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Al-Zaytoonah Private University of Jordan

Measuring National Identity for Jordanian Consumers

The Influence of Demographic Variables

A Research Submitted to Faculty of Economics and Business Administrative Science

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Business Administration By Motasem M.Hisham AlShareef May, 2011

Supervised By: Dr. Saeb Al-Ganideh

3 34 35 36The thesis Measuring National Identity for Jordanian Consumers: The Influence of Demographic 37Variables has been successfully defended and approved in July, 2011

38

39Committee 40

Decision
Signature

41Examination Committee Members

42

1. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Niddawi

...

43

2. Dr. Hameed Al-Taei

...

44

3. Dr. Saed Al- Ganideh

...

45

4. Dr. Laith Al-Rubaiee

...

46 47 48 49 50 51

5 52Acknowledgement 53This research would not happen without the guidance and support of a number of people that I 54would like to thank here. First, I would like to thank my research committee for their assistance 55and encouragement throughout the research process. A special Thank You to Dr. Ghalib Al56Rifae for his valuable advices and support along the way. Another special Thank You for my 57supervisor Dr. Saeb Al-Ganideh for his help, support, and availability to see me at any time, and 58his guidance on data analysis.

59I would like also to thank my Father and Mother, my wife and two kids; Baker and Hisham, for 60their constant support and understanding of spending many hours working on this research, and 61missing many family activities. And lastly for my company for allowing me to continue my MBA 62degree with all what it took from the working hours.

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Table of Contents

64 Committee Decision....................................................................................................I 65 Acknowledgement.......................................................................................................I 66 List of Tables.............................................................................................................IV 67 List of Figures...........................................................................................................VII 68 Abstract.................................................................................................................. VIII 69 Chapter One: Introduction..........................................................................................1 70 0.1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 71 0.2 Research Problem..............................................................................................1 72 0.3 Research Importance.........................................................................................2 73 0.4 Research Objectives...........................................................................................3 74 0.5 Research Limitations..........................................................................................4 75 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework.........................................................................5 76 0.6 Introduction........................................................................................................5 77 0.7 Globalization......................................................................................................5 78 0.8 Origin of National Identity..................................................................................6 79 0.9 National Identity in International marketing.......................................................7 80 0.10 National Identity Scale.....................................................................................8 81 82 83 84
0.10.1 National Heritage.......................................................................................9 0.10.2 Culture Homogeneity.................................................................................9 0.10.3 Belief System (Religion)...........................................................................10 0.10.4 Consumer Ethnocentrism.........................................................................10

85 0.11 Research Context: Jordan...............................................................................13 86 87

0.11.1 Jordans History, Culture, and Religion:....................................................14 0.11.2 Jordans Politics, Economy, and Telecommunications:..............................16

88 0.12 Previous Studies.............................................................................................23 7 8 II

89 Chapter Three: Methodology....................................................................................36 90 0.13 Introduction....................................................................................................36 91 0.14 Research Model..............................................................................................36 92 0.15 Research Hypothesis......................................................................................37 93 0.16 Research Population and Sample...................................................................37 94 0.17 Data Collection Methods.................................................................................38 95 0.18 Instrument Reliability.....................................................................................40 96 0.19 Instrument Validity.........................................................................................41 97 Chapter Four: Data Analysis.....................................................................................42 98 0.20 Introduction....................................................................................................42 99 0.21 Descriptive Analysis.......................................................................................42 100 0.22 Hypothesis Testing.........................................................................................60 101 102 103 104
0.22.1 Hypothesis H1 testing .............................................................................60 0.22.2 Hypothesis H2 testing .............................................................................61 0.22.3 Hypothesis H3 testing .............................................................................62 0.22.4 Hypothesis H4 testing .............................................................................62

105 Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations....................................................64 106 0.23 Introduction....................................................................................................64 107 0.24 Conclusions....................................................................................................64 108 0.25 Recommendations..........................................................................................66 109 0.26 Future Work...................................................................................................69 110 Reference.................................................................................................................71 111 Appendix A: Arabic Survey.......................................................................................76 112 Appendix B: National Identity Survey (NATID)..........................................................84 113 Appendix C: Names of Professors who validated the survey.....................................86 114 Appendix D: Definitions............................................................................................87 115 Appendix E: Arabic Abstract.....................................................................................88 9 10 III

116List

of Tables
Title Dimensions of National Identity Page 7

No 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Consumer Ethnocentrism Tendency Scale (CETSCALE) Jordan- General Information Jordan vs. Middle East and North Africa (ME/NA) countries in Doing Business National Identity Scale Previous Studies Summary Cronbacha Alpha values for the National Identity scale items Demographics Information National Identity Scores for Jordan Regression Results Relationship between demographic variables and National Identity T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for National Heritage T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for Cultural Homogeneity T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for Belief System T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for National Identity

12 14 20 24 32 40 43 44 45 46 46 46 47 47

11 12

IV

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for National Heritage T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for Cultural Homogeneity T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for Belief System T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for Consumer Ethnocentrism T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for National Identity One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for National Heritage One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for Consumer Ethnocentrism One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for Cultural Homogeneity One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for Belief System One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for National Identity One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for National Heritage One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for Cultural Homogeneity One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for Belief System One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for Consumer Ethnocentrism One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for National Identity Hypothesis H1 Testing Hypothesis H2 Testing Hypothesis H3 Testing

47 48 48 48 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 60

13 14

34 35

Hypothesis H4 Testing Comparison Jordan vs. other countries National Identity

61 67

15 16

VI

117List 118
No 1

of Figures

Title National Identity dimensions

Page 8

Research Model

35

17 18

VII

119Abstract 120The technological innovations and the saturation of domestic markets have encouraged marketers 121to global. Thus, consumers all over the world have become more familiar with more products and 122brands from foreign countries. The consumers national identity concept will help international and 123local marketers to differentiate markets and strategies and to position their products. However, 124there is a lack of studies that measured national identity for the consumers in Arab or Muslim 125states. This research has applied the national identity concept to the Jordanian context. The main 126objectives of this study were to examine the applicability of the national identity scale in the 127Jordanian context and to determine the impact of demographic variables (gender, marital status, 128age, and income) on the Jordanian consumers national identity.

129The sample for the study consisted of 272 Jordanian consumers who lives in Amman city, the 130capital of Jordan, were data was collected during the winter of 2010. Overall, the results showed 131strong support to the applicability and validity of the national identity within international 132marketing framework. Jordan had a score of 18.89 on the National Identity scale. The results 133revealed that gender, marital status, and income variables affects the Jordanian consumers 134national identity while age did not show a significant effect. The results also revealed that 135Jordanian consumers place more importance on the belief system (5.18), the national heritage 136(4.75), and the cultural homogeneity (4.69) dimensions. However, less importance was placed in 137the consumer ethnocentrism dimension (4.25). This research recommends that international 138marketers should customize their marketing strategies to adapt them to the Jordanian context and 139ensure that they are consistent with the Jordanian consumers belief system, national heritage, and 140cultural homogeneity, and does not impose any threat to them in order to success. 19 20 VIII

141 142

Chapter One: Introduction

1430.1 Introduction 144Technology and communication enhancements along with the saturation of domestic markets have 145become powerful forces that drove marketers all around the world to global; this has led 146consumers all over the world to become more familiar with products and brands from foreign 147countries due to Globalization; a term that has been closely related to International marketing. 148However, although globalization and increased international communications seems to be 149common, nationalism is believed to have an increasingly strong influence on consumer attitudes 150and behaviors. Moreover, the traditional variables and cultural dimensions that international 151marketers used before to differentiate cultures have become inadequate in understanding the 152impact of cultures on consumers behaviors. In this context, Keillor et al (1996) national identity 153concept has provided a new approach to highlight the unique core characteristics that a giving 154culture recognizes as setting it apart from others. National identity scale has been in focus by many 155researchers in the last decade (Keillor et al., 1996; Keillor and Hult, 1999; Cui and Adams, 2003; 156Phau and Chan, 2003; Thelen and Honeycutt, 2004; and Keillor et al,. 2006).

1570.2 Research Problem 158The researcher noted that there is a lack of studies that were conducted in Arabic and Islamic 159countries regarding the national identity. Also, most of the previous studies were not conducted in 160the Middle East and North Africa (ME/NA) area; giving its strategic location that links three 161different continents, thus, forming a hub region for mobilizing foreign investments into its 162countries. Another problem noticed by the researcher is that most of the previous studies did not 21 22 1

163investigate the impact of demographic variables like gender, marital status, age, and income on the 164national identity.

1650.3 Research Importance 166The strategic location of Jordan at the crossroads of the Middle East and North Africa (ME/NA) 167region, Europe, Asia, and Africa, has made the kingdom a gateway for the foreign investors who 168seek to do business in the Middle East. Jordans well established information technology 169infrastructure, peaceful political environment, young and talented workforce has made it an 170excellent environment for business to flourish, prosper, and grow.

171The significance of this research lies in the fact that it helps in measuring the Jordanian consumers 172national identity which will add additional information about Jordan when compared to other 173countries in the Middle East and North Africa (ME/NA) region. This will provide insights for the 174international marketers, who seek to enter and invest in the Jordanian market, about the Jordanian 175consumers. It is important to shed some light on the Jordanian consumer's preferences which will 176provide decision makers with significant information that will help them in making their marketing 177strategies. Also, this will help in attracting long-term investments and creating sustainable 178economic development and prosperity for Jordan.

179Another contribution this research provides is to determine the impact of demographic variables 180(gender, marital status, age, and income) on the national identity for the consumers. Providing this 181information will help marketers who considers starting or running a business in Jordan in 182segmenting the market and targeting the proper group of consumers based on the different 183emphasis each segment places on the national identity four dimensions, thus, helping in making a 23 24 2

184more efficient and effective customized marketing strategy that is skewed toward the right 185customers.

1860.4 Research Objectives

187Measuring the national identity for the Jordanian consumers is vital as this will help local and 188international marketers to better understand and segment the Jordanian market. The research 189contributes to the previous studies on national identity by answering the following questions:

190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198

1. What is the impact of the gender demographic variable on the national identity of the

Jordanian consumers?
2. What is the impact of the marital status demographic variable on the national identity of the

Jordanian consumers?
3. What is the impact of the age demographic variable on the national identity of the

Jordanian consumers?
4. What is the impact of the income demographic variable on the national identity of the

Jordanian consumers?

