Consumer Preference for Imported Products over Domestically

Produced Products in Pakistan

Noor ul Islam
Foundation University, Islamabad. Pakistan
noor.mpa@gmail.com, noor_mpa@yahoo.co.uk

Pareesa Raza Khan

Foundation University, Islamabad. Pakistan
deeya.khan@gmail.com

Umara Noreen
Foundation University Islamabad, Pakistan
umaranoreen@yahoo.com

Dr. Kashif UR-Rehman

Iqra University, Islamabad, Pakistan
dr.kashifurrehman@gmail.com

Abstract:
Consumer behavior is "The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they
use to select, secure, use, and dispose the products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy
needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society."
To understand consumers and why they make the choices they do, consumers researchers
investigate a broad range of human responses, including affective (feelings), cognitive (thoughts)
and behavioral (actions) responses.
Objective(s) of the study:
The aim of this research is to try to analyze the main reasons behind why Pakistani consumer
prefer foreign made products and services to those , which are made domestically.
Another aim can be here to see which of the variables actually have some bearing on the
preferences of consumers and to what degree.
Hypotheses:
From the theoretical framework developed for this study, we are in a position to construct three
main hypotheses. These are:
• To what extent, the ethnocentrism scale is present in consumers' preferences towards
products of Western relative to Pakistani origin.
• To what extent, the interpersonal susceptibility scale is present in consumers’
preferences towards products of Western in relation to Pakistani origin.
• Dimensions of the meanings of conspicuous consumption scale are present in
consumers’ preferences towards products of Western relative to Pakistani origin.

Methodology:
This research preferred more to questionnaires, second to articles, and thirdly to interviews as
the research requirement involves in-depth, contextual analysis.
A co- relational investigation was carried out simply to identify the important factors, related
with this research.
The study was basically a descriptive study on the main variables, which had an effect on the
consumer preferences of the Pakistani consumer in relation to foreign goods and services.
The process by which research was carried out is, firstly, a hypothetical analysis was done on the
issue at hand based on literature reviews, previous studies, and thesis already available on the
subject. Second a questionnaire was developed and utilized.

Key Words: Interpersonal influence, social status, ostentation, communication of belonging.

Introduction
The consumer decision-making, regarding purchase and utilization of different products and
services, is influenced by many internal as well as external factors. Among the external factors,
the most important and significant are the attributes of the product itself, the brand and the
package in which it is incased. Attributes are those descriptive features that characterize a product
or service- what a consumer thinks the product or service is? Or what is involved with its
purchase or consumption? Product-related attributes are the functions of the product or service.
Non-product-related attributes are the external aspects of the product or service that relate to its
purchase or consumption, like the price information, packaging or product appearance, user
imagery and usage imagery (Mullen, 1995).
Consumer buying behavior is affected by many socio-cultural factors like social class,
demographics, personality, and beliefs etc. However besides these, the product itself also makes
their decision for them because of the message it transmits, the visual impact it makes, the
significant colors and logo of the brand, the brand image and awareness, and the price. Price is a
particularly important attribute association because consumers often have strong beliefs about the
price and value of the brand and may organize their product category knowledge in terms of the
price tiers of different brands. (Hawkins, Best, and Coney, 1995).

Preface with Present Scenario

Recently the pace of the world has dramatically increased. Jet airplanes, cheap telephone service,
email, computers, huge oceangoing vessels, instant capital flows, all these have made the world
more interdependent than ever. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many
countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move
ever more swiftly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures
circulate more freely. More over Customer behavior is never constant. It changes over time and
these changes are clues to the future. These changes over time are known as the customer
Lifecycle. (Mir 2007).
Consumer in Pakistan is also changing its responses because of globalization, and technology
advancement. In the last fifteen to twenty years of Pakistan’s history, there has been a sharp
increase in the number of locally produced products and services coming in to the market,
ranging from electronic goods like television and computers, to durable products and services like
automobiles, cosmetic goods and companies dealing in all forms of services including financing,
information technology, advertising etc. Although most of these goods and services are of
commendable quality, both technologically and in terms of appeal, but there are still a very small
presence of these goods and services in the Pakistani market in terms of consumer demand.
(Pakistan Review Magazine, 2001).
From this research results, it seems that most consumers are inclined towards purchasing foreign
made goods rather than goods made in Pakistan even though there is a little or no difference
between the two in terms of craftsmanship or technology,
because of the perception of the Pakistani populace has that foreign brands are of better quality,
where as in reality this might not always be the case.

