in consumers’ perceptions of product quality and their expressed product preferences.
The existence of the respondents’ home country bias was measured using conjoint analysis. After examining the conjoint analysis, it was found that consumers do not always prefer domestic products. Only in the case of the tinned pineapples did consumers prefer the domestic country’s product. Therefore, the home country bias phenomenon, where it exists, was found to be product specific. Based on this study, the existence of a universal preference for domestic products is not supported.
Another issue in the study is to examine the correlation between CETSCALE scores and product choice scores. It was found that Australian consumers were moderately ethnocentric, and exhibited similar scores as reported in U.S. studies. Yet, for both cars and jeans, it was also found that Australian consumers evaluate foreign products highly and were likely to buy such products. The correlation between the CETSCALE scores and product choice scores present evidence that ethnocentrism among Australian consumers is associated with a tendency to purchase a product assembled and designed in the domestic country and to discard the products assembled and designed in foreign countries. However, the low values of the correlation coefficient show that the correlation is not strong enough to say that ethnocentric consumers would always buy domestically made products.
This study has essentially found that Australian consumers are only moderately consumer ethnocentric and that there is only a weak correlation between ethnocentrism and preference for domestic products.
Determining the antecedents of consumer ethnocentrism in Jordan (Abbas Albarq and Nik Kamariah Nik Mat): Research regarding consumer ethnocentrism has been conducted in large industrialized countries with large markets and wide ranges of domestic brands. But little attention has been paid to smaller countries with high levels of foreign trade where, in some cases, there are no domestic brands or alternatives so consumers have no choices but to purchase foreign brands. This study seeks to examine and validate the antecedents’ construct of consumer ethnocentrism among Jordanian consumers.
Using the telephone survey method, 93 usable questionnaires were completed and analyzed. Each of these questionairres included scales measuring each of the antecedents established by earlier research. From this earlier research, it was found that there are seven
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Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 17 Number 1 antecedents that have a possible relationship with consumer ethnocentrism. These antecedents are cultural openness, patriotism, conservatism, Collectivism/individualism, control belief, interest in foreign travel, and attitude toward foreign products.
After examining and analyzing the results, the researchers found that consumer ethnocentrism had a casual relationship with four of the antecedents. The four antecedents were cultural openness, foreign travel, control beliefs, and attitude. The results indicate that Jordanian consumers will have high ethnocentrism if they are low in cultural openness, less foreign travel, have less control beliefs, and less inclination to purchase foreign products. These findings were supported by past studies such as Shimp and Sharma, 1987.
There were also four variables that were found to be insignificant predictors of consumer ethnocentrism. These were cultural openness, conservatism, patriotism, and collectivism. Conservatism is not related to consumer ethnocentrism because an overwhelming majority of Jordan’s population is Muslim who strictly adhere to the religion regardless of the level of ethnocentrism. Similarly, the consumers in Jordan are strongly cohesive so collectivists would not change their view on consumer ethnocentrism. Patriotism is also not a significant predictor of consumer ethnocentrism. Jordanians look at patriotism as something highly appreciated, and loyalty to the King of Jordan is very high. Therefore, Jordanians will have feelings of patriotism towards their home country, regardless of the economic situation or level of ethnocentrism.
After completing the study, the researchers do believe that there were limitations to this study. First, the study was conducted in a Middle Eastern country when a majority of the research over consumer ethnocentrism has been conducted in the western countries. Second, the research included certain factors that were only specific to less developed countries. Finally, the sample size was relatively small so this may reduce the generalization of the results.
The objective of this study was to determine and validate the antecedent constucts of consumer ethnocentrism in Jordan. Seven factors were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and they showed promising results of construct validity. Cultural issues such as cultural openness and foreign travel could open up the minds of ethnocentric citizens to accept more global products. The preliminary results also show that the acceptance level of foreign products among Jordanian Arabs is high because of their exposure to foreign cultures and frequent travels abroad. However, the actual relationship between the predictors and ethnocentrism is yet to be seen.
For Love of Country: Consolidating Ethnocentrism, Patriotism, and Consumer Openness Measures in Thailand (Warat Winit, Gary Gregory, and Rita Di Mascio): This study seeks to demonstrate the difference between the concepts of consumer ethnocentrism and patriotism and examine the validity and reliability of their reduced scales. Additionally, the researchers wanted to examine the concepts of global openness, cosmopolitanism, and cultural openness by constructing more economical scales. Lastly, this study will examine the relationships between consumer ethnocentrism, patriotism, and more the more comprehensive constructs of global openness, cosmopolitanism, and cultural openness.
Ethnocentrism is described as consumers’ belief about moral appropriateness to purchase imported or foreign products so as to secure their group survival (Shimp and Sharma, 1987). Patriotism is defined as strong feelings of attachment and loyalty to one’s own country, but without corresponding hostility towards other nations. Even though both concepts focus on loyalty to the home nation and are positively related, it can be argued that consumer ethnocentrism and patriotism have different consequences. Ethnocentric consumers tend to overestimate and support domestic products and underestimate and avoid purchasing foreign
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Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 17 Number 1 products. This is because ethnocentric consumers hold the belief that purchasing foreign products will hurt the domestic economy. Patriotism, on the other hand, is an expression of love and support towards consumer’s own nation, without having defensive feelings towards other groups. Therefore, it can be assumed that differentiating these concepts is important because consumer who show high levels of patriotism do not necessarily oppose other countries or refuse to purchase foreign products.