199By answering these questions, the research will achieve the following objectives: 200 201 202 203
1. Determine the impact of the gender demographic variable on the national identity of the

Jordanian consumers
2. Determine the impact of the marital status demographic variable on the national identity of

the Jordanian consumers

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204 205 206 207

3. Determine the impact of the age demographic variable on the national identity of the

Jordanian consumers
4. Determine the impact of the income demographic variable on the national identity of the

Jordanian consumers

2080.5 Research Limitations

209Limitations are extraneous events that place certain restrictions on the report and are normally 210mentioned when results are being compared (Hair et al, 2009). All business research studies have 211their limitations (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). However, this should not hinder the generalization 212of the results. Although this research has fulfilled its objectives and answered its questions, this 213research was subject to a number of limitations and these might be explored in future research. 214Bearing this in mind, it is important to draw attention to the limitations that confronted this study. 215One of the limitations encountered was the cost of the research that was solely sponsored by the 216researcher. This led to confine the sample to the capital, Amman city, only given that it is the 217biggest and most important city in Jordan. Another limitation was the ability to reach and contact 218females respondents in a tribal, and to some extent, a conservative society like the Jordanian one. 219However, the researcher used his wifes help to do so. Other limitations the researcher encountered 220was the sensitivity of the consumers to answer questions regarding their educational levels which 221forced the researcher to eliminate this variable, and lastly the banning of some malls to collect the 222data in their premise in order not to disturb their customers.

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223
224

Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework

2260.6 Introduction 227The first chapter introduced the study objectives, significance, and limitations. This chapter 228explores the origin of the national identity, the national identity scale, the context of this research 229(Jordan). It also reviews the literature written about national identity.

2300.7 Globalization 231Technology and communication enhancements have become a powerful force that drove the world 232toward globalization; a term that has been closely related to International marketing (Ycel, 2009), 233and subject to large debate between marketers that were either proponents or criticizers.

234Although globalization emphasizes the standardization of products and do not focus on different 235culture's consumption systems, some factors like country-of-origin, consumer ethnocentrism (Liu 236et al, 2007), and national identity are believed to have a strong influence on consumer attitudes and 237behaviors. Craig and Douglas (2006) argued that due to globalization, cultural boundaries are 238becoming less clearly defined. Members of different cultural groupings are moving from one 239country to another carrying with them their values and patterns of behaviors, thus adding more 240blurriness to the boundaries of a culture social system. The movement of groups between countries 241has created subcultures, national, and regional differences that are becoming clearer. However, 242what is becoming less clear is where, and to what extent these differences matter in a marketing 243sense.

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244From an International Marketing perspective, Keillor et al. (1996) in their study on national 245identity have provided some insights into the differences between cultures and nations, and the 246level of importance a given culture or nation places on them, thus providing a basis for better 247understanding of their impact on marketing strategy in the international marketplace.

2480.8 Origin of National Identity 249The term national identity is formed of two constructs. Olson defined the construct identity as 250"those attributes that make you unique as an individual and different from others" (Olson, 2002 251cited on Stich and Warfield, 2003). The construct nation can be defined as "a named human 252population sharing a historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, public 253culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members" (Smith, 1991). 254National identity can be viewed as a multidiscipline concept that has been developed and explored 255in many research fields, and had many definitions that are relevant to each discipline. Dinnie 256(2002) summarized different definitions of the national identity that have different objectives 257relevant to the context of the field of study (Table 1).

258

259

260

261Table 1: Dimensions of National Identity

Author 31 32 6

Themes and Issues

Smith (1991)

Kearney (1991)

Treanor (1997)

An historic territory, or homeland; common myths and historical memories; a common, mass public culture; common legal rights and duties for all members; a common economy with territorial mobility for members To speak of a single national past or a single national image would be to distort the complexity of the history of multinational states such as the UK Multidisciplinary nature of national identity; theories of nationalism and nation states have been developed by at least nine academic disciplines-political geography; international relations; political science; cultural anthropology; social psychology; political philosophy; international law; sociology; history National identity comprises the set of meanings owned by a given culture which sets it apart from other cultures: the four dimensions of this phenomenon are cultural homogeneity; belief structure; national heritage; and ethnocentrism National identity may be measured on a scale comprising five subscales: membership (a persons worth for or contribution to the ingroup, in this case the nation); private (a persons view of the ingroups value); public (other persons view of this group); identity (contribution of ingroup membership to the selfconcept of the person); and comparison (how the ingroup rates in comparison to relevant outgroups, i.e. other nations)

Keillor and Hult (1999)

Lilli and Diehl (1999)

262Source: Dinnie (2002, p.287)

2630.9 National Identity in International marketing 264Keillor et al, (1996) defined the national identity as "the set of meanings owned by a given culture 265that sets it apart from other cultures" (Keillor et al, 1996). In contrast to Smith (1991), Keillor et al 266(1996) research did not focus on the characteristics of a nation; instead, they focused on the 33 34 7

267importance of a culture to determine its unique identity that sets it apart from other cultures by 268identifying its common ground.

2690.10 National Identity Scale 270The national identity scale is consisted of four dimensions (Figure 1) that were developed based on 271an adaptation of Huntington's four elements of civilization, those are: religion, history, customs, 272and social institutions (Huntington, 1993).

273Figure 1: National Identity dimensions

274 275Source: Phau and Chan (2003, p. 158) 276

277Based on Keillor et al, (1996) study, national heritage dimension items focused on how individuals 278from a specific nation perceived historical elements in defining their national identity. Items within 279the cultural homogeneity dimension dealt with the national heritage uniqueness of a nation. The 280belief system dimension was set to assess how individual's beliefs, from a religious perspective, are 281incorporated into the society's overall structure. The final dimension, consumer ethnocentrism, 35 36 8

282items were adopted from Shimp and Sharma (1987) CETSCALE to measure the nations consumer 283ethnocentrism degree.

2840.10.1

National Heritage

285It is necessary to study the culture as it is now as well as to understand the culture as it was; that is: 286the culture's history. The history of a country is an important determinant of how that country sees 287its self, perceives its neighbors, and sees its place in the world (Cateora et al, 2009). Keillor and 288Hult in their development of the national identity scale defined the national heritage as the 289importance of historical figures and events in history (Keillor and Hult, 1999). The national 290heritage items in the scale focused on the importance of historical elements in defining the 291individual's national identity, and how this dimension reflects the cultures sense of its unique 292history.

2930.10.2

Culture Homogeneity

294Culture has many definitions in the literature. Most of the traditional definitions revolve around the 295notion that culture is "the sum of the values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and thought processes that 296are learned and shared by a group of people, then transmitted from generation to generation" 297(Herskovitz, 1952 cited on Ycel et al, 2009). The influence of the culture affects all aspects of 298human behavior. The impact is so entangled with all aspects of human existence that it becomes 299more difficult to determine how, and in what ways the culture impact is manifested (Craig and 300Douglas, 2006). The word "Homogeneity" can imply many meanings like: the existence of a 301unique model (one religion, one language) throughout the whole population (Usunier and Lee, 3022009). 37 38 9

303The cultural homogeneity dimension in the national identity scale deals with the cultural 304uniqueness of a given societys sense of national identity (Keillor and Hult, 1999). The 305researchers assumed that as the number of subcultures within a specific national boundaries 306increases, the national identity will be weaken, that is; the more cultures or ethnic groups a specific 307country has, the weaker it's national identity.

3080.10.3

Belief System (Religion)

309The importance of religion lies in its role in shaping ethical systems that are used to guide and 310shape behavior (Ycel et al, 2009). People who define their identity in ethnic or religious terms 311have an "us" versus "them" relation between themselves and people of other ethnicity or religion 312(Huntington, 1993).

313From the international marketing perspective, the impact of religion on a society's value systems, 314and the effect of the value systems on marketing must not be overlooked or underestimated 315(Cateora et al, 2009). Craig and Douglas (2006) stated that it is important to consider the beliefs 316and value systems underlying cultures and their relevance to a particular behavior or consumption 317system. Keillor and Hult (1999) defined believe system as the role which religion or super 318national beliefs play in facilitating cultural participation and solidarity. The researchers stated that 319it should have an impact on how a particular culture identifies with its unique national identity.

3200.10.4

Consumer Ethnocentrism

321The term "Consumer Ethnocentrism" was taken from the sociological concept of ethnocentrism 322that was first introduced by Sumner (Sumner, 1906 cited on Shimp and Sharma, 1987). The 323concept was used originally from a sociological perspective to distinguish between in- groups 39 40 10

324(groups an individual identifies with) and out-groups (in contrast to in-groups). Consumer 325ethnocentrism was developed as an economic form of ethnocentrism and encompasses issues such 326as ones fear of economically harming his/ her country by buying foreign products, the morality of 327buying imported products, and a personal favoritism toward buying domestic products against 328imports (Sharma et al, 1995).

329Shimp and Sharma (1987) used the term "consumer ethnocentrism" to represent the beliefs held by 330American consumers about the appropriateness and the morality of purchasing foreign-made 331products. Ethnocentric consumers would consider purchasing imported products wrong because, 332from their perspective, it hurts the domestic economy, causes loss of jobs, and is obviously 333unpatriotic. As the consumer ethnocentrism provides an understanding of which purchase behavior 334is acceptable and which is unacceptable to the in-group, consumer ethnocentrism tendency scale 335(CETSCALE) instrument was developed by Shimp and Sharma (1987) to measure consumers 336ethnocentric tendencies related to purchasing foreign versus American-made products (Table 2).

