To the CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TRACK BEGINNER stage of dissertation EMAC Doctoral Colloquium, Athens, 2006

The Impact of Consumer Ethnocentrism, Consumer Cosmopolitanism and National Identity on Country Image, Product Image and Consumers Purchase Intentions

Katharina Petra Roth Department of International Marketing University of Vienna Brnnerstr. 72, A-1210 Vienna Email: katharina.roth@univie.ac.at Tel (Fax): +43-1-4277-38040 (38034)

Keywords: Country Image, Product Image, Consumer Ethnocentrism, National Identity, Consumer Cosmopolitanism

Introduction Country-of-origin image (COI) is an important driver of consumers evaluation of products originating from different countries. Schooler (1965) is generally considered to be the first researcher to empirically study this effect. He found out that products, identical in every respect except for their country of origin, were evaluated differently by consumers. Since then, more than 700 articles have been published on the subject country-of-origin (Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2003). This body of research has shown that a products national origin acts as a signal of product quality (e.g. Han, 1989; Li & Wyer, 1994) and also affects perceived risk as well as likelihood of purchase (see Bilkey & Nes, 1982; Ozsomer & Cavusgil, 1991; Baughn & Yaprak, 1993; Lielefeld, 1993; Peterson & Jolibert, 1995; Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999; Javalgi, Cutler, & Winans, 2001 and Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2003 for relevant reviews). Despite the relative importance of the concept of country image, potential antecedents of country image perceptions as well as their impact on product image and intention to purchase have not been researched so far (Keillor, Hult, Erffmeyer, & Babakus, 1996; Balabanis, Mueller, & Melewar, 2002). Indeed, in a recent meta-analysis of current COI research, Papadopoulos and Heslop (2003, p. 424) point out that research into the antecedents and influences of national image formation remains virtually non-existent. Similarly, Knight and Calantone (2000, p. 128) lament that despite hundreds of studies on the COI effect, little is known about the cognitive processing that occurs during COI-based product evaluations. It is this gap in the literature that the present study seeks to address, focusing specifically on the role of potential antecedents of country image perceptions as well as their impact on product image, product evaluations and purchase intentions. Specific Aims and Conceptual Model The aim of the proposed study is three-fold. First, the study seeks to empirically investigate potential key antecedents of country image, namely (a) consumer ethnocentrism, (b) national identity and (c) consumer cosmopolitanism. Second, based on an analysis of existing conceptualizations of country image and additional exploratory research, the study seeks to develop and test a comprehensive scale for the measurement of country image. Third, the potential outcomes of country image, i.e. its impact on product image and purchase intentions are to be assessed under different moderating conditions. Figure 1 provides a conceptual overview of the scope of the proposed research and highlights the key constructs to be investigated, as well as the proposed links between them. A literature review and discussion of the various parts of Figure 1 follows. _______________________________________ Insert Figure 1 about here _______________________________________ Literature Background Country Image Despite a large body of literature on the subject COO, the number of studies that have in fact included country image measures remains very limited (Martin & Eroglu, 1993; Li, Fu, & Murray, 1997; Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2003). Based on an extensive review of the literature, 22 studies developing a measure of country image or considerably modifying an existing

Katharina Roth, Department of International Marketing, University of Vienna

measure have been identified (a complete list of these studies is available from the author upon request). A short discussion of key papers follows. One of the first studies explicitly focussing on country image measures was conducted by Martin and Eroglu (1993, p. 193), who defined country image as the total of all descriptive, inferential and informational beliefs one has about a particular country. According to Martin and Eroglu (1993), COI is a three-dimensional construct consisting of a political, an economic as well as a technological dimension. Whereas these dimensions clearly reflect consumers cognitive perceptions about a country, past research has shown that country of origin is not merely a cognitive cue for product quality, but also relates to emotions, identity, pride and autobiographical memories (Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999, p. 523). A number of authors (e.g. Obermiller & Spangenberg, 1989; Papadopoulos, Heslop, & Beracs, 1989; Parameswaran & Pisharodi, 1994; Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999; Laroche, Papadopoulos, Heslop, & Mourali, 2005) therefore suggest that the construct of country image is comprised of: a cognitive component, which includes consumers beliefs about the countrys industrial, technological as well as political background; an affective component that describes the countrys symbolic and emotional value to the consumer, and a conative component, capturing consumers desired interaction with the sourcing country. While it seems to be commonly accepted that images should consist of these three dimensions, the majority of the existing COI studies does not include all three facets. Out of the 22 studies analyzed, only 12 have included cognitive, affective as well as conative measures of country image. Furthermore, most of these studies (i.e. Yaprak & Parameswaran, 1986; Heslop & Papadopoulos, 1993; Lee & Ganesh, 1999; Papadopoulos, Heslop, & IKON Research Group, 2000; Heslop, Papadopoulos, Dowdles, Wall, & Compeau, 2004; Laroche et al., 2005) have used two items only, i.e. people are friendly and likeable or people are trustworthy to measure the affective component of country image. Thus, cognitive measures prevail. Furthermore, these items could represent emotions as well as cognitions, 1 which makes it difficult to classify them into one of these facets. Also, several studies that conceptually distinguish between cognitive, affective and conative facets of COI (e.g. Papadopoulos, Heslop, & Beracs, 1990; Heslop & Papadopoulos, 1993; Hubl, 1996; Laroche et al., 2005), mix the items in the operationalization stage. 2 Finally, a general lack of validity and reliability assessments was detected.3 In the context of the proposed research this means that, based on the analysis of existing measures and additional exploratory research, a new scale will be developed and validated that clearly distinguishes between cognitive, affective and conative facets of COI. This enables to address a key gap in the literature. Since cognitive, affective and normative processes are interacting in consumer decision-making (Isen, 1984), country image studies in which the cognitive, affective and normative influences of country of origin are explicitly
1