2
It should be noted that the buying behavior of consumers is not altered by small scale changes in
income increases or increased demand etc, but major changes like economic stability of the
country, or changed perception of consumers would lead to the alterations in buying behavior.
(Berkowitz, 2000).
To understand consumers and why they make the choices they do, consumers researchers
investigate a broad range of human responses, including affective (feelings), cognitive (thoughts)
and behavioral (actions) responses, which are shown in figure below (Schiffman, Kanuk, 1996).

Products& services

Affect
Consumer
(Feeling Behavior
Response (Actions)

Cognition
(Thoughts)

Problem Statement
Problem is the intention of a researcher to do some thing. There is always a gap between desired
and current state which the researcher is trying to cover up. Researchers have constructed four
questions, which will be understudy in this research, in order to solve the query.
1-To what degree Pakistani people are patriotic towards domestically produced products?
2-To what degree the socio-economic variables affect the consumer buying behavior in
Pakistan?
3-What is the connection between consumers and the products they consume?
4-To what degree does the country of origin persuade consumers’ mind towards the
products of a country?

Objective of the Study

The aim of this research is to try to analyze the main reasons behind why Pakistani consumer
prefer foreign made products and services to those , which are made domestically? Another aim
can be here to see which of the variables actually have some bearing on the preferences of
consumers and to what degree? The variables (from literature review) which can have an affect
on this bias towards foreign products are:

Impact of Ethnocentrism:
In general, ethnocentrism means that people tend to view their own group as the centre of
universe, to interpret other social units from the perspective of their own group, and to reject
persons who are culturally dissimilar while blindly accepting those who are culturally like
themselves. (Watson, Wright, 2000).
The symbols and values of one’s own ethnic or national group become objects of pride and
attachment. Where as symbols of other groups may become object of dislike. (Bizumic, Duckitt,
2008).

Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence:

Since individuals are often motivated to acquire products according to what they mean to them
and members of their social reference (Leigh,Gabel,1992).Their behavior is said is subject to the

3
pressures of cultural norms and the expectations of socialization institutions rules such as those
coming from family and other reference groups (Lee , Kacen,2007).

Conspicuous Consumption (eye catching):

An image variable is defined as “some aspects of the products that is distinct from its physical
characteristics but that is nevertheless identified with the product.” The image variable emerges
from four cognitive representations individuals have of their environment: the symbolism of
advertising, the celebrity endorsement, the brand and the country of origin of the product. (JW
Lee, SW Tai).

Demographic Variables: Demographic variables are basically concerned with the variables of
the marketing mix which include product, price, place, and promotion.
But the made-in is considered as the fifth element of marketing mix, and is defined as the country
where the corporate headquarters of the organization doing the marketing of the product or the
band. (Usunier, Lee, Anne Lee, 2005). Demographic variables include age, sex, income, class and
job. (Johansson, Douglas &Nonaka, 1985).

