Revisiting Consumer Ethnocentrism: Review, Reconceptualization, and Empirical Testing

Prior research has suggested that many consumers prefer domestic to foreign products, even when the quality is lower and the price is higher. Such bias is attributed to consumer ethnocentrism. This study critically examines the current conceptualizations of consumer ethnocentrism and proposes an extension of its conceptual boundaries and measurement. It determines that consumer ethnocentrism is a multidimensional construct that encompasses five dimensions: prosociality, cognition, insecurity, reflexiveness, and habituation. Empirical evidence from the United Kingdom and the United States demonstrates that the extended measurement instrument better predicts consumers' preferences for local brands at the expense of foreign brands

An Exploratory Investigation into Impulse Buying Behavior in a Transitional Economy: A Study of Urban Consumers in Vietnam

As a transitional economy, Vietnam is open to many new marketing experiences. Along with slowly increasing wealth, changes are occurring in the retail environment as stores begin to replace individual vendors. The changing retail environment suggests the usefulness of understanding shopping behaviors relevant to retail settings. The authors examine impulse buying behaviors of urban consumers in Vietnam. The authors conducted an exploratory study that included both qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a general understanding of urban Vietnamese consumers’ impulse buying behaviors. Results show that individualism, age, and income are significantly related to impulse buying behaviors of Vietnamese consumers. In addition, personal-use products are the most common impulse purchase items, despite the collectivist nature of consumers in Vietnam. The authors’ findings suggest that, at least with respect to impulse buying and despite cultural differences, consumers from transitional economies such as Vietnam may share some common tendencies and behaviors with consumers in advanced economies. The authors discuss other observations and conclude with suggestions for further research.

An Exploratory Investigation into Impulse Buying Behavior in a Transitional Economy: A Study of Urban Consumers in Vietnam

As a transitional economy, Vietnam is open to many new marketing experiences. Along with slowly increasing wealth, changes are occurring in the retail environment as stores begin to replace individual vendors. The changing retail environment suggests the usefulness of understanding shopping behaviors relevant to retail settings. The authors examine impulse buying behaviors of urban consumers in Vietnam. The authors conducted an exploratory study that included both qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a general understanding of urban Vietnamese consumers' impulse buying behaviors. Results show that individualism, age, and income are significantly related to impulse buying behaviors of Vietnamese consumers. In addition, personal-use products are the most common impulse purchase items, despite the collectivist nature of consumers in Vietnam. The authors' findings suggest that, at least with respect to impulse buying and despite cultural differences, consumers from transitional economies such as Vietnam may share some common tendencies and behaviors with consumers in advanced economies. The authors discuss other observations and conclude with suggestions for further research.1