Consumer Ethnocentrism and Country of Origin, Dissertation – Literature Example

Abstract

The following work in writing is comprised by a review of literature on consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin.

Literature Review

The work of Spillan et al (2010) reports that the term consumer ethnocentrism “is adopted from the general concept of Sumner (1906) and represents the “…inclination for people to view their own group as superior and reject people who are culturally dissimilar.  Symbols and values of one? own ethnicity or nationality becomes objects of pride and attachment where as symbols of other groups may become objects of contempt. In functional terms, consumer ethnocentrism gives the individual a sense of identity, feelings of belongingness and most important an understanding of what purchase behavior is acceptable or unacceptable to the in-group. From the perspective of an ethnocentric consumer, purchasing imported products is wrong because in their minds, it hurts the domestic economy, causes the loss of jobs, and is unpatriotic.” (Spillan et al, 2010)

Sedlakova (nd) states in the work entitled “The Perception of Country of Origin and Consumer Ethnocentrism in Slovak market: Domestic Versus Foreign Products” that the increase in globalization over the past decade has significantly impacted the market for food products as companies have taken the opportunity for participation in foreign markets and have located and are still locating new customer groups. Stated is that the distribution of new consumer goods and services all over the world “has had impact on consumer decision and preferences in particular countries.” (Sedlakova, nd) It is therefore necessary to measure the attitudes of consumers toward the domestic and foreign product. Many empirical studies have conducted assessment of consumer evaluation of products based on national origin. In many studies, the factors utilized for evaluation of products is ‘country-of-origin’. It is stated in the work of Schafer (1997) that “while country-of-origin generally seems to have an impact on product evaluation, the research continues concerning the magnitude of the effect, particularly in the presence of other extrinsic and intrinsic product information cues.” (Sedlakova, nd)

The analysis of the country-of origin (COO) analysis and research focuses on the opinions of buyers in relation to the “relative qualities of goods and services produced in various countries.” (Sedlakova, nd) Watson and Wright (1999) report that international trade activity “is becoming a central part of the world economy, and it is recognized that there is a greater necessity to gauge consumers’ attitudes toward both domestic and foreign products.”  Watson and Wright (1999) state that past studies examining the country of origin have looked at “product categories as diverse as automobiles, shoes, VCRs, and jam for consumers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and the USA, among others. (Ahmed and d’Astous, 1996; Elliott and Cameron, 1994; Garland and Coy, 1993; Kaynak, 1989; Kaynak and Cavusgil, 1983; Lantz and Loeb, 1996; Lawrence et al., 1992; Nagashima, 1970; Netemeyer et al., 1991; Okechuku, 1994; Roth and Romeo, 1992; Wall et al., 1991cited in: Watson and Wright, 1999)

European studies report having examined the effect of country of origin on behavioral associated with decisions as well as product image, perceptions of consumers and the concept of ‘Made in Europe’. (Watson and Wright, 1999) Consumers in developed countries have been shown by the previous research to  have a preference for products that have been “manufactured in the home country.” (Watson and Wright, 1999) Other studies indicate that products that are culturally akin to those in the origin country are preferred over those who are not similar and consumer ethnocentrism and beliefs “regarding the appropriateness of purchasing foreign-made products” is cited to be the reason these preferences exist. (Watson and Wright, 1999)

Lant and Loeb (1996) report that the “highly ethnocentric consumers have more favorable attitudes toward products from countries that are similar culturally however, it should be noted that this is when there is a “domestic alternative is available.” (Watson and Wright, 1999) Larry Lee Carter notes that in the manufacturing business the firm’s survival depends on “the acceptance of the consumer and the purchase of the manufacturer’s products.” (2009) Marketing managers have to “accurately assess consumer product perceptions to forecast foreign market entry acceptance and develop some form of competitive advantages that will be sustainable over the long run.” (Carter, 2009)

According to Carter (2009) globalization in combination with global markets having emerged have arisen from changes in the policy of the government, technological and societal changes, all of which have served to restructure the “global business landscape over the past decade. Free trade area proliferation including those of the (1) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); (2) the European Union (EU), and (3)  the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has led to the dramatic reduction of trade barriers to encourage more trade among the member nations and relax trading protocols across their borders. The diffusion of advances in technology and information has resulted in increases in product exposure as well as brand exposure to consumers on a global basis. (Carter, 2009, paraphrased) This has resulted in more market accessibility in terms of products and services alike as well as in online shopping. (Pharr, 2005 cited in: Carter, 2009)

