Do ethnocentric consumers really buy local products?

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Abstract

While the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on preference for local products has received extensive attention by researchers, this research provides further understanding by investigating the impact of commitment to a consumer's place of leaving on consumer's attitudes towards local product and on effective purchase of local products. Based on the concept of behavioral commitment from Kiesler's theory (1973), this research shows that a consumer with a high degree of ethnocentrism has a more favorable attitude towards local products than the one committed to his place of life. However, when it comes to effective purchase of local products, a consumer who is strongly committed to his place of life tends to purchase local products more than a consumer with a high level of ethnocentrism. This research contributes to existing research in supporting Kiesler's argument that consumer behavioral commitment has a stronger effect on local product purchase than beliefs (in this case ethnocentrism). In terms of practice, this research may orient retailers, manufacturers and public organizations to strengthen consumers’ commitment to their place of life.

Introduction

As pointed out by Siamgka and Balbanis (2015), since the last financial crisis, there has been a worldwide rise in the nationalist discourse which defends national / local products / companies. This posture can go as far as disrupting the international trade, which has been falling since 2014 despite the global economic recovery (World Bank data base, 1990–2015). This type of nationalist discourse tends to exacerbate consumer ethnocentrism and the literature on ethnocentrism (Xie et al., 2015, Fischer and Zeugner-Roth, 2017) underlines how this variable tends to encourage the consumption of local products. Defined as "the beliefs held by consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality, of purchasing foreign-made products"(Shimp and Sharma, 1987, p.280), ethnocentrism is manifested through a social value that discriminates against products that are manufactured outside the area of the local community (Shimp and Sharma, 1987, Nguyen et al., 2008, Steenkamp and De Jong, 2010, Xie et al., 2015).

This construct is related to the literature on the country of origin (COO). Literature in the field of marketing has long stressed the importance of the role played by the origin of the product ('country of origin') in consumer purchasing decisions (Schooler, 1965, Tan and Farley, 1987, Peterson and Jolibert, 1995, Kreckova et al., 2012, Strizhakova and Coulter, 2015). As well as price, brand name, or the possibility of a guarantee, the origin of the product is considered as an essential attribute of consumer choice (Papadopoulos and Heslop, 1993). To explain the choices consumers make in the area where they live, researchers have deliberately placed themselves in the cognitive world of the individual. Thus, the preference for local products rather than global products is deeply rooted in the values ​​and beliefs of individuals in relation to their own countries (Nijssen and Douglas, 2011).

The COO literature primarily relies on cognitive factors in order to explain the buying preference for local products. However, it is possible to assume that other factors explain this purchasing preference for local products. Yildiz (2007), Julienne (2013) and Yildiz, Heitz-Spahn and Belaud (2017) show that beliefs or attitudes cannot explain any future consumer behavior and that it is necessary to take into account actual behaviors. These results show how behaviors can generate other behaviors consistent with the former. Moreover, these behaviors can have a greater impact than attitude, as revealed in the study by Yildiz (2007) and confirmed by Julienne (2013) who also demonstrated a higher predictability of behaviors over attitudes and beliefs. Thus, in line with Bourdieu's work on behaviors that engender other behaviors coherent with the first (habitus), and more specifically with reference to Putnam's (2000) work on behavioral civic engagement, we may ask if some behaviors reinforce the importance of other behaviors such as the purchase of local products.

In fact, ethnocentrism encourages consumers to choose local products, with the aim of supporting the local economy. However do consumers who contribute to supporting their local area through their activities, such as local commitment, show a more favorable attitude towards local products? This is a question that our research seeks to answer.

Building on the theory of behavioral commitment developed in social psychology by Kiesler (1971), we analyze the effect on the attitudes individuals express, in terms of local products, as a result of commitment in local activities. As a corollary, we may also consider whether the effects of acts of commitment by individuals in their local areas might be greater than the effects produced as a result of ethnocentric attitudes. Thus, our main research question is: Are ethnocentric people the only ones to have a favorable attitude and to be more inclined to buy local products instead of global products?

Our research contributes to the COO literature, including the explanation of consumer preference for local products on several aspects. 1 / It suggests a complementary approach to the analysis of the ethnocentric attitude by taking into account the behavioral commitment of an individual towards the community in his place of life and the impact on the purchasing act of local products. 2/ It shows that the civic acts of commitment of the consumer in his place of life has a higher explanatory power than ethnocentrism.

Reviewing the relevant literature, three concepts seem to be worthy of further consideration: consumer's ethnocentrism, the degree of behavioral commitment of the consumers within the area where they live, and the consumer's purchasing behavior in terms of local products. In the methodological section that follows, we propose metrics to measure these constructs; we then check their validity and test their theoretical relationship with propositions. Finally, we conclude with the contributions, limits and ideas for future research that arise from this work.

Section snippets

Ethnocentrism and attitudes towards local products and ethnocentrism

Arising from ethnological and anthropological work, ethnocentrism reflects a tendency for people to reject those who are different from themselves and to prefer those whom they perceive as similar (Sumner, 1906). The precursors (Shimp and Sharma, 1987) of the construction of the scale of measurement for individual ethnocentrism conclude in their first study (1987, p.280) that consumer ethnocentrism encompasses "the beliefs held by consumers about the appropriateness and morality of purchasing

Data collection

The scales used were drawn from the existing literature, with the criteria for reliability and validity verified. The study was conducted in three major towns of Lorraine, whose principal shared characteristic was the presence of shopping streets within their town centers. Data collection was conducted in collaboration with local authorities and associations. These latter provided us with access to a database of some 7000 email addresses. An email was sent to each person in the database, who

Results and discussion

The results of causal analysis from the structural equation modelling (Fig. 1) show that consumer ethnocentrism is positively related to the attitude towards local products (b = 0.498, t = 1.39, p < 0.001) and negatively related to attitude towards global products (b = −0.332, t = 2.63, p < 0.000), which confirms H1 (a, b). The causal relationship is as follows: the more elevated a consumer's ethnocentrism, the greater their preference for local products, and the less favorable they are towards

Theoretical and managerial contributions

As a final stage in this research, it is useful to consider the extent of its contribution, its limitations and the academic and business perspectives it has to offer.

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