Consumer Xenocentrism: Antecedents, Consequences (And Moderators) and Related Constructs
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Consumer Xenocentrism: Antecedents, consequences (and moderators) and related constructs by Dhanachitra Rettanai Kannan A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario ©2020 Dhanachitra Rettanai Kannan Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify and test the antecedents, related constructs and consequences and moderators of consumers xenocentrism. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review was performed across different disciplines (international business, economics, sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology and consumer behavior) and interviews with five different experts from the five different fields were conducted to put together the initial model. A combined sample of 1306 respondents from four different countries namely Kenya, India, Ecuador and Romania in four different continents Africa, Asia, South America and Europe were collected through online questionnaires. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to either confirm or disprove the hypotheses that had been set. Findings: International travel experience, status consumption and susceptibility to normative influence were the most significant antecedents that positively influenced consumer xenocentrism. Culture (power distance and collectivism) had an indirect positive influence on consumer xenocentrism through the consumption-specific constructs, status consumption and susceptibility to normative influence respectively. With respect to related constructs, consumer worldmindedness was positively significantly related to consumer xenocentrism and consumer ethnocentrism and national identity were negatively ii significantly related to consumer xenocentrism. With respect to the consequences’ variables, consumer xenocentrism positively influenced ownership (actual purchase) of foreign products and purchase intention of foreign products. There was very little support for any moderator relationships that were proposed. Research limitation: The data was collected via online questionnaires, a method that has been criticized for being less interactive. Additionally, the results of this study cannot be generalized to all other countries. Although, the sample contains citizens from four countries, there might be other factors that may affect the preferences in other countries. Thus, generalizability of these results is only possible after replications across different cultures. Also, the sample was predominantly well-educated with most of them having at least a bachelor’s degree and holding professional jobs. So, the results of this study are reflective of such a sample. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine the antecedents of consumers xenocentrism and to empirically test a wide range of related constructs for consumer xenocentrism. Additionally, this the first study to test ownership (actual purchase) of foreign products as a consequence. This thesis also proposed a new comprehensive model of consumer xenocentrism. The literature on consumer xenocentrism is still very limited in international marketing and this research gives a deeper understanding of the topic. As developing countries continue to increase in prominence on the world scene, this study brings to light the consumer preferences in those countries. iii Acknowledgments Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor Dr. José Rojas-Méndez, who took a chance on me even before meeting me. He has been my continued advocate and for that I am greatly thankful. I’m extremely grateful for his valuable guidance and mentorship throughout my time in the program. He is a great teacher and the lessons I learned from him will help me throughout my career. I would like to thank Dr. Nicolas Papadopoulos from whom I learned a lot —about International Business and beyond—during the brief time we worked together. I’m grateful for his faith in my abilities from day one and for encouraging me to push beyond my comfort zone. I am thankful to my committee members Dr. Luciara Nardon and Dr. Michel Rod for their valuable contributions to my thesis which made my research much stronger. Dr. Nardon has been an incredible mentor to me and is a great role model for aspiring female academics. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Blair Rutherford, Dr. Cristina Rojas, Dr. George Pollard, Dr. Radovan Vadovič, Dr. Daniel Rosenblatt, Dr. Lorena Ruci, Dr. Isaac Otchere and Melissa Jennings for their valuable time and inputs during the initial stages of this thesis when I was trying to make sense of a nascent topic and figuring out ways to collect data, especially in Africa. I am thankful to Dr. Tudor Jijie for his assistance in collecting data in Romania. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Gerald Grant, Dr. Leighann Neilson and Dr. Greg Sears for their invaluable support and for going beyond their call of duty to help me out. iv I would like to thank Melissa Doric and Amanda Bradford-Janke for being extremely helpful and professional with everything within their area of control. I also appreciate the financial support from the Sprott School of Business scholarship and Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). My colleagues at the PhD program, Dr. Erin Oldford, Dr. Dan Gulanowski, Lucille Perreault, Nada Elnahla and Tasnuva Chaudhury, I thank you for your incredible support through this journey. On the personal front, I would like to thank my parents, my biggest professional inspirations, for raising me to believe that everything is possible if I was willing to work hard for it. I would like to thank my friends, Pearl, Megha, Anne, Ranjeeta and Mahathi for being my relentless cheerleaders and supporters over the years. Finally, most importantly, I would like to thank my husband Naveen. I'm deeply grateful for his unwavering support, patience and kindness throughout this process. This milestone would not have been possible without him, and this thesis is dedicated to him. v Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Setting the context.................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research Questions and Framework ...................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER TWO - LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 7 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Consumer Xenocentrism – an overview ................................................................................ 7 2.2.1 Definitions....................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Further elaboration on xenocentrism .............................................................................. 9 2.2.3 Xenocentrism and quality ............................................................................................. 14 2.2.4 Examples of xenocentrism ............................................................................................ 15 2.2.5 Xenocentrism and the domestic industry ...................................................................... 17 2.3 Xenocentrism and status ...................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Xenocentrism and normative influence ............................................................................... 20 2.5 Is Xenocentrism the new label for COO? ............................................................................ 22 2.6 Expert interviews ................................................................................................................. 24 2.7 Theories that support xenocentrism ..................................................................................... 26 2.7.1 System justification theory............................................................................................ 26 2.7.2 Social dominance orientation ........................................................................................ 27 2.7.3 Reference group theory ................................................................................................. 27 2.7.4 Social comparison theory .............................................................................................. 28 2.7.5 Symbolic self-completion theory .................................................................................. 29 2.7.6 Signaling theory ............................................................................................................ 29 2.7.7 Theory of the leisure class ............................................................................................ 30 2.8 Who are the expected xenocentric consumers? ................................................................... 32 2.8.1 High income consumers ................................................................................................ 32 2.8.2 Consumers who disagree with national government .................................................... 33 2.8.3 Younger consumers .....................................................................................................