Enabling consumers to access foreign lands are technologies in transportation resulting in added international routes of travel and destinations due to faster and safer modes of transportation bringing consumers in direct contact with foreign advertising and products all of which has served to influence the expectations of consumers and as well influencing consumer product choice “along various attribute dimensions.” (Carter, 2009) In addition, “…shipping capabilities and efficiencies have also benefited from various modes of transportation and add to the convenience of acquiring foreign products in a timely manner.” (Carter, 2009)

The work of Maison, Greenwald and Bruin (2004) report that consumer ethnocentrism (CE) is defined as a conscious preference of own country products compared to foreign products.” Consumer ethnocentrism “can have different backgrounds: (1) cognitive – when people believe that products produced in their own country are better; (2) affective – when people have a positive affective reaction toward own country products; (3) normative or ideological – when people believe that it is appropriate to purchase products manufactured in their home country. (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004) Consumer ethnocentrism is reported to be observed in many countries however it is stated that in countries that are economically developed consumers “have stronger preferences toward own country products than in under-developed countries.” (Maison, Greenwald and Bruin, 2004)

Under-developed countries are characterized by consumers that have lesser preferences towards their own country products those consumers in more developed countries. This is stated to be due to the poorer quality of the products in lesser-developed countries as compared to foreign products. This is stated to lead to “dissociation between implicit and explicit attitudes and it can product internal conflict between automatic preference based on emotions and rational judgment based on observation and experience.” (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004) In a study that examined the “explicit and implicit preferences toward foreign vs. local products and their relation to behavior and in which measured was “attitude toward Polish vs. Foreign brands of cigarettes the study involved 201 college student participants in an IAT study where stimuli were names of Polish vs. Western cigarette brands. Participants completed a questionnaire providing their opinion on varying cigarette brands. On explicit measures, subjects were found to prefer foreign brands however; on implicit measures, Polish cigarettes were preferred. (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004) Another study involved the investigation of “implicit consumer ethnocentrism toward multiple product categories.” (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004) The study sought to understand CE and examined the relationship between CE and explicit consumer ethnocentrism, explicit preferences of Polish vs. foreign products, and quality perception of Polish products. (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004, paraphrased)

Participants in the second study included 97 college students who completed an IAT task “where stimuli were Polish vs. foreign brand names in different product categories” as well as two questionnaires. (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004) Results from the study are stated to have shown “a pattern similar to that obtained in the first study: on explicit measures subjects preferred foreign products, but on implicit measures they preferred Polish products.” (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004) It is reported that subjects with weaker explicit preferences for foreign products had strong implicit preferences for Polish products. No relation was observed between implicit consumer ethnocentrism (IAT) and explicit ethnocentrism as measured by the CATESCALE.” (Maison, Greenwald, and Bruin, 2004)

In a separate study reported by Freeman and Jahshan (nd) and entitled “Country-of-Origin and Ethnocentrism Influences on Consumer Preference for a Service Provider: International Air-Carriers” stated is that studies “have claimed the generalizability of their findings in the area of country-of-origin and the influence on consumer behavior when evaluating quality, determining the willingness to buy, and the final purchase decision for products in general, for specific categories of products and for specific brands. Support was also found for COO effects on product attribute evaluations between domestic and foreign products. Further analysis into the underlying influences behind product choice between domestic and foreign alternatives suggested that the COO cue on consumer choice was more complex than previously thought.” (Freeman and Jahshan, nd)  Freeman and Jahshan reported that the social-identity theory is reflected in the attitudes of individuals who are “affiliated with certain group behavior.” (nd) Aspects of group behavior affiliation are stated to be inclusive of such as: (1) nationalism; (2) authoritarianism; and (3) ethnocentrism. (Freeman and Jahshan, nd) The generic construction of ethnocentrism is termed “as a view of one’s own group (in-group) as being superior to all other groups (out-groups) and that this is comprised by patriotism and national loyalty.

Freeman and Jahshan report that the literature on country-of-origin effects and particularly the most recent studies have “incorporated the relationship of consumer ethnocentrism as an integral part of group affiliations within the area of country-of-origin. (nd) The research of Bruning (1997) is such that examined the influence of country-of-origin, national loyalty and product choice for international air-travel. It is reported that the “operatalization of key constructs in the conceptual model is based on the prior research conducted by Bruning (1997). The following shows the operationalization of the key constructs in the conceptual model.