337Table 2: Consumer Ethnocentrism Tendency Scale (CETSCALE) Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 American people should always buy American- made products instead of imports Only those products that are unavailable in the U.S. should be imported Buy American- made products. Keep American workings American products, first, last, and foremost Purchasing foreign-made products is un-American It is not right to purchase foreign products because it puts American out of jobs 41 42 11

7 8 9 10

A real American should always buy American-made products We should purchase products manufactured in America instead of letting other countries get rich of us It is always best to purchase American products There should be very little trading or purchases of goods from other countries unless out of necessity

11 Americans should not buy foreign products because this hurts American business and causes unemployment 12 Curbs should be put on all imports 13 It may cost me in the long-run, but I prefer to support American products 14 Foreigners should not be allowed to put their products on our markets 15 .Foreign products should be taxed heavily to reduce their entry into the U.S 16 We should buy from foreign countries only those products that we cannot obtain within our own country 17 American consumers who purchase products made in other countries are responsible for putting their fellow American out of work 338Source: Shimp and Sharma (1987, p.282) 339

340Sharma et al, (1995) found that male, better educated consumers and those with higher incomes are 341less ethnocentric. The reason behind that was the fact that that female, less educated and older 342people are more conservative and more patriotic. Also, as ones income increase, the more likely 343the individual is to travel and try more products, thus be more open to imported products. The 344study also found that that patriotic love for or devotion to one's country, conservative tendency 345to adore traditions and social institutions that have survived the test of time, and collectivist self 346is subordinated to the group, and the group works as a source of one's identity people are more 347ethnocentric consumers (Sharma et al, 1995). 43 44

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348Another study by Balabanis et al, (2001) that was conducted in Turkey and the Czech Republic 349found a positive relationship between nationalism more aggressive and more prejudiced toward 350other countries and other ethnic groups, Healthy patriotism love for one's country while taking a 351more cooperative approach to the world with ethnocentrism, while a negative one between 352internationalism world mindedness and ethnocentrism. Balabanis et al (2001) suggested that 353consumer ethnocentrism provides marketing managers with useful information for understanding 354consumers reasons for buying domestic versus imported products. It also helps importers and 355exporters in selecting target markets and formulating appropriate marketing strategies.

3560.11 Research Context: Jordan 357The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is an Islamic, Arabic country that is located at the east bank of 358the Jordan River. It is surround by Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, 359Syria to the north and the West Bank to the west. The Kingdom has gained its independence from 360the British colonization is 1946, and become a member of the United Nations in the same year. 361Jordan is also a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Arab Fund for Economic 362and Social Development (AFESD), the Arab Parliament, the International Criminal Court, the 363United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), 364the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), the Economic and Social 365Commission (UN-ESCWA), and the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). Table (3) provides 366general information about Jordan.

367Table 3: Jordan- General Information

45 46

13

(GDP (Purchasing Power Parity

Total: $27.527 billion Per Capita: $4,499

368Source: Jordan Tourism Board

3690.11.1

Jordans History, Culture, and Religion:

370The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a land of rich history. Its geographic location between the 371east and the west played an important role in facilitating trade being at the crossroads of Asia, 372Africa and Europe (Jordan Tourism Board, 2006a). Jordan has been transformed from a trans-state 373to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946 after it gained its independence from the British 374colonization, and since then, it has grown into a modern state which has enjoyed peace, stability 375and economic growth in the recent decades. (Jordan Tourism Board, 2006b).

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376Jordans history goes back to 30004000 years ago where it was an independent state at the times 377of the ancient kingdoms of the Nabatean Petra, Edom, Ammon, and Moab which prospered in the 378modern state of Jordan in the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, 3792011).

380The Jordanian tribes aligned with other tribes of Hijaz and Levant regions fought as part of the 381Arab Army of the Great Arab Revolt during the World War I. The revolt that was launched by the 382Hashemites and led by Sherif Hussein of Mecca against the Ottoman Empire was successful in 383liberating most of the territories of Hijaz and the Levant, including the region of east of Jordan. In 3841923, the Emirate of Transjordan came into existence, with Emir Abdullah as its undisputed 385leader. In 1946, Jordan gained its independence from the British colonization and has been 386transformed to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with Amman as its capital, and became a 387founding member of the Arab League and joined the United Nations in 1955. The name Hashemite 388Kingdom of Jordan is derived from Hashem, which was the name of the great grandfather of the 389Prophet Mohammad. The Royal Family of Jordan is called Hashemite, which means descended 390from Hashem (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, 2011).

391Jordans culture follows Arab traditions as the Kingdom is located in the center of the Middle East. 392The culture of Jordan, as in its values, beliefs, spoken language, and ethnicities is Arabic. Jordan's 393Arab population mainly consists of Jordanians, Palestinians and Iraqis. Many people from different 394regions of the world have come to settle in Jordan. The non-Arab population like the Circassians, 395Chechens, Armenians, Turkmans, and Romanis has maintained separate ethnic identities. 396However, they have integrated into Jordans mainstream culture as they have assimilated in the

49 50

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397society, adding their richness to the society which made Jordan a very diverse cultural scene with 398many different religious sects and ethnic groups (Ministry of Culture, 2011).

399Islam is the predominant religion in Jordan; The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a majority 400Muslim country following the Sunni Islam where 92% of Jordanians are Sunni Muslims (Jordan 401Tourism Board, 2006a). Jordan also has a Christian minority who are mainly Catholic, Church of 402the East, Oriental Orthodox or Greek Orthodox. In the 7th century Jordans region became one of 403the center lands of the Arabic Islamic Empire across its different stages, including the Umayyad 404and the Abbasid Empire. During the Islamic era, Jordan formed its Arabic Islamic cultural identity. 405After the decline of the Abbasid era, it was ruled by several states including the Mongols, the 406Crusaders, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks until it became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1516. 407(Jordan Tourism Board, 2006b).

408Education has played an important transformative role in the development of Jordan from an 409agrarian to an industrialized nation. According to the Jordan Investment Board (2010), Jordans 410population has a very high literacy rate in the Middle East. It rose from 89.9 percent in 2004 to 41191.1 percent in 2007 which made its well-educated, English-literate, and young working force an 412ideal one for existing businesses and potential investments.

4130.11.2

Jordans Politics, Economy, and Telecommunications:

414The constitution of Jordan outlines that the country has a hereditary monarchy regime headed by 415the King with a parliamentary system. The constitution states the functions of the state, the rights 416and duties of Jordanians, guidelines for interpretation of the constitution, and conditions for 417constitutional amendments. (Ministry of Interiors, 2010). From a political point of view, the 51 52 16

418Kingdom made a steep progress. Jordan was ranked the 49th out of 180 countries according to the 419Global Corruption Report (2009). It was also the 96th out of 182 countries in the Human 420Development Report (2009), and the 68th of 149 in the Global Peace Index (2010) of the countries 421that are most at peace.

422Economically, the location of Jordan in the heart of the Middle East, and with decades of political 423stability and security has made the Kingdom an attractive market for international business. 424Investors have confidence in Jordans economy, political stability, and cost competitiveness which 425gave it an advantage of making significant foreign trade agreements. Its strategic location with 426market access to more than one billion consumers has a significant impact in mobilizing 427investment to the Middle East area (Jordan Investment Board, 2010).

428 According to the "Doing Business" report of the World Bank (2010), Jordan continued to improve 429its business environment. It is one of the active economy reformers that have been reformed in the 430years 2008/2009 at a rate similar to those in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It was ranked the 431100th out of 183 countries in the ease of doing business with cost of doing business being relatively 432lower than the region. Jordan was also ranked the 50th of 133 countries in the Global 433competitiveness report of the World Economic Forum (2010), and it was one of the top 10 most 434globalized nations in the year 2007 on the 2007 Globalization Index; an index that assesses the 435extent to which the world's most populous nations are becoming more or less globally connected. 436In the Enabling Trade Index report (2010), The Kingdom was the 39th of 125 countries. This index 437measures the factors, policies and services that facilitate the trade in goods across borders and to 438destination.

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17

439With limited ability to provide attractive incentives and few natural resources, Jordan has 440developed and implemented strategies like liberalizing its economy and implementing free zones 441to attract long-term investments. In 2008, the authorities made many progressive steps to reduce 442Jordans debt-to-GDP ratio. During the same year, the authorities also implemented a number of 443strategies for poverty reduction, establishing a competitive and environmentally-friendly transport 444sector to increase the transit traffic, as well as to transform Jordan into an international hub for the 445region (European Commission, 2009).

446The telecommunications sector contributes with 10% to the Jordanian GDP, making it a key 447industry for the Jordanian economy (E-Readiness report, 2006). The Kingdom has become a 448regional player in adopting technology and development; this helped in the creation of a 449knowledge-based economy. (Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, 2010). The 450E-Readiness report (2006) that measured the degree of how a nation or community prepare to 451participate in, and benefit from the Information and Communication Technologies developments, 452showed how Jordan is making a progress in the IT Industry that attracted international and local 453investors; leading Jordan to become a hub in the region with the quality and the reliability of the 454telecommunications infrastructure is being above global standards.

455Jordan have realized the importance of competitiveness as a driver of long-term prosperity and 456growth; it has become one of several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (ME/NA) 457region who recognized the importance of adopting competitive strategies in order to improve its 458positioning regionally and globally. The government has set policies to make it easier for the 459foreign investors to enter and run a business in Jordan, and as a result, the Kingdom became one of 460the major players in the Middle East and North Africa (ME/NA) region (Table 4). 55 56 18

Table 4: Jordan vs Middle East and North Africa (ME/NA) countries in Doing Business 4610.12 Previous Studies
Country Ease of Doing Business Starting a Business Employing Workers Protecting Investors ($GNI per Capita (US Closing a Business

Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia
Country

136 20 163 106 107 137 153 100 61 108 65 39 13

Ease of Doing Business

148 63 177 24 93 48 175 125 137 108 62 68 13

Starting a Business

122 13 151 120 98 137 59 51 24 66 21 68 73

Employing Workers

73 57 178 73 119 165 119 119 27 93 93 93 16

Protecting Investors

4,260 27,248 1,130 1,801 282 4,732 2,815 3,306 45,920 6,353 18,988 93,204 19,345
($GNI per Capita (US

51 26 35 132 77 109 183 96 69 124 66 33 60

Closing a Business

Sudan Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen Jordan Rank

154 143 69 33 99 9

118 133 47 44 53 13 22

153 91 108 50 74 5

154 119 73 119 132 9

1,125 2,094 3,292 54,607 950 7

183 87 34 143 89 12

Source: World Banks Doing Business Report (2010) 57 58

462National identity scale has been investigated by a number of researchers in the last decade (Keillor 463et al., 1996; Keillor and Hult, 1999; Cui and Adams, 2003; Phau and Chan, 2003; Thelen and 464Honeycutt, 2004; and Keillor et al., 2006). The following section explores some of these studies:

465 466

NATID: The Development and Application of a National Identity Measure for Use in International Marketing. Keillor et al (1996).