Review of Empirical Work Done

Theoretical antecedents of consumer ethnocentricity and the effect ethnocentricity have on
evaluations toward importing products. Hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between the
identified antecedents and consumer ethnocentricity are developed based on an extensive review
of the ethnocentrism and country-of-origin literatures. The factors moderating the effect of
ethnocentric tendencies on consumers' attitudes toward importing products are also identified.
The hypotheses are subjected to an empirical test using data collected in Korea. (Sharma, Shimp,
Shin, 1987).
Consumer preferences for goods made abroad and in the home country by both foreign and
home-country firms. These preferences and the intervening role of price-quality attributes are
assessed in an empirical study using conjoint analysis and a MANOVA procedure. Results
suggest that country of manufacture and product quality strongly influence consumer decision
making in globally available product categories. Specifically, compared to imported goods,
consumers appear to prefer domestically manufactured goods and are often willing to pay a
higher price for them. It is usually only when imported goods are of significantly superior quality
that consumers will pay more to obtain them. Finally, in their purchase decisions, consumers
appear not to put much weight on a product’s perceived importance to the home country’s
manufacturing base. (Knight G.A)
The sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's
Republic of China in mid-1997. The study examines changes in consumer ethnocentrism and
product-source preferences. Ethnocentrism did not change, but product-source preference did
change. (Julie Yu, 2000).
Indications are that Turkish consumers had significantly different perceptions of product
attributes for the products coming from countries of different levels of socio-economic and
technological development. Results lend support to earlier studies conducted in western countries
and also indicate the robustness of the ethnocentrism scale (CETSCALE), which was developed
in the USA to measure consumer attitudes in an advanced developing country. Also, results of the
study revealed that there were several lifestyle dimensions apparent among the Turkish
consumers, which were closely correlated with their ethnocentric biases. This study contributes to
the growing body of the literature related to cross-cultural comparisons of country-of-origin
influence by incorporating consumer ethnocentric biases (Kaynak, Kara, 2002).

Theoretical Framework of the Study

4
After a thoughtful analysis of all the studies, the variables which will be looked and will apply for
Pakistani environment are:
1-Impact of ethnocentrism.
2-Susceptibility to interpersonal influence.
3-Conspicuous consumption (eye catching) &
4- Demographic variables.
Where:
Independent variables are impact of ethnocentrism, susceptibility to interpersonal influences,
conspicuous consumption and demographic variables. The dependent variable is consumer
preference.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

DEPENDENT
VARIABLE
IMPACT OF
ETHNOCENTRISM

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO
INTERPERSONAL INFLUENCE

CONSUMER
CONSPICUOUS PREFERENCES
CONSUMPTION

DEMOGRAPHIC
VARIABLES
It should be noted that the independent variables mentioned above, are used to see how they
affected the dependent variable, i.e. consumer preferences in Pakistani society. Because, apart
from the dissimilarities of consumers in foreign countries, the cultures were also different from
the one in Pakistan.

Operationalization and Interaction of the Concepts/Variables

From the literature review, researcher has taken into account the three dimensions of the
ethnocentrism scale, which are:
1. Protectionism
2. Socio-economic conservatism, and,
3. Patriotism

5
 CONSUMER
ETHNOCENTRISM
PREFERENCES

PROTECTIONISM SOCIO-ECONOMIC
CONSERVATISM PATRIOTISM

From the perspective of ethnocentric consumers, purchasing imported products is wrong because,
in their minds, it hurts the domestic economy, causes loss of jobs, and is plainly unpatriotic, to
non-ethnocentric consumers; however, foreign products are objects to be evaluated on their own
merits without consideration for where they are made. These variables are relevant, because the
meaning of consumption ethnocentrism consists of an understanding of what purchase is
acceptable or not for the consumer in relation to his reference group. (Neuliep, Croskey, 1966).
Here, the impact of ethnocentrism may be seen as the independent variable with protectionism,
socio-economic conservatism, and patriotism acting as the moderating variables, due to the fact
that the degree of each of these variables will ultimately show the extent to which ethnocentrism
has an effect on consumer preferences.
Then the two dimensions of the interpersonal susceptibility scale (sensitivity to others’ opinions),
which are:
1. The normative influences, and,
2. The informational influences
The interpersonal susceptibility construct is defined as the need to identify with or enhance one's
image in the opinion of significant others through the acquisition and use of products and brands,
the willingness to conform to the expectations of others regarding purchase decisions, and/or the
tendency to learn about products and services by observing others or seeking information from
others. The choice of these variables rests upon the influence of social referents in the symbolic
consumption phenomena. (Bearden, Netemeyer and Teel 1989).
As mentioned above interpersonal influences act as the independent variable within which the
normative and informational influences, that have a degree of attitude. Thus, the normative and
informational influences may be seen as the moderating variables.

