Ethnocentrism

Consumer Ethnocentrism: CETSCALE Validation and Measurement of Extent
Anupam Bawa

RESEARCH includes research articles that focus on the analysis and resolution of managerial and academic issues based on analytical and empirical or case research

Executive Summary

KEY WORDS Consumer Ethnocentrism Pseudopatriotism CETSCALE Consumer Behaviour

Consumer ethnocentrism means ‘…the appropriateness, indeed morality of purchasing foreign made products.’ Today, when the Indian consumer has great access to foreign goods and the Indian manufacturer is facing increasing competition from foreign products, the neglect of this topic in India is hard to explain. The CETSCALE, a scale to measure consumer ethnocentrism, has been tested in many parts of the world but not in India. This research examined the psychometrics of the CETSCALE, the extent of consumer ethnocentrism in India, and the relationship of socio-demographic variables and quality consciousness with consumer ethnocentrism. Data were collected from three socio-demographic groups—materials management professionals, the group with the largest influence on organizational buying behaviour; university students, the most often researched group of respondents the world over and hence ideal for a cross-cultural comparison of results; and senior secondary school students, a group recommended as worth researching by a prominent earlier researcher. Analysis of data was done with the help of currently used and recommended tools including exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Results show that the concept of consumer ethnocentrism prevailing in India is not conceptually equivalent to the concept of consumer ethnocentrism prevailing in other countries where it has been found to be uni-dimensional. In India, the concept has more nuances. What is more, the concept as understood by the three different sociodemographic groups is also not identical. The level of consumer ethnocentrism in India is not

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