Probing the Etic vs. Emic Nature of Consumer Ethnocentrism

The consumer ethnocentrism concept and its measure, the CETSCALE, remain very popular in cross-national research chiefly because they serve as a means to understand consumer attitudes toward imports. But the usage of consumer ethnocentrism and its measure are based on the premise that they have universal or etic properties. Conflicting studies, however, find that the scale\u27s structure is far more complicated than initially believed, and that it may not be uni-dimensional as originally proposed. Is it possible that the consumer ethnocentrism concept and its measure are culture bound? The goal of this study is to resolve this ambiguity

Digital Piracy of MP3s: Consumer and Ethical Predispositions

Purpose – Illegal downloading of music has become an inexorable and rampant activity particularly among college students who have been little deterred by industry legal actions. The purpose of this research is to examine the present state of downloading and how ethical orientation and attitudes towards MP3 piracy impact such activities. The paper also aims to use ethical scenarios as a way of understanding the ethical reasoning in illegal downloading. Design/methodology/approach – Key research questions are proposed that are related to illegal downloading. A sample of 364 university students was used to examine each research question. Statistical results are reported. Findings – The results clearly show that downloading continues at a high rate today driven by a strong belief that it is not ethically wrong. Ethical orientation was found to be positively associated with awareness of the social cost of downloading, consequences of downloading, and ethical belief in downloading. Ethical scenarios show that ethical orientation is also associated with downloading activities and with stealing. Other results indicate that respondents believe that their peers are more prone to stealing music and downloading MP3s illegally. Fear of consequences does seem to have an impact on the propensity to download illegally. Practical implications – The paper contributes to inform industry representatives that appeals to ethics or guilt are not likely to deter illegal downloading measurably. The use of punishment for downloaders may have a short-term effect but other (more positive) measures are required. Originality/value – No research has examined downloading of MP3s in the manner developed in this paper. The paper contributes to a better understanding of consumer behavior among those who download. The results provide insight into a serious problem in the recording industry that is likely to persist in the distant future unless sound measures are developed

Embracing Globalization: A Study of Factors Shaping Consumer Acceptance of Imported Products

Free trade as embraced by globalization is altering the world\u27s economies at an unprecedented pace. Yet, this inertia may be stymied by consumers who feel threatened by the changes in their domestic economies and by imported products. This study examines factors shaping consumer acceptance of imported products. With samples derived from Singapore and New Zealand, we explore the impact of consumer ethnocentrism, domestic product quality, the necessity of a product, and cultural openness on acceptance of imports. The findings reveal that only consumer ethnocentrism has a strong association with opposition to imports. The other factors show some impact but in a more muted sense. Implications are presented

How Offshore Outsourcing is Perceived: Why Do Some Consumers Feel More Threatened?

As globalization intensifies, multinational companies are not only compelled to expand their operations, but are also facing greater pressure to enhance productivity and concomitant return on investment (ROI). One way to achieve cost efficiencies is by offshoring selected business operations to overseas firms. Such offshoring, however, has generated public concern and, in some cases, outrage. Angst against offshoring is based on many perceptions, including perceived job losses and damage to domestic industries. In the wake of this threat, multinational firms in Europe and North America confront a public relations problem in justifying their offshoring activities. Yet, no systematic study has investigated why some consumers feel threatened by offshoring while others do not. Our study addresses this concern by using Americans as a sample. We show that economic threat and consumer ethnocentrism have a negative impact on offshoring attitudes while perceived quality of services delivered by offshore firms has a positive effect. Implications are discussed

Money, Money, Money – How do Attitudes Toward Money Impact Vanity and Materialism? – the Case of Young Chinese Consumers