CONSUMER INTERPERSONAL
PREFERENCES INFLUENCE

NORMATIVE INFORMATIONAL
INFLUENCES INFLUENCES

Conspicuous consumption integrates five dimensions of the scale which was developed, tested
and evaluated by (Marcoux, Filiatrault and Chéron). They are as under:
1-Materialistic hedonism (which brings together information acquisition and
pleasant aspects of consumption).
2-Communication of belonging to/dissociation from a group: (concerns the
association in a positive or negative way to demographic, socio-economic,

6
 ethnic or cultural stereotypes).
3-Social status demonstration (which includes success, wealth, and prestige).
4-Interpersonal mediation (which corresponds to the influence of social
relations), and
5-Ostentation (which rely on buying a product because of its high price, and
the fact that others know this price).
Here, conspicuous consumption acts as the independent variable with its five parts. The point to
note here are that the researchers sees a definite relationship between interpersonal influences and
conspicuous consumption. More specifically, the second point of conspicuous consumption, i.e.
communication of belonging to/dissociation from a group, social status demonstration are seen as
directly related to the variables of interpersonal influences.
In addition, the influence of socio-economic variables (demographic variables) such as age,
income, and gender are also taken into account, as well as previous buying behavior. Age will
influence preference if consumers are young, they more will be more open to change. Income is

INTERPERSONAL
INFLUENCES

CONSUMER CONSPICUOUS
PREFERENCES CONSUMPTION

MATERIALISTIC COMMUNICATION SOCIAL STATUS

HEDONISM OF BELONGING DEMONSTRATION

INTERPERSONAL
OSTENTATION
MEDIATION

influential because of its link with discretionary income, hence to the consumer's capacity to buy
or not to buy luxury goods. Gender is often an important exploratory variable linked to
preferences towards the purchase of various products. Finally, previous buying behavior is
included as past experience may influence actual and future preferences of consumers. (Beverley,
Anderson, 1973)

Hypothesis Development
From the above stated theoretical framework, the researchers are in a position to construct three
main hypotheses. These are:
1-To what extent, the ethnocentrism scale is present in consumers' preferences
towards products of Western relative to Pakistani origin.
2-To what extent, the interpersonal susceptibility scale is present in consumers’
preferences towards products of Western in relation to Pakistani origin.
3-To what extent dimensions of the meanings of conspicuous consumption scale
are present in consumers’ preferences towards products of Western relative to
Pakistani origin.

Methods used in Research Design

7
This research preferred more to questionnaires, second to articles, and thirdly to interviews, as the
research requirement involves in-depth, contextual analysis.
A co- relational investigation was carried out simply to identify the important factors, related with
this research. The study was basically a descriptive study on the main variables, which had an
effect on the consumer preferences of the Pakistani consumer in relation to foreign goods and
services.
The process by which research was carried out is, firstly, a hypothetical analysis was done on the
issue at hand based on literature reviews, previous studies, and thesis already available on the
subject. Second a questionnaire was developed.

Cities Under study

The questionnaire was administered by the researchers in the city of Islamabad and
Rawalpindi.The house wives play an important role in the home. They are not being entertained
in this research, although they play a magnificent role in home care and management. The reason
for this is that a wife in our society is mostly dependent on her husband and if not working has no
income. So in this research the income was a very important issue. Mostly respondents were
employed. In case of students, they have used their father’s income

