Consumer ethnocentrism and attitudes towards local products: A case of Kenyan consumers
Keywords:
attitude, consumer behaviour, consumer ethnocentrism, Kenya, xenocentricAbstract
This paper entails a study that was conducted to investigate the existence of consumer ethnocentrism
and the attitudes towards locally made products among Kenyan consumers. The study is founded on
the different perspectives of consumer attitudes towards domestic and foreign made products. The
sample for this study was drawn from adult customers who live in Nairobi. Altogether, the study
sampled 385 respondents to whom questionnaires were distributed and, 315 completed and returned
for analysis. The consumer ethnocentric tendency was measured using the consumer ethnocentrism
scale developed by Shimp and Sharma in 1987 while consumer attitude was measured using a scale
derived from the literature. Cronbach’s Alpha values of each construct confirmed that a good reliability
existed, hence appropriate to make inferences. Principle component analysis was employed to
determine the important factors affecting consumer attitudes. Four components were identified through
confirmatory factor analyses which were labelled as: Patriotism; Economic Impact; Foreign Products;
and, Made in Kenya Attitude. A structural equation model was developed showing the relationships
between consumer ethnocentrism components and attitude towards made in Kenya products. Consistent
with other African studies, it was found that the Kenyan consumers were not ethnocentric. They were
however concerned with the impact of foreign products to the economy and especially on employment.
On the other hand, Kenyans were found to be xenocentric (preference for foreign made products.
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