Antecedents and Consequences of Consumer Ethnocentrism Across Russia's Three Sub-Cultures Shawn Thelen Old Dominion University
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Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations in Business College of Business (Strome) Administration Spring 2002 Antecedents and Consequences of Consumer Ethnocentrism Across Russia's Three Sub-Cultures Shawn Thelen Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/businessadministration_etds Part of the Ethnic Studies Commons, Marketing Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Thelen, Shawn. "Antecedents and Consequences of Consumer Ethnocentrism Across Russia's Three Sub-Cultures" (2002). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, , Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/9ba4-5f97 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/businessadministration_etds/57 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Business (Strome) at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Antecedents and Consequences of Consumer Ethnocentrism across Russia's Three Sub-Cultures by Shawn Thelen B.S. 1983, University of Baltimore M.I.M. 1987 American Graduate School of International Management - Thunderbird A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY (May 2002) Approved by: Dr.^jjbhn B. Ford (Chair) Dr. Earl D. Horeyfcut£ Jr. ) Dr. EdwardY*. Markowski Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Shimp and Sharma (1987) extended the concept of ethnocentrism to commercial products with the development of a 17-item Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale [CETSCALEJ. Consumer ethnocentrism is the belief that purchasing imported products harms the local economy, increases unemployment, and is morally wrong (Shimp and Sharma 1987). Shimp and Sharma (1987) called for studies to determine antecedents to consumer ethnocentrism and to apply the CETSCALE across geographic and regional segments. This dissertation addresses a void in the literature by examining antecedents; Inglehart's Materialism/Post Materialism (1977) and Holbrook’s Nostalgia (1993), and outcome variables; product purchase preference, of consumer ethnocentrism across sub-cultures postulated to exist in Russia today. This research considers the Russian market to be multidimensional with parallel, although significantly different, markets. These markets are three co-existing cultures: Traditional Russian Culture, The Industrial Sub-Culture, and The Emerging Technocratic Culture (Mikheyev 1996). These sub-cultures are defined by differing levels of temperament, sociopolitical mentalities, and access to different forms ofpower (Mikheyev 1996). Structural Equations Modeling and Hierarchical Linear Modeling were used to test ten main hypotheses. In total, five hundred surveys were collected, evenly split among Russia's three sub-cultures. This research contributes to literature by furthering an understanding of the CETSCALE and refining research techniques in Transitional Economies. There are four main contributions. First, this research identifies that although antecedents may appear to be significant throughout an entire nation they actually are significant in select sub-cultures while being insignificant in other sub-cultures. Second, significant differences for product purchase preference (imported versus domestically-produced) exist between various product groups. Third, product purchase preference (imported versus domestically-produced) for product groups differs among sub-cultures throughout Russia. Fourth, the CETSCALE itself differs in its ability to explain product purchase intent for different product groups and among sub-cultures. This research expands the understanding of the CETSCALE by identifying antecedents and linking the predictability power of the CETSCALE to product purchase intent of different product types. In addition, it has also identified that in transitional economies sharp differences exist among sub-cultures regarding the interpretation of various constructs and the strength of the relationships between those constructs. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Please allow me to convey my extreme gratitude and thanks to my dissertation committee: John B. Ford, (Chair) Ph.D., Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr., Ph.D., and Edward Markowski, Ph.D., for their guidance, diligence, and unselfishness in supporting me in the completion of this dissertation. Without the assistance of each of them, this project would have never reached fruition. Any future recognition that I receive as an academician is credited to the example they set as researchers, teachers, and members of the academic community. I would like to thank Susan Douglas, Ph.D. for her assisting me in organizing my initial thoughts regarding this research. Elena Bashkirova and other members of ROMIR provided invaluable assistance in refining the survey instrument and collecting responses in Russia. Gehard Mels and Mathilda DuDoit of Scientific Software International were instrumental in providing insight into the nuances of LISREL and Hierarchical Linear Modeling. My deepest thanks are extended to Sandra Mottner, Ph.D. who provided advice and clarity starting with our first days as doctoral students continuing throughout the dissertation process. Special appreciation is expressed to Kent Boles, Jr., J.D., for unselfishly providing motivation. My parents, Conrad and Valerie Bonecki and in-laws, Gennady Semyonovitch and Svetlana Vasilievna Klishin provided unwavering approval, interest and support throughout the doctoral program, for which I am grateful and say thank you/cnacu6o. I am indebted to my wife, Tanya, for exhibiting confidence in my ability when mine wavered, tireless encouragement she so freely provided, patience listening to me ramble on about my difficulties, and assistance aiding me prepare for classes, comprehensives, and performing research in Russia. This dissertation is dedicated to my father, William Thelen, who instilled in me at a very young age the importance of education. Although he was not here to see me complete my Associate, Bachelor, Master or Doctoral degrees, he is responsible for each of these accomplishments. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................................................Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................................. IV LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................................VI LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................................................................VII CHAPTER 1: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM................................................................................... 1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................I Purpose of research .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 A ntecedents : N ostalgia and M aterialism /Po st-M aterialism ...................................................................4 Nostalgia............................................................................................................................................................4 Materialism/Post Materialism: A Measure of Societal Values....................................................................5 Process V ariable : Consumer Ethnocentrism ..................................................................................................... 6 Outcome V ariable : ............................................................................................................................................................6 Purchase Intent by Pr o d u c t .........................................................................................................................................6 The Russian Experience in the L ast D e c a d e .........................................................................................................7 Contribution ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Organization of this D issertation ..........................................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE................................................................................... 13 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................................