467Keillor et al (1996) study was one of the first researches to explore the national identity from a 468marketing perspective. The research did not focus on the descriptive comparisons between cultures 469and nations, but rather on the dimensions of a culture or nation in which similarities and 470differences may occur, and these dimension's impact on the development and implementation of 471international marketing strategy.

472The three objectives of this study were to: develop an empirical instrument for measuring national 473identity, determine the importance placed on a unique national identity in the nations of the sample 474(USA, Japan, and Sweden), and explore differences in the dimensions comprising these country's 475national identity and their impact on marketing strategy.

476Based on the researchers point of view, the identification of similarities and differences between 477cultures and nations is less important than the importance a given culture or nation places on its 478uniqueness, and the elements that specifically define this uniqueness. When examining the 479elements a given culture strongly identifies with, a marketing decision maker who operates in an 480international market environment where differences exist, but are not fundamental to the national 481identity, can develop a standardized marketing strategy. However, in cultures with a strong sense

59 60

23

482of national identity, a unique marketing strategy is more relevant giving the importance that culture 483is placing on its uniqueness.

484Keillor et al (1996) have developed four dimensions to measure the national identity for a given 485culture or nation. These dimensions were based on Huntington's four elements of civilization; 486religion, history, customs, and social institutions (Huntington, 1993). The national identity scale 487was developed to measure how strongly individuals in a given nation identify with historical, 488cultural, religious, and social aspects of their national identity. The scale was a 7-point Likert-type 489statements ranging from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree" to measure 17 statements 490categorized into four main dimensions; national heritage, cultural homogeneity, belief system, and 491consumer ethnocentrism (Table 5). The scale measured the national identity for USA, Japan, and 492Sweden in an effort to obtain data from three different cultures.

493

494

495

496

497Table 5: National Identity Scale

Dimension

Item

National 61 62

1. Important people from the country's past are admired by people today 24

Heritage

2. One of America's strengths is that it emphasizes events of historical importance 3. The United States has a strong historical heritage 1. An American possesses certain cultural attributes that other people do not possess.

Cultural Homogeneity

2. Americans in general feel that they come from a common historical background 3. Americans are proud of their nationality 4. People frequently engage in activities that identify them as American 1. A specific religious philosophy is what makes a person uniquely American 2. It is impossible for an individual to be truly "American" without taking part in some form of religious activity

Belief System

3. Religious education is essential to preserve the cohesiveness of the American society 4. A specific religious philosophy is not an important part of being an American. 5. A true American would never reject his or her religious beliefs 1. We should purchase products manufactured in America instead of letting other countries get rich off us.

Consumer Ethnocentrism

2. It is always best to purchase American products 3. Americans should not buy foreign products, because it hurts American business and causes unemployment. 4. It may cost me in the long run but I prefer to support American products 5. Only those products that are unavailable in the United States should be imported

498Source: Keillor et al, (1996, p.62)

499However, the researchers admitted that they used a somewhat, limited approach that could not 500identify all the issues to a specific nation's national identity as this was not the objective of their 501study. To develop a standardized measurement that can be applied in a variety of settings was the 502reason behind developing the national identity scale. Other limitations regarding the dimensions 63 64 25

503not being inclusive, the conceptualization of the national identity as a trait rather than a state, and 504respondents not being consistent in their demographic characteristics were stated. Future 505investigations like implementing the scale in other cultural settings, and exploring how national 506identity changes would impact its application were suggested to validate the scale's reliability and 507validity.

508Keillor et al, (1996) research did not explore the impact of demographic variables (like gender, 509marital status, age, and income) on the national identity. Also, previous research has ignored 510examining national identity for consumers from Muslim and Arab countries such as Jordan. This 511research contributes to the existing knowledge by exploring the applicability of the national 512identity scale in Jordanian context and the impact of demographic variables on the national identity 513in a typical Islam, Arabic country, thus adding to the validity of the construct when applied in 514different settings.

515 516

A five-country study of National Identity Implications for international marketing research and practice. Keillor and Hult (1999).

517The objectives of this study were to develop and measure the theoretical construct of national 518identity to place cultural similarities and differences into an applicable context, and to establish 519norms that can be generalized when making cross-cultural/cross-national comparisons.

520The respondents in this study were drawn from USA, Japan, Sweden, Hong Kong, and Mexico. 521The advantage of selecting those five countries is to represent different nations, and the major 522global market regions of North America, the Pacific Rim, Europe, Asia, and Central/South 523America respectively. However, it is clear that none of the Arabic or Muslim countries have been 65 66 26

524explored. The five country's samples were used to provide international marketing with 525implications that can be generalized. The US sample was used as the pre-test sample in the 526measurement analysis of the initial scale of Keillor et al (1996). The other four international 527samples were used to test the reliability and validity of the initial study.

528Keillor and Hult (1999) re-emphasized Keillors et al (1996) concept about the relative similarities 529and differences between nations. The researchers argued that while cultures and nations may have 530a variety set of characteristics that makes them unique, only few core of those characteristics are 531considered important for a particular nation, and recognized to be its national identity that sets it 532apart from others.

533The overall findings of the study revealed that various nation's places different emphasis on their 534national identity, and that it is possible to specify the aspects of national identity a particular 535culture may emphasize. The researchers stated some limitations of their study. The national 536identity scale should not be used to measure all aspects of a specific countrys national identity, but 537rather, it should be a generalized one and to be used across countries because any measurement 538instrument that is intended to be used in several nationalities, or make any generalizations across 539nations requires that in the effort to find areas of comparative commonalities, other important 540characteristics may be ignored (Keillor and Hult, 1999)

541Other limitations regarding the cut-off points being arbitrary and the representativeness of the 542sample due to the challenges of gathering data from five countries in different contents were stated 543in the study. Academic as well as managerial implications for decision makers in the international 544marketing context were also presented. This research did not include any country with a culture 67 68 27

545that is similar to the Islamic or Arabic culture. It also did not explore the impact of demographic 546variables on the national identity for the consumers.

547

National Identity and NATID: An assessment in Yemen. Chi and Adams (2003).

548This is one of the most relevant studies to this research given that it was conduct in Yemen; an 549Islamic country that has many similarities with Jordan (Islamic, Arabic, tribe based country). The 550researchers chose Yemen as a typical Islamic country in the Middle East because it is important, 551from their point of view, to assess the relevance of the construct in such countries.

552The researchers criticized Keillors et al.s studies (1996, 1999) for some empirical limitations like 553developing a clear unit of analysis, and considering what dimensions represents a nation as a 554homogeneous entity. The study examined the strengths and limitations of the national identity 555construct, and assessed its relevance in Yemen. The objectives were to: test the applicability of the 556national identity scale in Yemen; find national identity scale that is applicable to the Yemenis data 557by exploring possible improvements to national identity scale; and finally, to assess the 558multidimensionality of the construct.

559The results supported Keillor et al, (1996) conceptualization of multidimensionality. The 560limitations of this study were the use of one country as a sample instead of using more than one, 561and the sample type being convenient, thus, results cannot be generalized. The researchers 562suggested to collect data from new sample in the future to cross-validate the Yemeni national 563identity.

69 70

28

564 565

Targeting East Asian markets: A comparative study on National Identity. Phau and Chan (2003).

566The Asian market consists of many countries of varying similarities and differences between their 567nations and cultures, and that posed a challenge to the development and implementation of 568marketing strategies. The researchers have noticed that many of the western marketers perceived 569the Asian countries to be similar, and this was due to the assumption that those countries have the 570same values and heritage. However, there is a deviation between these assumptions and the reality, 571which makes a national identity research for the Asian market a useful tool to explore such 572similarities and differences. This research measured the national identity of four countries of the 573Asian market, namely South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore, which represents diversity 574in ethnicity and different levels of social, cultural and technological development. The researchers 575have determined three objectives for their study.

576The first objective was to measure the national identities of the four Asian countries using the 577national identity scale developed by Keillor et al in 1996. The second objective was to compare the 578results of the first objective with the results of Hong Kong and Japan, as measured by Keillor and 579Hults (1999), and lastly, to consider the differences and similarities of the national identity scale 580dimensions and their impact on international marketing strategy. The results of the study supported 581the validity of Keillor and Hult's national identity scale. Limitations of the research regarding the 582sample (small sample for each country; sample being skewed toward young people, thus, not being 583representative of all population's demographic) were stated. Other limitations like arbitrary cut-off 584points and consumer ethnocentrism changes over time due to changing political status were also 585presented. 71 72 29

586The researchers suggested conducting a future study to determine the impact of various 587demographic variables (age, income, and gender) on the national identity within a nation, and to 588investigate how the effects of these variables will help marketers to target a specific segment of the 589consumers based on the different emphasis each segment places on the national identity four 590dimensions.

591 592

Assessing National Identity in Russia between generations using the National Identity scale. Thelen and Honeycutt (2004).

593The objective of this research was to assess how an internal social, political, or cultural upheaval 594impact would affect the generation's perceptions of national identity, especially in transnational 595economies like the Russian one after the demise of the Soviet Union. The research respondents 596were Soviet Russians aged 3765, and contemporary Russians aged 1833. This research added to 597the limited knowledge available about the Russian consumers and markets. The researchers 598attributed this lack of information to the politics of the late Soviet Union, and its unwillingness to 599allow western researchers to conduct longitude studies in Russia.