The Tool
The tool was consisted of two parts. First part has 14 questions on purchase behaviors, sources of
these behaviors, perceptions of the luxurious/convenient character of the goods, attitudes, and
socio-demographic profiles of the respondents.
The second part consisted of respondent’s personal information. I.e. name (optional), gender, age,
income, class, nature of job. If the respondent is student, and has no income, then his father’s
income was considered.
The Behavior was assessed on a ratio scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree), 2 (agree) 3 (neutral),
4 (disagree), and 5(strongly disagree). Respondents were asked to point out their preferences
about products.
The reference to Western products was used instead of specifically stating country of origin,
category or brand because it is the opinion of the researchers that respondents seem to be able to
distinguish Pakistani products from Western ones. In the questionnaire, the West was defined as
North America (USA and Canada), the European Union, and Malaysia and Japan. China’s
products are not entertained in this research as their products are considered to be of low price
and low quality.
Preferences or opinions about products were measured by the following type of statements:
"Buying foreign made products is un-patriotic therefore I do not buy them". Respondents were
asked to tick-mark their answers for each statement on a 5 point interval scale ranging from 1 to 5
where 1 (strongly agree), 2 (agree), 3 (neutral), 4 (disagree), and 5(strongly disagree) were used.
The attitudes towards ethnocentrism, interpersonal influence susceptibility, the meanings of
conspicuous consumption, and demographic variables were all assessed, based on the answers
gathered. (Edwin, Douglas Bressers, 1999).

Reliability of the Tool

The nature of the good research work is calculated by the reliability of the tool and accurate data.
For the tool to be reliable and accurate, the value has to be between .5 to 1. So, out of 350
questionnaires, 35 questionnaires were filled and added in the SPSS (Statistical tool), in order to
check the reliability. The Cronbach’s Alpha has to be in the range between 0.5 to 1. The
Cronbach’s Alpha of the required tool is .594, which shows that the tool used for this research is
reliable.

Sampling Procedure & Sampling

8
The type of sampling procedure used in this research is “Non Probability Sampling”
Further in non-probability sampling, it is judgmental & convenience sampling.
The sample comprised of altogether 350 respondents with almost equal proportion of
respondents. Researcher tried to keep the ratio of males to females equal so as to obtain a
clear and unbiased picture of how the population under study reacts to preferences over
products. Respondents were divided into three age groups. The youngest were between
the ages of 15 to 30 years. The second group consisted of people between the ages of 30-
45 years of age and, the third category consisted of people above 45 to 60 years of age.
The last category was consisted of the people above 60.
Mostly the respondents were government or, private employees. Students also participated in this
survey. The lower class was mentioned in the questionnaire but was not used in this study due to
the lack of information and interaction this group has with foreign products and services.
Third, the information gathered from the survey was analyzed and compared to the hypothetical
analysis to see how the Pakistani consumer perceived foreign goods in relation to domestic
products in actual circumstances and finally, a conclusive hypothesis was constructed which tried
to state as specifically as possible, as to which variables had an effect on the issue.

Data Analysis &Interpretation

Table-1 Buying foreign made products is un-patriotic, therefore I don't buy them?

N=350
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid strongly
83 23.7 23.7 23.7
agree
agree 39 11.1 11.1 34.9
neutral 8 2.3 2.3 37.1
disagree 116 33.1 33.1 70.3
strongly
104 29.7 29.7 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table -1 shows that out of 350 respondents, 83 strongly agreed to the fact that buying foreign
made products are un-patriotic, which comprised of 23.7 % of the total sample. 39 respondents
(11.1%) agreed to this question. Where as 8 respondents remain neutral. 116(33.1%) respondents
disagreed to that point and 104 respondents (29.7%) strongly disagreed that it is not un-patriotic,
therefore they buy foreign products.

Table-2: I buy foreign made products if there is no domestic alternative.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
31 8.9 8.9 8.9
agree
agree 215 61.4 61.4 70.3

9
 neutral 67 19.1 19.1 89.4
disagree 31 8.9 8.9 98.3
strongly
6 1.7 1.7 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table -2 shows that 31 respondents (8.9) % of the total sample strongly agree to the fact that they
buy foreign made products if there is no domestic alternative available. 215(61.4) % agreed to
this statement and 67 respondents remain neutral. The respondents who disagreed to this
statement were 31 in number. 6 respondents strongly disagreed to the above statement.