Variables such as people are friendly and likeable or people are trustworthy may reflect a cognitive evaluation since they do not directly evoke respondents emotions. On the other hand, it is very unlikely that a person who regards people from a specific country as friendly and likeable or trustworthy himself doesnt like them. Thus, these items reflect emotions as well as cognitive evaluations.
2

For example, Papadoupolos, Heslop and Beracs (1990) also include refined taste and industrious in their affect for the US dimension and Laroche et al. (2005) include hard working in their people affect dimension.
3

Out of the 22 studies analyzed, only 12 reported on internal consistency reliability (Cronbachs Alpha) and one on split-sample reliability; test-retest reliability and alternative forms reliability were not assessed at all. Regarding the validity of the studies under consideration, seven reported on construct (i.e. convergent and/or discriminant validity), two on content validity and one on criterion validity.

Katharina Roth, Department of International Marketing, University of Vienna

modelled and their (possibly contradictory) influences are disentangled (Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999, p. 539) are needed. To the authors best knowledge, no COI study exists that explicitly addresses this issue and identifies the distinct influences of cognitive, affective and conative COI components on outcome variables (i.e. product image and purchase intentions). In the proposed research, three attitude models proposed by Fishbein & Ajzen (1975) will be used as a framework for classifying existing COI measures (see Figure 2). Based on these findings, a model that helps to explain how cognitive, affective and conative facets interact in consumer decision making will be developed. Antecedents of Country Image Based on an extensive literature review, three constructs have been identified that are expected to impact on country image as well as product image and purchase intentions: consumer ethnocentrism, national identity and consumer cosmopolitanism. Several studies have shown that, in general, consumers prefer domestic products to foreignmade ones (e.g. Bannister and Saunders, 1978; Cattin, Jolibert, and Lohnes, 1982; Supphellen and Rittenburg, 2001; Balabanis and Diamantopoulos, 2004). One central construct that has emerged from the literature to describe this effect is consumer ethnocentrism (Shimp & Sharma, 1987; Sharma, Shimp, & Shin, 1995). Current research shows that consumer ethnocentrism has a negative impact on product image and evaluation as well as purchase intentions of foreign products (Netemeyer, Durvasula, & Lichtenstein, 1991; Sharma et al., 1995). Furthermore, Netemeyer, Durvasula, and Lichtenstein (1991) found a significant correlation between peoples general attitude towards their home country (GCA, Parameswaran & Yaprak, 1987) and consumer ethnocentrism. It is therefore expected to also affect country image perceptions. National identity can be defined as the set of meanings owned by a given culture that sets it apart from other cultures (Keillor et al., 1996, p. 58). In a marketing context, the national identity scale (NATID) was proposed for identifying the core elements that define the uniqueness of a given culture or nation (Keillor et al., 1996; Keillor & Hult, 1999). Since the concept of national identity is linked with the concept of consumer ethnocentrism (Keillor et al., 1996), it is expected to work in a similar way. Thus, a stronger sense of national identity might have a negative impact on country image perceptions for countries other than the home country. Furthermore, as proposed by previous research on concepts such as patriotism and nationalism (Han, 1988a; Baughn & Yaprak, 1993), it is expected also to negatively affect product image and purchase intentions. The concept of cosmopolitanism was introduced by Merton (1957) and Gouldner (1957) to refer to a tendency of people to orient themselves beyond their immediate social system. Cannon et al. (1994) and Yoon, Cannon, and Yaprak (1995, 1996) tried to link the sociological concept of cosmopolitanism to consumer behaviour and constructed the CYMYC scale to measure consumers cosmopolitan tendencies. In general, consumers that score high on the CYMYC scale like to experience cultural diversity and are therefore more open to other cultures and their products (Yoon, Cannon, & Yaprak, 1995). It is therefore expected that consumer cosmopolitanism has a positive influence on country images, a relationship that will also be empirically explored by the proposed research. Outcomes of Country Image The direct effects of country image and product image in consumers cognitive processing during COI-based product evaluations are already well-understood (Laroche et al., 2005). Previous COI research has shown that the concept of country image affects product beliefs (i.e. product image in my proposed research) and purchase intentions (e.g. Han, 1989; Knight & Calantone, 2000; Heslop et al., 2004). However, little is known about the direct and

