Development of the Conceptual Model

Since the CETSCALE measures consumer behavior, consumer ethnocentrism is not a static concept, but rather must be seen in a larger context of consumer characteristics and consumer behavior. For consumer ethnocentrism, as measured by the CETSCALE, to be an important contributor to understanding consumer behavior, it needs to lead to consequences that provide meaningful implications for practitioners. In addition, practitioners should be able to understand the drivers of consumer ethnocentrism and how they could influence them. This motivates the research of outcomes (consequences) and antecedents (drivers) of consumer ethnocentrism, which has already been included in the initial study by Shimp and Sharma (1987). There, the authors examined the correlation between consumer ethnocentrism and attitudes towards foreign products, as well as purchase intention, and subsequent authors have added to this approach. Consumer ethnocentrism is thus often not studied in isolation but in context of its antecedents, moderators, and outcomes, but many studies only include few of these factors, and these factors, especially the antecedents, differ greatly across studies.

A broad overview of these factors has first been conducted by Shankarmahesh (2006) in his literature review about consumer ethnocentrism. He identified four different types of antecedents, namely socio-psychological, economic, political, and demographic antecedents.

In addition, he included outcomes of consumer ethnocentrism, as well as mediators and

moderators that influence these outcomes. His conceptual framework can be seen in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 CET, its antecedents and outcomes, by Shankarmahesh (2006)

Since then, little has been done to further extend this model. A review by Alsughayir (2013) only added an interest in international travel. A more thorough analysis was made by Siamagka (2010) in her dissertation about consumer ethnocentrism. She rearranged the model of antecedents into the four building blocks socio-psychological, cultural, demographic, and economic antecedents. From the constructs originally clustered in the socio-psychological block by Shankarmahesh (2006), only animosity remained in this categroy in her adjusted model, whereas all other constructs moved to the new cultural cluster (if included). In addition, the author also identified other constructs such as foreign travel and global consumption orientation. Nevertheless, considering the vast amount of research available in the field of consumer ethnocentrism, little has been done to synthesize this knowledge. Most importantly, an overall estimation of the magnitude of the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and its related constructs has not been made.

The aforementioned motivates the work of this thesis, whereby a systematic review and a subsequent meta-analysis aim at quantifying the relationship of consumer ethnocentrism and its related constructs. Consumer ethnocentrism imposes a great field for the application of

meta-analysis, for multiple reasons. Verlegh and Steenkamp (1999) highlighted these for conducting a meta-analysis about CoO effects, which can also be applied to the field of consumer ethnocentrism. The field of consumer ethnocentrism encompasses a large amount of studies that investigate the same construct in a variety of settings and countries. Still, these studies all aim at adding understanding to the same construct, by investigating how consumer ethnocentrism interplays with consumer characteristics and how it affects consumer behaviour. The research field therefore consists of imperfect replications of the same construct that measure the same effect, but are still different from each other (Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999). Having this large set of imperfect replications in the field is important, as it allows for a wider understanding of the field than a single study or exact replication could provide (Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999). Additionally, it is possible to identify and quantify moderating factors that influence the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and related constructs (Verlegh & Steenkamp, 1999). This could be differences in the study participants, the data collection, or the country of where the study was undertaken.

For conducting a systematic review and a subsequent meta-analysis, the influence of socio-psychological antecedents on consumer ethnocentrism and the outcomes of consumer ethnocentrism proved most interesting. This stems from different reasons.

1. They are commonly used.

2. They are measured with relatively uniformed measures.

3. Their understanding is important for practitioners.

Explained in more detail, firstly, socio-psychological antecedents and outcomes of consumer ethnocentrism are often included in consumer ethnocentrism studies, allowing for a suitable amount of studies needed for a meta-analysis. Secondly, they are more clearly defined and measured than other antecedents, and more valid across countries (political antecedents for example are highly country specific). Even though regularly included in studies, especially demographic antecedents are hard to compare across studies in a systematic way due to their differences in measurement and the lack of availability of original data obtained in the studies.

In addition, gaining further understanding about the socio-psychological antecedents and the outcomes of consumer ethnocentrism is highly relevant for the practical world as it allows for better understanding of consumers and influences of their purchasing behavior.

According to this focus, the literature review, which will be presented in detail in the following chapter, revealed the main socio-psychological antecedents and outcomes of consumer ethnocentrism. From this, the conceptual model was developed:

Figure 2.2 Conceptual model

Further explanation of these constructs will be given in the following chapter containing the literature review, while determining the size of the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and its related constructs is the goal of the meta-analysis.

Consumer Ethnocentrism

National Values

•Patriotism

•Nationalism

•National Identity

•Conservatism

International Values

•Cultural Openness

•World-Mindedness

•Internationalism

•Cosmopolitanism

•Foreign Travel Animosity

•General Animosity

•War Animosity

•Economic Animosity

Collectivism

Materialism

Conspicuous Consumption

Less frequently examined constructs

Domestic Attitudes Towards Products Product Judgements

Purchase Intention Willingness to Buy Reluctance to Buy Foreign Purchase Behavior

Importance of Buying

Foreign Attitudes Towards Products Product Judgements

Purchase Intention

Willingness to Buy

Purchase Behavior