Figure 1

Source: Freeman and Jahshan (nd)

In Brunning’s 1997 study the three levels of price (high, medium and low) were based on coach fare as a benchmark with low being 50% of the coach fare, medium being 25% of coach fare and high being a standard coach fare rate. In validating the choice of air-carriers for the country-of-origin construct, the value classification of Schwartz (1994) was utilized. The study conducted and reported in Brunning (1997) serves to highlight the beliefs of other scholars including Lantz and Loeb (1997) and Sharma, et al (1995) that country-of-origin research must necessarily go further than the traditional and methodological approach and be inclusive of the component of social psychology. (Freeman and Jahshan, nd, paraphrased)

The work of Hussein Abdulla El-Omari (nd) entitled “The Impact of Country of Origin on Emiratis’ Perception of Products: The Case of the Emirate of Dubai (UAE)” reports a study that analyzes the relationship between country of origin and product perception in the United Arab Emirates.” (El-Omari, nd) Further examined is the “…general perception to the quality of imported products and the impact that the manufacturing country may have in this regard.” (El-Omari, nd) It is stated that the researcher is a resident of the UAE and therefore, “able to detect that the consumption patterns in the Emirates of the UAE, is marked by great demand for various imported products and services. This is due to the belief that foreign products are superior to their local counterparts. Therefore, local factories utilize only part of their total capacity and hence, local manufacturers need to gain a greater understanding that currently exists of their locally made products.” (El-Omari, nd)

El-Omari states that the buying decisions of consumers are “highly affected by their country of origin. When people buy, electronics and appliances they tend to consider first the country of origin. In fact, the image of the country of origin can affect the evaluation process of products through personal beliefs and expectations.” (El-Omari, nd) The image of the manufacturing country is such according to El-Omari that it can “affect the overall general perceptions of all products made in that particular country.” (nd) El-Omari additionally reports that business buyers’ assessments of products “are usually based on their intrinsic and extrinsic features. Intrinsic variables can include smell, taste, shape and performance. Extrinsic variables can include trade mark and image of the manufacturing country.” (nd) Extrinsic variables may include such as trade mark and image of the manufacturing country.” (El-Omari, nd) Additionally, extrinsic features are generally utilized in “judging quality and value of the product, especially when no information is available to judge intrinsic value of the product. In other words, knowledge of the country can influence buyers’ perception of the product’s quality and therefore influence the process of buying behavior, including the pre-purchase phase.” (El-Omari, nd) Also found to be more important in affecting quality assessment than other variables that are used in evaluating products was the image of the country of origin including such as “price and brand name.” (El-Omari, nd) Factors including those of “economic, technological and political reputations” have been found to profoundly influence the product image and the “perception of quality of the same brand name” if the same brand name is manufactured in different countries.”  (El-Omari, nd) Additional factors are stated to include such as “cultural factors, level of economic development, race, consumption habits and norms as well as social events and relationships…” (El-Omari, nd)

El-Omari states that quality or product perception “may not be based on objective elements or actual quality. It is a subjective assessment rather than an objective one, which could be based on specific attributes of the product. Product perception or quality perception is a process that arises because people lack perfect information to build their own proper judgment. In quality perception…consumers may not judge products based on the objective benefits of products but rather they may rely on subjective benefits such as social and psychological.” (El-Omari, nd) Performance, reliability, features, durability, conformance, serviceability and aesthetics are all stated to be utilized in measurement of the perception of quality while attributes used in measuring perceived service quality include such as “reliability, empathy, responsiveness, and assurance.” (El-Omari, nd   ) The measurement of quality perception of durables is stated by El-Omari to include “ease of product use, product performance, durability, functionality, serviceability and product prestige…” (nd) El-Omari reports that studies conduct on the attitude of Emiratis toward the “quality of products in general and the impact of that the country of origin may have on the perception of products are non-existent.” (nd)

