Consumer Ethnocentrism: A Comparison of Arab and Western Audiences

The subject of consumer ethnocentrism is discussed in the context of advertising country-of-origin effects. The literature and suggestions concerning the phenomenon in the Middle East are brought up and a study using U.S. and Egyptian samples is described. The findings show some evidence of consumer ethnocentrism in both countries, though statistical significance is only achieved with U.S. data, generally consistent with prior writing and research focused on developed versus developing countries. Special attention is given to the construct of worldliness and though not statistically significant, results suggest it may be a factor deserving additional study. Introduction In the literature on international marketing and advertising, “country-of-origin effects” relate to how the mention of where a product comes from can impact consumer perceptions of quality, value, and intention to purchase. The concept was initially proposed by Schooler (1965), and over 40 years of research have documented instances of both positive and negative effects. General findings and predictions from country-of-origin studies suggest that advertisements and media messages associating products with developed countries are likely to produce more favorable attitudes and increase purchase likelihood, while those linking products to a developing country may have the opposite effect (Dinnie, 2004). As noted by Hamin (2006), though, most research in the area has been conducted among populations from developed countries (particularly the U.S. and Europe), with consumers in the developing world receiving less attention.