600The results of the study showed that different Russian generations have different emphasis placed 601on the national identity scale dimensions. There were significant differences between the 602generations on some dimensions, and no significant differences on other dimension. These results 603provided suggestions on adjusting marketing strategies on the basis of the target age cohort. The 604study urged the marketing researchers to consider the different emphasis each generation places on 605the different national identity dimensions. This was due to the fact that "different generations in the 606same country hold various opinions, values, and views of what it means to be a citizen of that 73 74 30

607country" (Thelen and Honeycutt, 2004). Other suggestions regarding collecting data from more 608than one former Soviet Union states, and consolidating this data with the results of previous 609research to help in the identification of ages cohorts holding similar patterns were presented. 610Investigating other constructs like nostalgia, patriotism, and nationalism were also suggested to 611determine if the national identity scale is an antecedent or a consequence of such constructs. The 612researchers stated that they excluded democrats, patriots, and communists who emerged after the 613loss of Soviet ideology, and citizens who came into their age of socialization during Stalins 614reign or during Putins presidency as limitation of the study.

615Conclusion:

616After reviewing the literature, the researcher noticed that, with the exception of Chi and Adams 617study (2003), there was a lack of studies that were conducted in Islamic or Arabic countries that 618are similar to the context of this study. It was notable that none of the previously overviewed 619studies, except for the Yemeni one, were conducted in the Middle East and North Africa Middle 620East and North Africa (ME/NA) area, which is a vital region considering its strategic location that 621links Asia, Europe, and Africa; making it a hub region for mobilizing foreign investments for its 622countries. Also, as many of the samples were skewed toward the young age groups, the researcher 623noticed that most of the studies did not explore the impact of demographic variables like gender, 624marital status, age, and income on the national identity for the Jordanian consumers. Many of the 625studies objectives were concentrated on developing the national identity instrument and exploring 626the differences in its dimensions and their impact on marketing strategy, while other objectives 627concentrated on assessing the applicability of the national identity scale in their country of context 628by exploring possible improvements to national identity scale. The general pattern in most of the 75 76 31

629studies was to place cultural similarities and differences into an applicable context; and to establish 630norms that can be generalized when making cross-cultural/cross-national comparisons (Table 6).

631

77 78

32

632Table 6: Previous Studies Summary

Authors Objectives Sample Results

Keillor et al, The researchers determined three folds: to 1. (USA): Convenience sample of 169 (1996) develop an empirical instrument for measuring national identity; to determine the importance placed on a unique sample (USA, Japan, and Sweden); and lastly, to explore differences in the national identity and their impact on marketing strategy. students from two universities (84 males: 80 females) of various ethnic and racial characteristics. males: 165 females); majority are married and between 21 and 50 75 females); majority are singles and between 21 and 50

USA had the highest national identity score (17.44), followed by Japan (14.79), and lastly Sweden (13.4).

national identity in the nations of the 2. (Japan): 247 adult individuals (82

dimensions comprising these countries 3. (Sweden): 129 individuals (54 males:

79 80

33

Keillor and The objectives of this study were: to 1. (USA): Convenience sample of 169 USA had the highest National Identity score Hult (1999) develop and measure the theoretical construct of national identity to place cultural similarities and differences into norms that can be generalized when making comparisons. cross-cultural/cross-national students from two universities (84 (17.44), followed by Mexico (17.00), Hong Kong males: 80 females) of various ethnic (15.22), Japan (14.79), and lastly Sweden (13.4). and racial characteristics males: 165 females) using mall intercept
3. (Sweden): 129 individuals (54 males:

an applicable context; and to establish 2. (Japan): 247 adult individuals (82

75 females) using mall intercept

4. (Hong Kong): 234 adult individuals

using mall intercept

5. (Mexico): 183 Individuals using mall

intercept Chi Adams (2003) and The researchers wanted to test the Convenience sample of 208 individuals The results supported Keillor et al, (1996) applicability of the national identity scale with 54% aged between 15-24; students conceptualization of multidimensionality in Yemen; and to find national identity represented 46% of the sample scale that is applicable to the Yemenis data by exploring possible improvements to the scale; and finally, to assess the multidimensionality of the construct.

81 82

34

Phau

and The

researchers

determined

three 1. (South Korea): 184 (104 male and 80 Thailand had the highest national identity (19.59), female) using mall intercept and 68 female) using mall intercept (Thailand): Convenience sample of 126 individuals (60 males and 66 females) and 65 female) of students using convenience sample followed by South Korea (17.84), Taiwan (16.57), (14.79). (Taiwan): 124 Individuals (56 male Hong Kong (15.22), Singapore (15.11), Japan

Chan (2003)

objectives for their study: to measure the national identities of the four Asian 2. countries using the national identity scale developed by Keillor et al in 1996; to 3. compare the results of the first objective with the results of Hong Kong and Japan, and to consider the differences and similarities of the national identity scale dimensions and their impact on international marketing strategy.

as measured by Keillor and Hults (1999); 4. (Singapore): 131 individuals (66 male

Thelen and Assessing Honeycutt (2004)

how

an

internal

social, 237 Soviet Russians aged 3765 (100 137 female), and 141

Russian generations have different emphasis placed on the different national identity scale dimensions. There were significant differences between the generations on some dimensions (cultural homogeneity, belief system, consumer ethnocentrism), and no significant differences on other dimension (national heritage).

political, or cultural upheaval impact Male:

would affect the generation's perceptions contemporary Russians aged 1833 (67 of national identity in transnational male: 74 female) economies like the Russian one.

633

83 84

35

634 635

Chapter Three: Methodology

6370.13 Introduction 638Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 introduced the study objectives, significance, limitations, and explored the 639national identity scale, and the literature review written about national identity. This chapter discusses 640the research methodology to assess the national identity for the Jordanian consumers discussed in 641Chapter 2. The research model, hypothesis, population, sample, data collection methods, and instrument 642validity and reliability are discussed in much detail.

6430.14 Research Model 644The research examines the influence of gender, marital status, age, and income level as independent 645variables on consumers overall national identity (dependent variable) (Figure 2):

646Figure 2: Research Model 647

648 85 86

36

6490.15 Research Hypothesis

650 651 652 653

Since no previous studies explored the gender, marital status, age, and income demographic variables impact on the national identity, the researcher will enter the study with no predetermined information about the impact of the four independent variables on the dependent variable, and will postulate the following hypothesis:

654 655 656 657 658 659

H1: The gender variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity. H2: The marital status variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity. H3: The age variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity. H4: The income level variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity.

660

6610.16 Research Population and Sample

662The population is the entire group of people, events, or things of interest that the researcher wishes to 663investigate (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010). The population of this research was the Jordanian consumers. 664By adopting the previous studies data collection methods (Keillor et al., 1996; Keillor and Hult, 1999; 665Chi and Adams 2003; Phau and Chan, 2003; and Thelen and Honeycutt, 2004), data was collected from 666a convenience sample of Jordanian adult individuals who live in the capital Amman, which represents 66738.7% of the population according to the department of statistics (2009), using the mall and street 668intercept method. The sample is a group causes, participants, events, or records constituting a portion of 87 88 37

669the target population, carefully selected to represent that population (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). The 670researcher skewed the sample toward the 20 34 age group since it represents 38.35% of the population 671according to the Jordanian statistical yearbook (2009), which makes it the higher ratio among other age 672groups, thus, make the sample more representative. The data was collected in the winter of 2010 from 673Amman city which represents 38.7% of the population according to the department of statistics (2009) 674were the majority of economic activities in the country are centered in it.

6750.17 Data Collection Methods

676The research data was collected from primary and secondary resources; the secondary data was obtained 677from sources that are related to the research subject such as: books; articles; government publications, 678whereas the primary data was collected using the questionnaire instrument. A questionnaire is a 679"structured technique for data collection consisting of a series of questions, written or verbal, that a 680respondent answers" (Malhotra and Briks, 2006, p 326). Questionnaires have been subject to debate due 681to: interviewer or respondent bias, language and wording bias, and sequencing of the questions. 682However, they are the most used tool for collecting data because of their flexibility, less time to develop 683and administer, and more convenient for data tabulation and interpretation. (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010). 684Researchers who use questionnaires as their data collection method have the advantages of standardizing 685the wording and sequencing of questions, unifying the data gathering process, eliminating interviewer 686bias (McDaniel and Gates, 2005), collecting all completed responses within a short period of time, 687clearing any ambiguity individuals may have on any item, and introducing the research topic and 688motivate the respondents to give their answers. According to Kotler and Keller (2009), the electronic 689questionnaires represented nearly one- third of US spending on market research surveys, and online 690research made 33% of all survey based in 2006. The researcher used the electronic questionnaire along 691with the personal administrated questionnaire as it has the following advantages: Being available for the 89 38 90

692users all the time over the Internet to complete it at their own pace; data is being automatically inserted 693into a database, and ready for data analysis (Hair et al, 2009); reducing cost (20% - 50% less than 694traditional survey cost); return rates up to 50%; reduce the time required to complete the research (75% 69580% of surveys responses can be generated in 48 hours); and lastly, people tend to be more honest 696online because they respond privately (Kotler and Keller, 2009).

697The researcher collected the research primary data using the national identity scale created by Keillor et 698al, (1996) (Table 1). Keillor et al, (1996) mentioned some limitations regarding their approach that could 699not identify all the issues to a specific nation's national identity as this was not the objective of their 700study, and the cutoff point being arbitrary. However, Keillor et al, (1996) stated that developing a 701standardized measurement that can be applied in a variety of settings was the reason behind developing 702the national identity scale. The survey instrument was divided into two main sections with a covering 703latter at the beginning that discloses the identity of the researcher and conveys the purpose of the survey 704and how data will be treated with confidentiality. The first section contained the national identity scale; 705the scale consisted of 17 Jordanian modified version items that were distributed into four sections to 706assess national heritage: to what extent do Jordanian consumers consider their historical events and 707individuals important? (3 items); cultural homogeneity: to what extent do Jordanian consumers consider 708the uniqueness of their national heritage? (4 items); belief system: to what extent do Jordanian consumers 709consider the role of religion in facilitating cultural participation and solidarity? (5 items); and consumer 710ethnocentrism: to what extent do Jordanian consumers show strong preference for products that are 711domestically manufactured over those that are foreign-made? (5 items) respectively. The scale was a 7712point Likert-type statements ranging from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree". The second section 713of the survey consisted of basic demographics information (i.e., gender, marital status, age, and income) 714to assess their impact. 91 92 39

715The survey instrument was translated into Arabic language then back translated to English to validate the 716accuracy of the translation and to avoid mistranslations, missing text and other translation errors. The 717scale items were Jordanian modified version. For instance, the item "One of the USA's strengths is that it 718emphasizes events of historical importance" was rephrased as "One of Jordan's strengths is that it 719emphasizes events of historical importance". A pilot questionnaire was distributed to 30 respondents to 720assess the translated version of the questionnaire; make sure it is well understood by the sample; and 721eliminate any wording or sequencing bias by considering the pilot sample opinion. The subjects 722responses were coded and entered into the SPSS v.11.5 program for further data analysis. Non-responses 723answers were left blank and all the coded data were checked for accuracy. The item A Specific 724Religious philosophy is not an important part of being Jordanian in the belief system dimension was 725reverse scored when entered as it was a reverse coded item to check the consistency of the responses.