Global openness is defined as a consumer’s globalized mind-set or consumer’s openness to globalization. This concept is related to several concepts such as cosmopolitanism, which is defined as the tendency that an individual’s orientation goes beyond any particular community, culture, or setting and has the potential to become a world citizen. Global openness is also related to cultural openness, which is defined as the opportunity and willingness of people in one culture to interact toward people and values of different cultures. Although these concepts all appear to relate to each other, confusions have currently been found in these constructs and measurement scales. Therefore, it is the researchers’ objective to consolidate these three concepts and develop one economical set of measurement scales for these constructs.
Data were collected in a classroom setting, resulting in 238 questionnaires from undergraduate students in a university in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Those questioned were Thai citizens, all above 18 years old, who come from a wide range of studies, facilities, and majors. The questionnaire consisted of a reduced CETSCALE and consumer patriotism scale. It also included multiple items from different global openness, cosmopolitanism, and cultural openness scales.
After analyzing the data from the questionnaires, it was concluded that this study successfully validated the reduced versions of the CETSCALE and patriotism scale. It was also found that both of the scales are suitable to be used in an Eastern cultural context. In addition, this study also demonstrated that the concepts of global openness, cosmopolitanism, and cultural openness are based on the same construct and measurement scales. Therefore, the concepts can be improved by consolidating them into two economical constructs which are “openness to global environments” and “Self-identification with global consumer culture”.
English and Chinese? The Role of Consumer Ethnocentrism and Country of Origin in Chinese Attitudes towards Store Signs (Fang Liu, Jamie Murphy, Jianyao Li, Xiangping Lu): This study examines how consumer ethnocentrism (CE) relates to Chinese consumers’ evaluations of three store signs – Chinese name, English and Chinese name, and both languages along with the country of origin (COO) – for a hypothetical foreign bread shop. To the researchers’ knowledge, no empirical studies have tested Chinese consumers’ responses to different naming strategies by foreign brands. This study seeks to bridge the gap in three ways.
First, it tests three brand naming strategies (Chinese, English and Chinese, and English and Chinese plus the brand’s country of origin). Second, it examines the relationship of consumer ethnocentrism with Chinese consumers’ attitude towards the approaches. Finally, the study investigates how country of origin moderates the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and Chinese consumers’ attitude towards these approaches.
The sample for this study consisted of 159 male and 142 female subjects in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. Two researchers used a four page questionnaire to conduct 15-20 minute interviews where the subjects felt at ease. After being shown each sign, the subjects were asked about their thoughts about the sign and buying intentions towards the brand. Before
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Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 17 Number 1 analyzing any of the data gathered during this process, the researchers proposed the following hypotheses.
Store Sign A: This sign shows a Chinese character that is a translation of Golden Bread. Given the Chinese only name and no visible country of origin, few Chinese consumers should perceive of Golden Bread as a foreign brand. Therefore, consumer ethnocentrism should have little effect on consumer attitudes towards Sign A and:
H1: The level of consumer ethnocentrism will show no significant relationships with consumer attitudes towards Sign A (H1a) or buying intentions towards the brand (H1b).
Store Sign B: This sign shows Golden Bread in English and in a Chinese character. Since English names associate with foreign brands, the impact of consumer ethnocentrism should relate to attitudes towards Sign B and:
H2: The level of consumer ethnocentrism will show significant negative relationships with attitudes towards Sign B (H2a) and buying intentions towards the brand (H2b).
Store Sign C: This sign shows Golden Bread in English, Chinese character, and the brand’s country of origin, either Australian or the U.S. Since foreign names may persuade consumers that brands are foreign, showing the country of origin in Sign C should further persuade consumers that the brand is foreign. Based on the research of consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin, the country of origin should moderate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumer evaluations of foreign brands. Thus,
H3: The level of consumer ethnocentrism will show significant negative relationships with attitudes towards Sign C (H3a) and buying intentions towards the brand (H3b).
H4: Country of origin moderates the negative impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers’ attitudes towards Sign C (H4a) and their buying intentions towards the brand (H4b).
As hypothesized, consumer ethnocentrism showed no significant relationship with either attitudes or intentions towards a sign only in Chinese. These results show that H1a and H1b are supported. Tests ran on Sign B, however, showed that compared to consumers with low amounts of ethnocentrism, consumers with high ethnocentrism had significantly less favorable attitudes and buying intentions towards Sign B. Therefore, consumer ethnocentrism shows significant negative relationships with Chinese consumers’ attitudes and intentions towards a bilingual sign in Chinese and English. The results support both H2a and H2b.
After testing results for Sign C, results showed that high ethnocentric consumers had significantly less favorable attitudes and buying intentions towards Sign C than low ethnocentric consumers. This means consumer ethnocentrism has a negative relationship with attitudes and intentions towards a bilingual sign noting the country of origin. Therefore, H3a and H3b were supported.
Finally, tests proved that product country image can impact attitudes and intentions towards a product, but in this case only with bread from the USA and not with Australian bread. This means that H4a and H4b were partially supported.
Literature Review Summary: This literature review has examined research related to consumer ethnocentrism and three other variables that will be measured in this study. The first section of the literature review examined the construct of consumer ethnocentrism as well as the reliability and validity of the CETSCALE.

The second section of the literature review examined the relationship that exists between consumer ethnocentrism and both global openness and patriotism. Along with discussing these two relationships, the second section also reviewed the current research and knowledge of the country of origin effect.