TY - JOUR
T1 - Consumer ethnocentrism in the German market
AU - Evanschitzky, Heiner
AU - Wangenheim, Florian v.
AU - Woisetschläger, David M.
AU - Blut, Markus
N1 - Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Purpose - International marketing researchers have long been concerned with determining whether consumers are predisposed towards a preference for domestic products, as opposed to foreign products. The purpose of this paper is to assess such a domestic-country bias (DCB) in the German market. Design/methodology/approach - This study empirically investigates DCB across six countries and 14 product categories in the Germany market. By so doing, it replicates an earlier study conducted in the UK. Ordered logit analysis was employed as well as multidimensional unfolding to present results. Findings - As in the study conducted in the UK, there is in general a strong DCB in the German market. However, it differs largely across the 14 product categories. Results indicate that consumer preference rankings can best be explained by a combination of demographic variables and country-of-origin effects. Practical implications - Results indicate that domestic firms in Germany can well rely on a safeguarding effect when marketing their products. At the same time, managers from foreign countries cannot rely on consumer ethnocentrism as a reliable indicator of the inclination of consumers to downgrade their products. Originality/value - This study confirms some findings from the UK. However, results from Germany indicate that at least economic competitiveness of the country-of-origin plays a role in determining respondents' judgments. This study underlines the value of replication studies in cross-cultural settings in particular.
AB - Purpose - International marketing researchers have long been concerned with determining whether consumers are predisposed towards a preference for domestic products, as opposed to foreign products. The purpose of this paper is to assess such a domestic-country bias (DCB) in the German market. Design/methodology/approach - This study empirically investigates DCB across six countries and 14 product categories in the Germany market. By so doing, it replicates an earlier study conducted in the UK. Ordered logit analysis was employed as well as multidimensional unfolding to present results. Findings - As in the study conducted in the UK, there is in general a strong DCB in the German market. However, it differs largely across the 14 product categories. Results indicate that consumer preference rankings can best be explained by a combination of demographic variables and country-of-origin effects. Practical implications - Results indicate that domestic firms in Germany can well rely on a safeguarding effect when marketing their products. At the same time, managers from foreign countries cannot rely on consumer ethnocentrism as a reliable indicator of the inclination of consumers to downgrade their products. Originality/value - This study confirms some findings from the UK. However, results from Germany indicate that at least economic competitiveness of the country-of-origin plays a role in determining respondents' judgments. This study underlines the value of replication studies in cross-cultural settings in particular.
KW - consumer behaviour
KW - Germany
KW - ethnocentrism
KW - country of origin
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=40249092057&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1711254&show=abstract
U2 - 10.1108/02651330810851863
DO - 10.1108/02651330810851863
M3 - Article
SN - 0265-1335
VL - 25
SP - 7
EP - 32
JO - International Marketing Review
JF - International Marketing Review
IS - 1
ER -