7260.18 Instrument Reliability

727Table (7) shows the Cronbachs Alpha values for the four national identity dimensions along with the 728value for the national identity construct as a whole. Cronbachs Alpha is a measure of internal 729consistency reliability that is the average of all possible split-half coefficients resulting from different 730splitting of the scale items (Malhotra and Briks 2006) which is considered an adequate index of 731interitem consistency reliability. The closer Cronbach's alpha is to 1, the higher the internal consistency 732reliability and the greater the reliability of the instrument (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010).

733Table 7: Cronbach Alpha values for the National Identity scale items Dimension National Heritage 93 94 No. of Cases 272 40 No. of Items 3 Cronbach Alpha 0.70

Cultural Homogeneity Belief System Consumer Ethnocentrism National Identity Scale

272 272 272 272

4 5 5 17

0.71 0.71 0.721 0.832

734The Cronbachs Alpha values were (0.70), (0.71), (0.71), (0.721), (0.832) for the national heritage, 735cultural homogeneity, belief system, consumer ethnocentrism, and national identity scale respectively. 736All the aforementioned values are above 0.70 which will make them considered as acceptable, and thus, 737the data collected is considered reliable.

7380.19 Instrument Validity

739The validity of the research is the degree to which what the researcher was trying to measure was 740actually measured (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). Previous research that examined the national identity 741scale has assured the scales validity. (Keillor et al., 1996); (Keillor and Hult, 1999); (Phau and Chan, 7422003); (Thelen and Honeycutt, 2004). The researcher distributed the national identity scale to a panel of 743international marketing and business professors in Jordanian universities whose suggestions and 744opinions were taken into consideration. The professors assured the validity of the scale (Appendix C).

95 96

41

745Chapter 746

Four: Data Analysis

7480.20 Introduction 749The study objectives, significance, and limitations were discussed in chapter 1. Chapter 2 explored the 750national identity scale and the literature review written about national identity. Chapter 3 discussed the 751research methodology. The research model, hypothesis, population, sample, data collection methods, and 752instrument validity and reliability were discussed in much detail. This chapter presents the data analysis 753gathered during the field study with descriptive information about the sample.

7540.21 Descriptive Analysis 755A total of 440 questionnaires were distributed, 100 of those were an electronic version, and 340 were 756hard copy ones. 320 questionnaires were returned of the total number, and 48 questionnaires were 757eliminated due to blank responses in them which make the total number of valid questionnaires 272. 758Table (8) shows the demographic information for the sample.

759

760

761

762

763

764 97 98 42

765Table 8: Demographics Information

Variable Group Male Gender Female Marital Status Married Not Married Less than 20 21-25 Age 26-30 31-35 Over 35 Less than 250 JD 250 - 500 JD Income 500 750 JD 750 1000 JD Over 1000 JD 86 148 124 18 64 106 45 39 48 81 47 50 46 31.6 54.4 45.6 6.6 23.5 39.0 16.5 14.3 17.6 29.8 17.3 18.4 16.9 N 186 Percentage (%) 68.4

767

768

769

770

771 99 100 43

772

773

774 775

776Table (8) showed that the sample consisted of 68.4% males and 31.6% females. In 2009, males 777represented 51.5%, and females 48.5% of the population in Jordan (Department of Statistics, 2009). 778Also, there were 54.4% of the respondents who were married, and 45.6% were not married. The age 779group of less than 20 represented 6.6%, while the age group (21-30) represented (62.5%), and the age 780group for people more than 30 represented 30.8% of the sample. In general, Jordans population can be 781considered as a young one where 75.67% of it is less than 35 years old according to Jordans Statistical 782Year book (2009). The income for people with less than 750 JD represented 64.7% while the income for 783people with more than 750 JD represented 35.3% of the sample. In 2010, Jordans poverty report 784showed that 13.3% of the population is below the poverty line of 680 JD per month.

785The mean and the standard deviation of the four dimensions and the national identity are presented in 786Table (9). According to the results, Jordans national identity score was 18.82.

787Table 9: National Identity Scores for Jordan

Scale Item N1 N2 N3 N 272 272 272 Mean 4.80 4.36 5.11 Std. Deviation 1.71 1.81 1.66

101 102

44

National Heritage C1 C2 C3 C4 Cultural Homogeneity B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 Belief System E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 Consumer Ethnocentrism National Identity

272 272 272 272 272 272

4.75 4.40 4.21 5.49 4.69 4.69 4.23 4.72 5.92 5.46 5.59 5.18 5.28 4.12 4.37 3.93 3.57 4.25 18.89

1.35 1.81 1.83 1.66 1.58 1.25 1.96 1.92 1.48 1.80 1.60 1.19 1.76 2.00 2.00 1.84 2.11 1.33 3.78

272 272 272 272 272 272 272 272 272 272 272 272

272

788The calculation of the means for the individual dimensions was the summated scores for a particular 789dimension divided by the number of items in that dimension. The calculation of the overall national 790identity scale score was the summated score for the means of the individual dimensions.

103 104

45

791The regression analysis results in Table (10) showed that the predicators (Gender, Marital Status, Age, 792and Income) explained 14.6% of the total variance.

793Table 10: Regression Results

Model 1 R 0.382
a

R Square 0.146

Adjusted R Square 0.133

S.E.E 14.87

794Predictors: (Constant), Income, Gender, Marital Status, Age

795

796Table (11) showed that the gender variable had a significant value of 0.01 and beta of 0.191 while the 797marital status variable had a significant value of 0.023 and beta of 0.161. The age variable significant 798value was 0.47 and beta - 0.51 which did not have a significant effect on the independent variable of the 799national identity; lastly, the income variable had a significant value of 0.00 and beta of -0.29.

800Table 11: Relationship between demographic variables and National Identity

Unstandardized Coefficients B (Constant) Gender Marital Status Age Income 87.95 6.54 5.16 -0.72 -3.43 Std.Er ror 3.19 2.00 2.26 1.02 0.71 0.191 0.161 -0.51 -0.29 Standardized Coefficients t Beta 27.50 3.26 2.28 -0.70 -4.78 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.47 0.00 Significant

Model

105 106

46

801The T-Test for the gender variable results in Table 12 through Table 14 showed that there is a significant 802difference between males and females in the national heritage, cultural homogeneity, and belief system 803dimensions respectively.

804Table 12: T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for National Heritage
Scale Gender N Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.00 0.00

Male

National Heritage
Female

186 86

13.55 15.81

4.05 3.61

-4.41 -4.61

805 806Table 13: T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for Cultural Homogeneity
Scale Gender N Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.01 0.01

Cultural Homogeneity

Male Female

186 86

18.10 20.28

4.87 5.03

-3.39 -3.35

807 808Table 14: T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for Belief System
Scale Gender N Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.05 0.05

Male

Belief System
Female

186 86

25.24 27.40

6.02 5.63

-2.80 -2.87

809In the national identity over all structure, females scored higher than their males counterpart (Table 15).

810Table 15: T-Test Independent Samples Gender Test for National Identity
Scale Gender No Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.00

National

Male

186

77.61

15.72

-4.12

107 108

47

Identity

Female

86

85.97

15.10

-4.18

0.00

811The T-Test for the Marital Status variable results in Table 16 through table 20 showed no significant 812difference between married and single respondents in all the dimensions and the national identity 813structure.

814Table 16: T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for National Heritage
Scale Gender N Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.771 0.772

Married

148 124

14.20 14.35

3.93 4.21

-0.624 -0.628

National Heritage

Nonmarried

815 816 817 818Table 17: T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for Cultural Homogeneity
Scale Gender N Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.857 0.856

Married

Cultural Homogeneity

148 124

18.74 18.85

5.19 4.83

-0.18 -0.18

Nonmarried

819
820

821 822Table 18: T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for Belief System
Scale Gender N Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.263 0.263

Married

148 124

25.55 26.36

5.98 5.97

-1.12 -1.12

Belief System

Nonmarried

823

109 110

48

824 825Table 19: T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for Consumer Ethnocentrism
Scale Gender N Mean SD T -Value Significa nt 0.859 0.859

Consumer Ethnocentrism
826

Married Nonmarried

148 124

21.21 21.35

6.76 6.64

-0.178 -0.178

827 828Table 20: T-Test Independent Samples Marital Status Test for National Identity
Scale Gender No Mean SD T -Value Significan t 0.533 0.530

Married National Identity Nonmarried

148 124

79.70 80.91

16.54 15.32

-0.624 -0.628

829

830The One way ANOVA results for the Age variable showed that there is no significant difference 831between the age groups for the national heritage and the consumer ethnocentrism dimensions (Table 21 832and Table 22).

833Table 21: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for National Heritage
Source of Variance Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom 4 Mean Square F Value 1.571 Signific ant

Between Groups National Heritage Within Groups Total

102.428

25.607

0.182

4350.980 4453.408

267 271

16.296

834 111 112

49

835 836
837

838The results for the age variable showed that the national heritage dimension f-value was 1.571 at a 839significant level of 0.182 and this is not significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc 840test that there is no statistical difference between any of the five groups.

841Table 22: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for Consumer Ethnocentrism
Source of Variance Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom 4 Mean Square F Value 1.454 Signific ant

Between Groups Consumer Ethnocentrism Within Groups Total

259.098

64.775

0.217

11895.222 12154.320

267 271

44.551

842 113 114 50

843 844Also, the consumer ethnocentrism dimension f-value was 1.454 at a significant level of 0.217 and this is 845not significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test that there is no statistical 846difference between any of the five groups.