El-Omari reports a study that examined the “impact of the country of origin on Emiratis’ perception of the quality of foreign products and specifically that of wearing apparel and the attitude of Emiratis towards locally made versus imported wearing apparel.” (nd) El-Omari reports that the target population in the study reported was Emiratis who “do their shopping and the Burjuman Shopping Center in Dubai” through use of hand-delivered questionnaires with open- and close-ended questions. (El-Omari, nd) Two primary issues addressed in the questionnaires were the country of origin on perception of Emiratis relating to foreign product quality and the attitudes of Emiratis toward the quality of locally made products as compared to their attitudes toward the quality of imported products. Findings in the study reported by El-Omari show that Emiratis are “in favor of foreign made products and always carry an optimistic view of the quality of most imported products. ON the contrary, Emiratis carry a negative view of locally made products. The findings of this study suggest that imported products will have a good reputation in Dubai. To change Emiratis’ view of locally made products, UAE manufacturer need to look into both the quality of their products and their productivity.” (El-Omari, nd) Improvement of both quality and productivity will assist in offering products made in the Emirates into the Dubai markets and other UAE markets at prices that are competitive. (El-Omari, nd, paraphrased) The following table shows the attitude of Emiratis toward locally made wearing apparel. The primary findings in the study reported by El-Omari include that Emiratis consider country of origin as an important factor in making their purchase decision. This means that Emiratis use the reputation of the country of origin to judge its products’ quality, and especially when they do not have enough information to assess the quality of products.” (nd) Emiratis are reported to have maintained a relationship “between perceived country of origin image and perceived product quality and value. This relationship means that he more enhanced the image of the country of origin, the better perception of product quality and value.” (El-Omari, nd) Promotion as an important element of the marketing mix must be kept as an important weapon in the hands of all marketers to enhance the image of the country of origin in the UAE.” (El-Omari, nd) El-Omari states that the findings in the study repotted show clearly that the country of origin “has great influence on Emiratis’ purchase intention.”

Roth (2006) states that country of origin image “is an important driver of consumers’ evaluation of products originating from different countries.” Schooler (1965) is reported by Roth to be the first researcher “to empirically study this effect. He found that “products, identical in every respect except for their country of origin, were evaluated differently by consumers.” (2006) Country image is stated to be defined as “the total of all descriptive inferential and informational beliefs one has about a particular country.” (Roth, 2006) The construct of country image is stated to be comprised of the following:

• A cognitive component which includes consumers’ beliefs about the country’s industrial, technological as well as political background;
• An affective component that describes the country’s symbolic and emotional value to the consumer; and
• A conative component capturing consumers’ desired interaction with the sourcing country. (Roth, 2006)

Conrad (1997) reports a study entitled “Social Desirability and Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies” which relates a study that examined whether the tendency of consumers to respond in a socially desirable manner affects the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and purchase intentions of electronic goods, cars, and garments made by foreign manufacturers. It is related that Shimp and Sharma (1997) developed the CETSCALE for the purpose of measuring consumer’s ethnocentric tendencies and proposed that manufacturers and marketers use such a measurement device for segmentation purposes. The segmentation tool is reported to be valuable to the manufacturers and marketers of goods for which substantial foreign competition exists.” (Conrad, 1997) There is reported to have been little in the way of attention given to the ethnocentric tendencies and the consumer’s likelihood of responding in a manner that is held as socially acceptable. (Conrad, 1997, paraphrased) The methodology of the study reports as follows:

“Social desirability was measured using the 33 item Malowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale proposed by Crowne and Marlowe (1960). The scale is dichotomous in nature with 18 items keyed as true and 15 items false. Based on summated scores, respondents were then categorized into two groups, Low (lower 40% of sample, mean = 23.46) and High (upper 40% of sample, mean = 29.11) need to respond in a socially desirable manner. Consumer ethnocentrism was measured using the seventeen item CETSCALE proposed by Shimp and Sharma (1987). The original seven point Likert scale was adapted to a six point, forced-choice Likert scale anchored by Strongly Agree (6) and Strongly Disagree (1). Specific product categories were substituted into the scale items.” (Roth, 2006) point Likert type items of 1) “It is probable that I would buy a foreign product,” 2) “It is likely I would buy a foreign product,” and 3) “It is possible I would buy a foreign product.” (Conrad, 1997)

Findings reported by the study state as follows:

“Stated simply, consumers propensity to respond in a socially desirable manner had no effect on the relationship between ethnocentric tendencies and purchase intentions. This finding contributes to the body of evidence relating to the discriminant validity of the CETSCALE and in the instances of electronic goods, cars and garments, ethnocentric tendencies, as measured by the CETSCALE, are not inflated by the consumers’ desire to respond in a socially desirable manner.” (Conrad, 1997)