Table-3: I would prefer to buy foreign made products rather than locally made ones.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
11 3.1 3.1 3.1
agree
agree 127 36.3 36.3 39.4
neutral 43 12.3 12.3 51.7
disagree 98 28.0 28.0 79.7
strongly
71 20.3 20.3 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

In Table-3, when asked from the respondents whether they prefer to buy foreign made products
rather than locally made one, 11 strongly agreed to the fact that they buy foreign made products
rather than their own country products more over 127 respondents (36.3) % agreed to this
statement. The respondents who remain neutral were 43. 98 respondents disagreed with this
question and 71 respondents were strongly disagreed with the above statement.

Table-4: The country of origin of products does not affect my decision when I am shopping.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
36 10.3 10.3 10.3
agree
agree 156 44.6 44.6 54.9
neutral 110 31.4 31.4 86.3
disagree 34 9.7 9.7 96.0
strongly
14 4.0 4.0 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

10
Table-4 shows that 36 respondents were of the view that country of origin doesn’t affect their
decision while they are shopping. 44.6% (156 respondents) agreed with this statement. 110
respondents were neutral and 34 respondents disagree with this statement. Strongly disagreed
number of the respondents was 14.

Table-5: I buy products according to the current trends of the time.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
30 8.6 8.6 8.6
agree
agree 226 64.6 64.6 73.1
neutral 71 20.3 20.3 93.4
disagree 20 5.7 5.7 99.1
strongly
3 .9 .9 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table-5 shows the respondents that buy products according to the current trends of the time. Out
of the total sample of 350, 30 respondents strongly agreed with this statement. 226 respondents
(64.4) %) agreed to it. Where as 71 respondents remain neutral. 20 respondents said they
disagreed and 3 respondents strongly disagreed with the above statement.

Table-6: My buying Behavior is influenced by my friends

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
54 15.4 15.4 15.4
agree
agree 214 61.1 61.1 76.6
neutral 41 11.7 11.7 88.3
disagree 37 10.6 10.6 98.9
strongly
4 1.1 1.1 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

In table-6, when asked from the respondents whether their buying behavior is influenced by their
friends, 54 respondents strongly agreed to this point of view. 214 respondents (61.1) % agreed to
this statement. 4 respondents remain neutral and 37 participants were strongly disagreed with the
above statement.

Table-7: My buying behavior is influenced by my family

N=350

11
 Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
190 54.3 54.3 54.3
agree
agree 114 32.6 32.6 86.9
neutral 27 7.7 7.7 94.6
disagree 18 5.1 5.1 99.7
strongly
1 .3 .3 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table -7 shows the respondents buying behavior is influenced by their family or not. Out of 350
respondents 190 participants (54.3) % strongly agreed by saying yes, their buying behavior is
directly influenced by their family. 114 respondents agreed with this statement. 27 respondents
remain neutral in this regard and only 18 participants disagreed with the above question. It was
found that there was only 1 respondent who was strongly disagreed with the above question.

Table-8: My buying behavior is influenced by my ethnic background

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
71 20.3 20.3 20.3
agree
agree 103 29.4 29.4 49.7
neutral 30 8.6 8.6 58.3
disagree 137 39.1 39.1 97.4
strongly
9 2.6 2.6 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table-8 shows that 71 respondents were of the view that their buying behavior is strongly
influenced by their ethnic background. 103 respondents (29.4) % agreed with this statement.
Moreover 30 respondents remain neutral. 137 respondents disagreed and 9 respondents strongly
disagreed with this question.

Table-9: I form attachment towards products.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
22 6.3 6.3 6.3
agree
agree 183 52.3 52.3 58.6
neutral 92 26.3 26.3 84.9

12
 disagree 22 6.3 6.3 91.1
strongly
31 8.9 8.9 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table-9 shows that 22 respondents were of the view that they form attachment towards products.
183 respondents agreed with the above question. The neutral respondents were 92. 22 participants
disagreed with the above statement and 31 were in the list of strongly disagreed.