847There was a significant difference between age group (21-25) and age group (26-30), and also between 848age group (26-30) and age group (31-35) regarding the cultural homogeneity dimension (Table 23)

849Table 23: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for Cultural Homogeneity
Source of Variance Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom 4 267 Mean Square F Value 4.55 Signific ant

Cultural Homogeneity

Between Groups Within Groups

436.503 6403.130

109.126 23.98

0.001

115 116

51

Total

6839.632

271

850

851 852 853The cultural homogeneity dimension had f-value of 4.55 at a significant level of 0.001 and this is 854significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test that there is a statistical difference 855between group (20-25) and group (26-30). And also between age group (26-30) and age group (31-35)

856Also, there was a significant difference between age group of less than 20 and the age group (26-30) in 857the belief system dimension (Table 24).

858Table 24: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for Belief System
Source of Variance Sum of Squares 494.378 Degree of Freedom 4 Mean Square 123.595 F Value 3.586 Signific ant 0.005

Belief System

Between Groups

117 118

52

Within Groups Total

9201.842 9696.221

267 271

34.464

859

860 861 862The f-value of belief system dimension was 3.586 at a significant level of 0.007 and this is significant at 863 < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test that there is a statistical difference between group 864(less than 20) and group (26-30). Finally, the national identity structure f-value was 3.734 at a significant 865level of 0.006 and this is significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test that there is 866a statistical difference between group (20-25) and group (26-30) as shown in Table (25).

867Table 25: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Age Categories for National Identity
Source of Variance National Identity Between Groups Sum of Squares 3667.312 Degree of Freedom 4 Mean Square 916.828 F Value 3.734 Signific ant 0.006

119 120

53

Within Groups Total

65551.688 69219.000

267 271

245.512

868

869 870As for the income variable, the one way ANOVA results revealed that the national heritage dimension f871value was 4.633 at a significant level of 0.001 and this is significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the 872Tukey post hoc test that there is a statistical difference between the three groups of (less than 250) and 873(250-500) and (500-750) with the group of (above 1000) as shown in Table (26).

874Table 26: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for National Heritage
Source of Variance Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom 4 Mean Square F Value 4.633 Signific ant

Between Groups National Heritage Within Groups Total

289.037

72.259

0.001

4164.371 4453.408

267 271

15.597

121 122

54

875

876 877The f-value of the cultural homogeneity dimension was 6.212 at a significant level of 0.00 and this is 878significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test that there is a statistical difference 879between the group (250-500) and the two groups of (750-1000) and (above 1000), and also between 880group (500-750) and group (above 1000) as shown in Table (27).

881Table 27: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for Cultural Homogeneity
Source of Variance Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom 4 267 Mean Square F Value 6.212 Signific ant

Cultural Homogeneity

Between Groups Within Groups

582.343 6257.289

145.568 23.436

0.00

123 124

55

Total

6839.632

271

882

883 884In the belief system dimension, the f-value is 3.967 at a significant level of 0.004 and this is significant 885at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test that there is a statistical difference between the 886three groups of (less than 250), and (250-500), and (500-750) with the group of (above 1000) as shown 887in Table (28).

888Table 28: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for Belief System
Source of Variance Sum of Squares 543.878 Degree of Freedom 4 Mean Square 135.969 F Value 3.967 Signific ant 0.004

Belief System

Between Groups

125 126

56

Within Groups Total

9152.343 9696.221

267 271

34.278

889

890 891 892The consumer ethnocentrism dimension in the income variable had f-value of 6.587 at a significant level 893of 0.00 and this is significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test that there is a 894statistical difference between group (250-500) and the two groups of (750-1000) and (above 1000), and 895also between group (500-750) and the two groups of (750-1000) and (above 1000) as shown in Table 896(29).

897Table 29: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for Consumer Ethnocentrism
Source of Variance Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom Mean Square F Value Signific ant

127 128

57

Between Groups Consumer Ethnocentrism Within Groups Total

1091.749

272.937

6.587

0.00

11062.571 12154.320

267 271

41.433

898

899

129 130

58

900Lastly, in the national identity construct, the f-value was 9.998 at a significant level of 0.00 and this is 901significant at < 0.05. It can be noted from the Tukey post hoc test (Table 30) that there is a statistical 902difference between the group (less than 250) and the two groups of (750- 1000) and (above 1000), and 903between the group (250-500) and the two groups of (750-1000) and (above 1000), and lastly, between 904the group (500-750) and the two groups of (750-1000) and (above 1000).

905Table 30: One-Way ANOVA for the Five Income Categories for National Identity
Source of Variance Between Groups National Identity Within Groups Total Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom 4 Mean Square F Value 9.998 Signific ant

9017.467

2254.367

0.00

60201.533 69219.000

267 271

225.474

906

131 132

59

907 9080.22 Hypothesis Testing 909The research included four hypotheses regarding the influence of the demographic variables on the 910Jordanian consumers national identity. The regression analysis was used to determine the impact of the 911four independent variables (gender, marital status, age, and income) on the national identity dependant 912variable.

9130.22.1

Hypothesis H1 testing

914H0: The gender variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity.

915The data in table (31) showed that the gender variable had an impact on the Jordanian consumers 916national identity with a significance value of 0.01, thus the null hypothesis H0 is rejected, and the

133 134

60

917alternative hypothesis HA which indicates that the gender variable has a significant impact on the 918Jordanian consumer's national identity is accepted.

919Table 31: Hypothesis H1 Testing

Unstandardized Coefficients B Gender 6.54 Std.Er ror 2.00 Standardized Coefficients t Beta 0.191 3.26 0.01 Significant

Model

9200.22.2

Hypothesis H2 testing

921H0: The marital status variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity.

922The data in table (32) showed that the marital status variable had an impact on the Jordanian consumers 923national identity with a significance value of 0.02, thus the null hypothesis H0 is rejected, and the 924alternative hypothesis HA which indicates that the marital status variable has a significant impact on the 925Jordanian consumer's national identity is accepted.

926Table 32: Hypothesis H2 Testing

Unstandardized Coefficients B Marital Status 5.16 Std.Er ror 2.26 Standardized Coefficients t Beta 0.161 2.28 0.02 Significant

Model

927

135 136

61

9280.22.3

Hypothesis H3 testing

929H0: The age variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity.

930The data in table (33) showed that the age variable did not have a significant impact on the Jordanian 931consumers national identity as the significance value was 0.47, which is greater than the accepted 932significance value of less than 0.05, thus the null hypothesis H0 is accepted, and the alternative 933hypothesis HA is rejected.

934Table 33: Hypothesis H3 Testing

Unstandardized Coefficients B Age -0.72 Std.Er ror 1.02 Standardized Coefficients t Beta -0.51 -0.70 0.47 Significant

Model

935

9360.22.4

Hypothesis H4 testing

937H0: The income level variable has no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity.

938The data in table (34) showed that the income level variable had an impact on the Jordanian consumers 939national identity with a significance value of 0.00, thus the null hypothesis H0 is rejected, and the 940alternative hypothesis HA which indicates that the income level variable has a significant impact on the 941Jordanian consumer's national identity is accepted.

942Table 34: Hypothesis H4 Testing

Model Unstandardized Standardized t Significant

137 138

62

Coefficients B Income -3.43 Std.Er ror 0.71

Coefficients Beta -0.29 -4.78 0.00

139 140

63

943Chapter 944

Five: Conclusions and Recommendations

9460.23 Introduction 947This is the last chapter of the research. Chapter 1 discussed the study objectives, significance, and 948limitations. The national identity scale and the literature review written about national identity were 949explored in chapter 2. Chapter 3 discussed the research methodology (research model, hypothesis, 950population, sample, data collection methods, and instrument validity and reliability). The analysis of the 951data that was gathered during the field study and provided descriptive information about the sample was 952presented in chapter 4. This chapter provides the conclusions of the research, the recommendations that 953are suggested based on the results, and the work that is needed to be done in the future.

9540.24 Conclusions 955The findings of this research will help international marketers and foreign investors in understanding and 956segmenting the Jordanian markets and thus directing their marketing strategies to the right segment of 957consumers.

958The results of the research did not support H1 which stated that the gender variable have no significant 959impact on the Jordanian consumer's national identity. The gender variable had a significant impact on 960the national identity of the consumers where the results of the T-Test for the gender variable showed that 961the female consumers had a stronger national identity than the males one. A significant difference was 962found between males and females on national heritage, cultural homogeneity, belief system, and 963consumer ethnocentrism dimensions were females reported higher mean scores than their male 964counterparts. In a traditional and male dominant culture like the Jordanian one, the numbers taken from 965the Jordanian department of statistics (2009) showed that females are a minority in the workforce (23% 141 142 64

966of the total number of workers), and they receive lower income than the males (the average wage for 967males is 364 JD, while for females, it is 314 JD). These factors made females more identified with their 968national identity.

969H2 was also not supported by the results. The marital status variable had a significant impact on the 970Jordanian consumer's national identity. Jordanian married males and females more concerned about their 971country more than single Jordanians. Mostly, married Jordanians lead more stabilize life than single 972Jordanians as the latter group generally think of leaving the country for better jobs. The Islamic religion 973(belief system) considers the marriage to be a very important legal bond and social contract between a 974man and a woman, and urge its adult followers to get married as soon as they have the potential to do so.

975However, the results showed that age variable had no significant impact on the Jordanian consumer's 976national identity, which supports H3. The results can be attributed to the fact that the majority of the 977sample were between 21 35 (78% of the sample) which makes it a kind of homogeneous from the age 978variable perspective, and thus, did not show a significant relationship with the national identity. The 979researcher focused on the 20 34 age group since it is the young people who make the future of their 980countries as many individuals from this age group will become tomorrows decision makers and 981business men and women, thus its important to study their opinions to estimate the futures shape. Also 982this age group represents 38.35% of the population according to Jordan statistical yearbook (2009), 983which makes it the higher ratio among other age groups, thus, make the sample more representative. 984King Abdullah II in his forward for the first Jordanian National Human Development Report expressed 985the importance that Jordanian leadership is giving to the young as they are the greatest asset and hope for 986the future, the pillars of tomorrow, and the substance of change. The king emphasized the attention that 987must be giving to the young people to tap their intellectual, creative, and productive potential in order

143 144

65

988for Jordan to keep up with new developments in global scientific, economic, and social sectors 989(Jordanian National Human Development Report, 2000).

