A less-developed country perspective of consumer ethnocentrism and “country of origin” effects: Indonesian evidence

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the concept of “consumer ethnocentrism” (CE) and its impact on product evaluation and preferences among Indonesian consumers. Design/methodology/approach – The survey involved interviewing a representative sample of Indonesian consumers who had previously purchased the products in question, namely colour television and who had travelled by international airlines. A total of 547 usable questionnaires were completed in face-to-face interviews in Indonesia. Conjoint analysis was employed to study the relative importance and part-worth estimates of country-of-origin (COO) effects across high and low CE groups. Findings – Results of a sample survey of Indonesian consumers are discussed. They show, firstly, that the overall level of CE of Indonesian consumers, compared with published results for a range of countries, is notably high. Secondly, results of conjoint analysis showing the relationship between CE and consumer evaluations of “COO”, product quality perceptions, and purchase intentions, for both tangible goods and intangible services, are discussed. Research limitations/implications – The actual sample was heavily biased to upper socio-economic groups because of its focus on international airlines as one of the subject products. This will inevitably distort the average Consumer ethnocentric tendency scale score, but was felt to be unavoidable. Originality/value – In the past, research on country-of-origin effects has been carried out mostly in more developed countries considering products made in less developed countries (LDC's). In the present research, attention has been given to understand the effects of consumer CE on perceptions of product quality, price, perceived value, and product choice from the point of view of consumers from LDC's. In addition, the study of COO effects in relation to intangible services is noteworthy.