Table-10: I buy products to make myself socially acceptable.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
55 15.7 15.7 15.7
agree
agree 182 52.0 52.0 67.7
neutral 62 17.7 17.7 85.4
disagree 45 12.9 12.9 98.3
strongly
6 1.7 1.7 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table-10 shows that 55 respondents were of the view that they buy products to make themselves
socially acceptable. 182 respondents (52) % agreed with the above mentioned question. 62
respondents remain neutral. 45 participants disagreed with the above point of view and six were
strongly against it.

Table-11: I buy products because they make me feel good.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
44 12.6 12.6 12.6
agree
agree 180 51.4 51.4 64.0
neutral 45 12.9 12.9 76.9
disagree 74 21.1 21.1 98.0
strongly
7 2.0 2.0 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table-11 explains whether the respondents buy products because they make them feel good or
not? Out of 350 respondents, 44 were strongly of this point of view that the products make them
feel good. 180 respondents (51.4) % agreed with this statement. The rest 45 remained neutral. 74
respondents were disagreed with this statement. And remaining 7 were strongly against it.

13
Table-12: I feel that the products I buy represent my social status and class.

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
82 23.4 23.4 23.4
agree
agree 141 40.3 40.3 63.7
neutral 22 6.3 6.3 70.0
disagree 38 10.9 10.9 80.9
strongly
67 19.1 19.1 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table-12 shows that 82 respondents were strongly agree to the statement. 141 respondents (40.3)
% agreed with this statement. Moreover 22 respondents remain neutral. 38 respondents disagreed
and 9 respondents strongly disagreed with it.

Table-13: I buy a product because of its high price

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
18 5.1 5.1 5.1
agree
agree 53 15.1 15.1 20.3
neutral 30 8.6 8.6 28.9
disagree 202 57.7 57.7 86.6
strongly
47 13.4 13.4 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table -13 shows the respondents’ behavior when they buy products because of its high price.
Out of 350 respondents, 18 participants strongly agreed by saying yes, that they do buy products
because of its high price. 53 respondents agreed with this statement. 30 respondents remain
neutral in this regard and 202 participants disagreed with the above statement. It was found that
there were 47 respondents who strongly disagreed with the above statement.

Table-14: I buy a product because of its good reputation

N=350
Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulativ
y t Percent e Percent
Valid strongly
90 25.7 25.7 25.7
agree

14
 agree 198 56.6 56.6 82.3
neutral 12 3.4 3.4 85.7
disagree 35 10.0 10.0 95.7
strongly
15 4.3 4.3 100.0
disagree
Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table-14 shows that 90 respondents were of the view that they buy products because of its good
reputation. 198 respondents (56.6) % agreed with the above statement. 12 respondents remain
neutral. 35 participants disagreed with the above point of view and 15 were strongly against it.

The researchers also applied ANOVA test in order to check the homogeneity between the two
variances i.e. consumer preference for imported products over domestically produced products in
Pakistan with respect to age, gender, job, income and class.
With respect to the age, the researchers concluded that the significant value in all questions was
less than 0.5, which means that there was a significant difference between the two variances and
had no homogeneity but heterogeneity between them. When compared it with gender, age, job
and income, the same result was concluded.

Conclusion
The final conclusion that can be made after analyzing the data collected and interpreting it is that,
no dimensions of the ethnocentrism variable are prevalent in the Pakistani market. (Table-1 to
Table-3).The consumer does not bring the country of origin dimension into question when buying
products, and would not show preference when buying a product made in Europe, relative to
products made in Japan, although some preference would be shown between products made
locally as compared to those made abroad, only because the image of domestic products have
been tarnished due to lack of advertising and ability to compete on an international scale. (Table-
4)
All the dimensions of the interpersonal influence variable are prevalent in Pakistan but not to a
high degree. (Table-5 to Table-8).And all dimensions of the conspicuous consumption variable
are prevalent in the Pakistani market, to a high degree. Pakistani consumer buys products
according to their emotional and social image, rather on functionality, reliability, or economic
value. (Table-9 to Table-14).
From this analysis researchers can say with surety that the Pakistani consumer is not patriotic in
his preferences between buying foreign made products relative to those made domestically.

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