The work of Nijssen and Herk (2005) entitled “Consumer Ethnocentrism’s Effect on Ongoing Cross-Border Service Relationships” states that as international trade and consumer travel has expanded today’s consumers are “increasingly confronted with foreign products and services. It has resulted in greater business and academic interest in examining consumers attitudes towards foreign products.” (Nijssen and Herk, 2005) The majority of research has had as its focus the attitudes held toward foreign products versus domestic products and has made the assumption that locals hold a more positive view of domestic products over alternative foreign products. It is reported that the negative attitudes arise from several sources including:

• the belief that products from certain countries are of an inferior nature;
• hostile feelings are held toward some countries resulting in a lack of desire to purchase products from that country; and
• feeling that it is a moral wrong doing to buy foreign products.  (Nijssen and Herk, 2005, paraphrased)

The work of Zhou, Yang and Hui (2010) entitled “Non-local or Local Brands? A Multi-Level Investigation Into Confidence in Brand Origin Identification and Its Strategic Implications” reports that one central construct emerging from the country-of-origin literature is that of “perceived brand nonlocalness or foreignness.” Batra et al. (2000) is reported to have “…perceived brand foreignness (PBF)” as that which “…refers to a consumer’s perception that a brand is of foreign or non-local origin. As the authors clearly stated, PBF is different from the traditional country-of-origin construct documented in the literature because the latter is associated with one specific country, as is often reflected by the made-in label. Instead, PBF represents more generalized perceptions of a brand as of foreign images or appeals. Ample evidence has shown that foreign brands, especially those from Western or other developed countries, benefit from consumer perceptions of non-local brand image associations.” (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010)

Foreign image appeals have been typically associated with a “…glamour that local brands cannot compete with, especially among consumers in developing countries. However, foreign image associations are not a privilege that only foreign brands have; they may also be attached to local brands.” (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010)

The work of Eckhardt (2005) is reported to have revealed “…a local pizza brand in India was strongly associated with “something foreign” due to local consumers’ impressions of pizza as a foreign product category. In fact, an increasing number of firms in developing markets have attempted to take advantage of the equity of foreign (mostly Western) country images, and to build and enhance the appeal of their products by using foreign-sounding brand names, employing foreign symbols in advertising, or using foreign languages on product labels. Today, more and more firms from emerging economies are using foreign image association strategies as important components of their branding and marketing communication strategies. These firms believe that foreign appeals bring about a higher quality perception and increase social status for their brands.” (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010)

Zhou, Yang and Hui (2010) report that recent research has indicated “…foreign brands have experienced mixed fortunes in some of the fast-developing markets. Although foreign brands may still be associated with an inherent glamour that makes local brands envious, there is a growing skepticism about this automatic cachet because consumers have started to wonder which brand is of local or non-local origin. As a result, there seems to be a growing backlash against foreign brands in the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets such as China. (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010)

Global branding or localization strategies pursued by international players seem to further deepen consumer confusion regarding the authenticity of foreign image appeals. To make things worse, the proliferation of foreign looking local rivals and their associated lower-than expected quality performance may have further attenuated consumers’ trust in perceived brand foreignness (PBF), thereby reducing brand value. According to a recent report by The Boston Consulting Group (2008), some consumers find foreign brand images no longer distinguishable or diagnostic in both product evaluations and subsequent purchase decisions. This is a potentially neglected outcome of local versus non-local brand confusion, an issue recently raised in the fast-changing marketplace of emerging economies.” (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010)

There has been to date a lack of research that addresses the mixed picture of PBF.” (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010) The study reported by Zhou, Yang and Hui is stated to address the questions of: (1) To what extent is perceived foreignness of a brand relevant and diagnostic to consumer evaluations of the brand? (2)Would foreign or local brands benefit more from perceived brand foreignness? (3) How could we enhance the value of the perceived foreignness of a brand? (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010) The construct of ‘confidence in brand origin identification’ is introduced in the work of Zhou, Yang and Hui, which is conceptualized as a “moderator that affects the effects of PBF on consumer evaluation of brand value.” (2010)

CBO is stated to be defined as a consumer’s belief in his or her judgment or attribution of a brand’s country of origin. In a marketplace filled with uncertainty about actual brand origins due to the imitation strategies of local rivals and/or the localization movement of international players, consumers’ subjective attribution of brand origin is expected to enhance the value of PBF on brand evaluation. This could explain how consumers interpret things related to perceived country association when the rise of global branding and various misleading signifiers of brand origin information are prevalent in the global marketplace.” (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010)