Purpose – China is undergoing a radical change as the forces of industrialization and modernization transform its society. Money is taking on an increasingly important role, particularly among young Chinese, as the Western ideals of individualism and hedonism thrive. The goal of this research is to understand attitudes towards money in China and how these attitudes affect elements of consumer behavior such as materialism and vanity. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a well-accepted scale (with several dimensions) to explore attitudes towards money. Research questions examine how the dimensions of attitudes towards money affect materialism and achievement vanity. The sample comprises 127 young Chinese consumers. Statistical results based on confirmatory factor analysis as well as path analysis are reported. Findings – The findings clearly show that attitudes towards money in China are not monolithic; instead there are variations among young Chinese. Materialism is affected by the power-prestige and anxiety dimensions, but unaffected by the distrust dimension of money attitudes. Achievement vanity is affected by the power-prestige dimension of money attitudes. Research limitations/implications – Future research could examine other developing countries and other generational consumer segments. Another future research topic is to develop a comprehensive model of money attitudes, materialism, vanity, compulsive buying, and their possible antecedents or moderators. Practical implications – These findings offer insight into the mindset of young Chinese. Beliefs that money permits one to attain not only status and possessions, but also power and control over others are contributing to increased materialism and expressions of vanity among young Chinese. For marketers, the results imply that positioning products based on the possession of money and the use of this money to indulge hedonism may resonate well with young Chinese consumers. However, some of the relationships we found may cause concern to ethicists and consumer watchdogs because of the associated problems of compulsive buying and other problems which are prevalent in consumer societies. Originality/value – So far, no study has examined whether money attitudes drive materialism and achievement vanity, especially among younger consumers in developing countries such as China

Testing the SERVQUAL Scale in the Business-to-Business Sector: The Case of Ocean Freight Shipping Service

A key question is whether the instruments developed for consumer services can accurately gauge the service quality perceptions of organisational customers. Reports psychometric testing of the SERVQUAL as a measure of service quality in ocean freight services. Based on a survey of a cross-sectional sample of 114 business organisations in Singapore, which regularly utilise ocean freight services for their export needs, this study found that the psychometric properties of the SERVQUAL scale are at variance with those found in consumer services settings. Further, the SERVQUAL perceptions scores were found to be a better predictor than the SERVQUAL gap scores. In sum, the service quality measures developed for consumer services can only be applied with caution in business-to-business marketing. Implications and future directions for research are discussed

Should Marketing Managers Be Concerned about Attitudes towards Marketing and Consumerism in New Zealand: A Longitudinal View

New Zealand has gone through a radical metamorphosis since free market economics were introduced in the mid-1980s. Marketing managers are particularly interested in the views of consumers about issues dealing with marketing activities. Negative views could signal consumer backlash against free market activities. This study examines the views of consumers from 1986 to 2001 on a range of issues dealing with marketing and consumerism. The results clearly show that consumers are less negative about marketing and consumerism issues since 1986. It seems likely that New Zealand has evolved in terms of the consumerism life cycle over the last 15 years. Marketing managers should continue to remain proactive in their responses to consumer discontents. Implications for New Zealand and for other countries are addressed

Technology and its CRM Implications in the Shipping Industry

This paper investigates the relative importance of service factors such as technology and facilities, how service providers are rated on those factors, and their relationship to customer satisfaction in a B2B environment. The results show that in the ocean freight shipping industry, customers placed more importance on factors such as efficiency in complaint handling, prompt availability of delivery information as compared to the use of latest equipment and technology. Most importantly, customers who had a more favourable evaluation of shipping companies on these factors also experienced a higher level of service satisfaction. Implications of these results for the use of technology in managing customer relationships are then presented

Competitive Positioning in International Logistics: Identifying a System of Attributes Through Neural Networks and Decision Trees

Firms involved in international logistics must develop a system of service attributes that give them a way to be profitable and to satisfy customers’ needs at the same time. How customers trade-off these various attributes in forming satisfaction with competing international logistics providers has not been explored well in the literature. This study explores the ocean freight shipping sector to identify the system of attributes that maximizes customers’ satisfaction. Data were collected from shipping managers in Singapore using personal interviews to identify the chief concerns in choosing and evaluating ocean freight services. The data were then examined using neural networks and decision trees, among other approaches to identify the system of attributes that is connected with customer satisfaction. The results illustrate the power of these methods in understanding how industrial customers with global operations process attributes to derive satisfaction. Implications are discussed

Business to Business Marketing: Service Recovery and Customer Satisfaction Issues with Ocean Shipping Lines

The tenets of relationship marketing are useful in understanding the success of a service provider. Based on a sample of 221 firms in Singapore that use ocean freight shipping services, examines service recovery issues related to satisfaction. It was found that service recovery methods such as claims handling, problem handling and complaint handling are associated with the level of satisfaction of customers. In addition, interfacing departments also have varying association with levels of satisfaction of customers. Finds that users of these services can identify problems they experience with ocean freight shipping services, and this may impact their choice of most preferred vs. least preferred shipping line. Concludes by giving recommendations on how service firms can mitigate and be vigilant for service recovery problems