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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 ViennaBrnnerstr. 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
mailto:katharina.roth@univie.ac.atmailto:katharina.roth@univie.ac.atmailto:katharina.roth@univie.ac.at -
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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 ofFigure 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
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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 byMartin 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 reflectconsumers 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 orpeople 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 studiesin 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 cognitiveevaluation 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.
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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 distinctinfluences 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 conativefacets 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 foreign-
made 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 theconcept 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 ofcosmopolitanism 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 CYMYCscale 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) andpurchase intentions (e.g. Han, 1989; Knight& Calantone, 2000; Heslop et al., 2004). However, little is known about the direct and
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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 evaluationsand 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 demographicssignificantly 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 contributionof 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.
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Appendix
Figure 1: Conceptual Model
Outcomes of Country Image
Antecedents of
Country Image
Ethnocentrism
National Identity
Foreign
Product
Image
(Beliefs)
Intention to
Buy Foreign
Products
Country Image
cognitive
affective
conative
CosmopolitanismControl Variables
consumer
demographics
Moderating Factors
Product Knowledge
Consumer Involvement
Figure 2: Attitude Model (adapted from Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)
Model A
(Tripartite View)
Model B
Model C (Unidimensional View)
Attitude
Cognitive(Belief)
Affective(Feeling)
Conative(Behavior)
Cognition Affect
Attitude
BehavioralIntention
Behavior
Learning Hierarchy:
Low Involvement
Hierarchy:
Cognition Affect ConationCognition Affect Conation
Emotional Hierarchy: Affect Conation CognitionAffect Conation Cognition
Conation Affect CognitionConation Affect Cognition
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