Katharina Roth, Department of International Marketing, University of Vienna

indirect impact of consumer ethnocentrism, national identity and consumer cosmopolitanism on purchase intentions, especially in connection with country image perceptions. Hence, the mediating role of COI on outcome variables has not been investigated; the conceptual model in Figure 1 allows for such an investigation in the context of the proposed study. Moderating Factors Previous COI research has shown that the impact of country image on product evaluations and purchase intentions varies according to variables such as consumer involvement, technical complexity of the product, consumer experience, and consumer ability to detect interbrand differences (Han, 1988b; Erickson, Johansson, & Chao, 1984; Eroglu & Machleit, 1988; Wall, Lielefeld, & Heslop, 1991; Baughn & Yaprak, 1993). For the purpose of my proposed research, two key factors that have consistently shown to moderate the effect of country image, namely product knowledge and consumer involvement, have been selected as moderating influences. Control Variables Various studies evaluating the country of origin effect (e.g. Sharma et al., 1995; Balabanis, Diamantopoulos, Mueller, & Melewar, 2001) have found that certain consumer demographics significantly affect domestic and foreign product acceptance. In the proposed model, four characteristics (age, gender, education and income) are therefore included as control variables. Research Method The proposed research method consists of three major steps. First, a scale measuring country image will be developed and validated. Regarding the antecedents and outcomes of country image, existing scales for consumer ethnocentrism (Shimp and Sharma, 1987), national identity (Keillor et al., 1996; Lilli and Diehl, 1999), consumer cosmopolitanism (Yoon, Cannon, and Yaprak, 1996) and product image (Roth and Romeo, 1992; Papadopoulos, Heslop, and Bamossy, 1990; Nebenzahl, Jaffe, and Usunier, 2003) will be adapted to the research settings and countries considered in the study. Second, a survey will be conducted in Austria gathering data on the six focal constructs (i.e. consumer ethnocentrism, national identity, consumer cosmopolitanism, country image, product image and purchase intentions), moderating factors and control variables. Third, potentially positive and negative influences of consumer ethnocentrism, national identity and consumer cosmopolitanism on country image, product image and purchase intentions will be tested using structural equation modelling. Implications and Contribution Country image is an important construct that is of interest not only for businesses that need to enhance their competitiveness abroad, but also for public policy makers with similar interests but at the national or industry level (Papadopoulos et al., 2000). The main practical contribution of this research lies in the explanation of a greater proportion of variance in product image and buying intention, thus providing international marketers with clear dos and donts when operating in foreign markets. Furthermore, the study will provide more insights for public officials on how they can evaluate their country image and how these images are impacted by certain characteristics of the consumer (e.g. if he/she is ethnocentric, cosmopolitan etc.). From a theoretical perspective, linking consumer ethnocentrism, national identity and consumer cosmopolitanism to established constructs such as country image and product image will contribute to the theoretical explanation of the formation of such images and how they impact on purchase intentions. A methodological contribution will be gained by a unification of existing literature on country image and, based on these findings and additional exploratory research, developing a measurement scale for its operationalization.

Katharina Roth, Department of International Marketing, University of Vienna

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Wall, M., Lielefeld, J. P., & Heslop, L. A. (1991). Impact of Country-of-Origin Cues on Consumer Judgements in Multicue Situations. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 19(2), 105-113. Yaprak, A., & Parameswaran, R. (1986). Strategy Formulation in Multinational Marketing: A Deductive, Paradigm-Integrating Approach. Advances in International Marketing, 1, 21-45. Yoon, S.-J., Cannon, H. M., & Yaprak, A. (1995). Evaluating the CYMYC Cosmopolitan Scale on Korean Consumers. Advances in International Marketing, 7, 211-232.

Katharina Roth, Department of International Marketing, University of Vienna

Appendix Figure 1: Conceptual Model

Moderating Factors
Product Knowledge Consumer Involvement

Antecedents of Country Image

Country Image
cognitive

Outcomes of Country Image

Foreign Product Image (Beliefs) Intention to Buy Foreign Products

Ethnocentrism

affective

conative National Identity

Cosmopolitanism

Control Variables
consumer demographics

Figure 2: Attitude Model (adapted from Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)

Model A (Tripartite View) Model B
Cognition Affect

Attitude

Attitude

Behavioral Intention Cognitive (Belief) Affective (Feeling) Conative (Behavior)

Behavior

Model C (Unidimensional View)

Learning Hierarchy: Emotional Hierarchy: Low Involvement Hierarchy:
Cognition Affect Conation

Affect

Conation

Cognition

Conation

Affect

Cognition

Katharina Roth, Department of International Marketing, University of Vienna