Zhou, Yang and Hui (2010) state that their study draws upon the brands as signals literature and the accessibility diagnosticity theory and proposes that the signaling function of PBF increases its diagnostic value for brand evaluations when consumers are more confident in their attributions of a brand’s origin.” Zhou, Yang, and Hui state the anticipation that CBO is a distinct construct with the potential to enhance the effects of PBF on brand value in a marketplace that is increasingly confused with various foreign image appeals.” (2010)

Findings reported by Zhou, Yang and Hui (2010) relate that from a managerial standpoint the findings indicate that “in an era of global branding and outsourcing, international marketers should try to emphasize not only a foreign culture brand positioning strategy  as noted in the literature, but also consumer associations with brand origin identification. This seems to be particularly true in developing countries, including the fast emerging market of China. Instead of focusing on objective country-of-origin cues, as is prevalent in the vast majority of previous country-of-origin studies, our study suggests that international marketers can take advantage of consumer beliefs in brand origin associations to promote brand value. They may find it more meaningful to create consumer association with the geographic origin where a brand was originally from. In a subtle way, such sources of information as packaging and brand names may be used to foster the consumer’s sense of confidence with his/her own belief in a brand’s origin association. (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010) Findings show that when the brand origin association is effectively implanted in the minds of consumers on a local basis there will likely be improvement of perceptions of brands and perceived brand foreignness effects will be enhanced. (Zhou, Yang and Hui, 2010, paraphrased)

The work of Ghose (nd) reports a study that examined ethnocentric tendencies among Russian and Indian consumers. Adult consumers are reported to have been surveyed in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, and in Kolkata, India. Additionally the study examined the image of the United States among these consumers. It is stated by Ghose (nd) that there are rapidly growing markets in the emerging economies and that investment opportunities in these emerging economies are “fabulous and that is where most of the business action will be in the 21^st century. A major obstacle to higher success for the U.S. business organizations in these markets is the inadequate amount of emphasis placed upon the fact that these individual markets are controlled by guiding cultural beliefs that allow some business and marketing strategies to succeed in them while others fail.” (Ghose, nd)

Two of the promising markets are Russia and India, both of which are reported to be “contemplating their journey towards consumer-controlled markets. Increasing communication and travel between the west and these markets has facilitated higher interaction between markets and inspired consumers to have a greater say in their own choices.” (Ghose, nd) Ghose (nd) states that for a company to succeed in this highly competitive business environment “…they should derive strategies to survive and be successful not only in their respective countries but also they should try to expand globally. In the international market place, the company not only has to compete with domestic companies but also with other international companies who are in that country for the same reason, to expand internationally and increase market share. However, expanding in the international market place can be very risky. In their attempt to expand in the international market place, companies need to pay attention to several factors that can be considered determinants in the success or failure of the company. In particular, special attention should be paid by companies to the perception that prospective consumers in the potential countries hold pertaining to different countries of origin.” (Ghose, nd)

Marketers believe they are losing business due to cultural beliefs of the society in which they are attempting to market their product.” (Ghose, nd) Cultural beliefs however change from one generation to another and each country has people that belong to different generations including the countries of Russia and India. Participants in the study reported by Ghose 9nd) responded to the CETSCALE, which was used in determining the individual ethnocentric tendencies. The scale had 17 items and they were asked to respond to these items on a scale of 1 to 7 with 1 being strong disagree and 7 being strongly agree. There were reported 104 respondents from Russia and 121 respondents from India. Study findings report that the cross tabulation results from Russia “were not significant” and results from India were stated to be significant. In India, it is reported that “45.5% of the respondents were found to exhibit low ethnocentrism and maintaining a less favorable image of the USA, 29.8% of the respondents were found to exhibit high ethnocentrism and maintaining a more favorable image of the USA. 16.5% of the Indian respondents exhibited high ethnocentrism and maintained a less favorable image of the USA, while 8.3% exhibited low ethnocentrism and a more favorable image of the USA. Russia and India have huge markets to offer. However, due to the current political, social, and economic conditions prevailing in these markets, US businesses need to be extremely cautious in their modes of entry and forms of investment. They need to do a meticulous job of assessing the market for their individual businesses. Russia does not seem to be the market for instant returns at this time. The opportunity does exist. The opportunity may be better at this time for businesses that are willing and able to invest unusually huge amounts of capital and wait patiently for decades for incredible returns. The returns will come. It is just a question of how long can one continually invest and wait. India on the other hand seems to be better prepared to accept US products.” (Ghose, nd)

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