990Finally, H4 was not supported and the income level variable had a significant impact on the Jordanian 991consumer's national identity. The results from the ANOVA test for the income level revealed that 992individuals with low income (less than 750 JD) have a stronger national identity than those with high 993incomes (750 JD and greater). This can be explained by the fact that people with higher income are more 994able to travel to other countries, and be exposed to more cultures than people with low income. This will 995make higher income individuals more tolerant and open to other cultures, and thus less identified with 996their National Identity than low income ones.

9970.25 Recommendations 998International marketers and foreign investors who are targeting the Jordanian markets will be in a better 999position when they understand the important set of cultural elements that sets the Jordanian consumers 1000apart from others and gives them a sense of distinctiveness. By focusing on the relevant similarities and 1001differences that differentiate the Jordanians, marketers and investors will be able to determine if their 1002marketing strategies should be a standard or a customized one, and will have relevant information for 1003better decision making.

1004

1005The researcher suggests the following recommendations to the international marketers and investors who 1006are running, or seeking a business in the Jordanian market. These recommendations are discussed in 1007details in this section:

145 146

66

1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018

1.

To customize the marketing strategy in order to be unique to the Jordanian consumers

and do not use a standardized one given the strong national identity the consumers scored.
2.

To ensure the consistency of the marketing strategy with the Jordanian consumers belief

system; national heritage; and cultural homogeneity, given the strong emphasis the Jordanian consumers placed on these dimensions. 3. To invest more in the domestic products and try to improve their quality as the findings

of the consumer ethnocentrism dimension revealed how consumers are more willing to buy domestic products if they have a comparable quality to the foreign one.
4.

To segment the Jordanian market based on the different demographic variables impact

on the consumers national identity so that the business investments are better directed toward the right segment of consumers.

1019The respondents scored high on the national heritage dimension, which make this dimension appears to 1020be of importance to the Jordanians. This result can help international marketers to customize their 1021strategy and ensure that it is consistent with the Jordanian national heritage, and does not impose any 1022threat to it in order to success. The marketers can focus on the Jordanian national symbols in their 1023promotional campaigns and try to trigger the national spirit of the consumers. The cultural homogeneity 1024dimension was also of importance to the respondents, which implies the uniqueness of the Jordanian 1025culture. This can be attributed to the Jordan First national campaign that was launched in October, 10262002 by King Abdullah II to create a unified social fiber that promotes the Jordanians sense of loyalty 1027to their homeland, and pride in their Jordanian, Arab and Islamic identity (Jordan Times, 2002). The 1028campaign focused on placing the countrys interests above all other considerations, and called upon the 1029government to strengthen the sense of national identity among Jordanians from different backgrounds to 1030integrate a diverse, but united, national and social fabric. The strong cultural homogeneity dimension 1031suggests to the marketers to use values from the Jordanian culture which will be effective in their 147 148 67

1032promotional campaigns, and to place attention on the cultural part of the Jordanian national identity 1033when crafting their marketing strategies.

1034Jordanian consumers strongest emphasis was on the belief system dimension. Marketers need to pay 1035close attention to this dimension when forming their marketing strategies, and make sure they do not 1036offend the religious beliefs or the ethical values by their campaigns. The marketers will have more 1037chances of success if they considered the Islamic events like Ramadan, Eid Fitr, and Aid Adha when 1038planning for their campaigns. Finally, the consumer ethnocentrism dimension was the least one 1039emphasized by the respondents. Although the vast majority of the respondents agreed that We should 1040purchase products manufactured in Jordan instead of letting other countries get rich off us (74.9% of 1041the answers on this item ranged between Strongly agree to Somewhat Agree) , and half of them said that 1042Jordanians should not buy foreign products because it hurts Jordanian business and causes 1043unemployment (52.6% of the answers on this item ranged between Strongly agree to Somewhat Agree), 1044Jordanian consumers evaluated the foreign products more favorably and did not want to invest in the 1045domestic ones. This can be attributed to a number of factors like the low quality of the domestic products 1046compared to the foreign ones, and the facilities given to foreign investors to attract them to do business 1047in Jordan which reduces the domestic products ability to compete, and thus affects the Jordanian 1048business. The findings of the consumer ethnocentrism dimension represent a good chance for the 1049Jordanian marketers as consumers are more willing to buy domestic products if they have a comparable 1050quality to the foreign one.

1051Based on the findings, international marketers and foreign investors are urged to take into consideration 1052how the Jordanian consumers identified with their national heritage, cultural homogeneity, belief system, 1053consumer ethnocentrism, and their overall national identity while they are forming their marketing 1054strategy or making decisions to enter the Jordanian market. Table (35) shows a comparison between 149 150 68

1055Jordans national identity, and other countries national identities that were extracted from previous 1056research (Keillor and Hult, 1999; Phau and Chan, 2003).

1057Table 35: Comparison Jordan vs. other countries National Identity

Country Thailand * Jordan South Korea * USA ** Mexico ** Taiwan * Hong Kong ** Singapore * Japan ** Sweden ** National Heritage 5.3 4.75 4.93 5.15 5.07 4.55 4.14 3.63 4.9 4.64 Cultural Homogeneity 4.98 4.69 4.85 4.92 4.74 4.33 3.92 4.52 4.73 4.12 Belief System 4.38 5.18 3.73 3.49 3.49 3.8 2.82 3.6 2.8 2.56 Consumer Ethnocentrism 4.93 4.25 4.33 3.88 3.71 3.88 4.36 3.36 2.37 2.1 National Identity 19.59 18.89 17.84 17.44 17 16.57 15.22 15.11 14.79 13.4

1058 * Extracted from Phau and Chan, 2003 1059** Extracted from Keillor and Hult, 1999

10600.26 Future Work 1061This research was conducted to measure the national identity for the Jordanian consumers in Amman 1062city that represents 38.7% of the population according to the department of statistics (2009). Overall, the 1063current research examined the impact of gender, marital status, age, and income demographic variables 1064on the national identity. Future work is required to measure the national identity in other Jordanian 1065governorates like Aqaba, Irbid, and Zarqa cities that represents 21.8%, 17.8%, and 14.9% respectively of 1066the total Jordanian populations (Department of Statistics, 2009), and represents an economic weight for 151 152 69

1067Jordan. This will help in making a more representative research about all Jordanian consumers. Another 1068future work that can add a contribution to this research is to add the educational level variable, and 1069assess its effect on the Jordanian consumers national identity. Other work can be done to collect data 1070from other Middle Eastern countries to make a comparison of national identities for those countries, and 1071help international marketers and foreign investors make the right decisions when targeting the Middle 1072East markets.

153 154

70

1073 1074

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1140Sharma, S., Shimp, T. A.,

Shin, J. (1995). Consumer Ethnocentrism, a test of antecedents and

1141moderators. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 23. 26-37.

1142Shimp, T., Sharma S. (1987). Consumer Ethnocentrism: Construction and validation of the 1143CETSCALE). Journal of Marketing Research, 24 (3). 280290.

1144Smith, A.D. (1991). National Identity, London: Penguine Books.

1145Stich, S.Warfield, T. (2003). The Blackwell Guide to Philosophy of Mind, United Kingdom: Blackwell 1146Publishing.

1147United Nations Development Program. (2000). Jordan Human Development Report 2000. The Youth of 1148Jordan. NY: United Nations Development Programme.

1149United Nations Development Program. (2009). Human Development Report 2009. Overcoming 1150Barriers: Human mobility and development. NY: United Nations Development Programme.

1151Usunier, J., Lee, J. A. (2009). Marketing across Cultures, Fifth Edition. London: Pearson Prentice Hall.

1152World Bank. (2010). Doing Business 2010 Report: Reforming through difficult Times. Washington DC: 1153The World Bank, IFC and Palgrave MacMillan

1154Ycel, R., Elibol, H., Dadelen, O. (2009). Globalization and International Marketing Ethics Problems. 1155International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, (26). 93-104.

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1156Appendix 7511 8511 9511 0611

A: Arabic Survey

- .

1611 2611 3611 4611 5611 ) (Customized Marketing Strategy )(Standardized Marketing Strategy 6611 7611 . 8611 9611 0711 1711 2711 3711 4711 5711 matt_shareef@yahoo.com

561 661

67

6711 7711 8711 9711 0811 1811 2811 3811 4811 5811 6811 7811 4911 5911 6911 7911 8911 9911 0021 1021 2021 3021 0121 1121 2121 3121 4121 5121 6121 7121 8121 9121 6221 7221 761 861 77 0221 1221 2221 3221 4221 5221

:

8811 9811 0911 1911 2911 3911

1.

4021 5021 6021 7021 8021 9021

2.

3.

8221 9221 0321 1321 2321 3321 4321 5321 6321 7321 8321 5421 6421 7421 8421 9421 0521 1521 2521 3521 4521 5521 2621 3621 4621 5621 6621 7621 8621 9621 0721 1721 8721 9721 0821 1821 961 071 2721 3721 4721 5721 6721 7721

9321 0421 1421 2421 3421 4421

1.

6521 7521 8521 9521 0621 1621

2.

3.

87

4.

2821 3821 4821 5821 6821 7821 8821 9821 6921 7921 8921 9921 0031 1031 2031 3031 4031 5031 6031 7031 4131 5131 6131 7131 8131 9131 0231 1231 2231 3231 4231 1331 2331 3331 171 271 0921 1921 2921 3921 4921 5921

)(

8031 9031 0131 1131 2131 3131

1.

5231 6231 7231 8231 9231 0331

2.

97

3.

4331 5331 6331 7331 8331 9331 0431 1431 8431 9431 0531 1531 2531 3531 4531 5531 6531 7531 8531 9531 6631 7631 8631 9631 0731 1731 2731 3731 4731 5731 2831 3831 4831 5831 6831 371 471 08 2431 3431 4431 5431 6431 7431

0631 1631 2631 3631 4631 5631

4.

6731 7731 8731 9731 0831 1831

5.

7831 8831 9831 0931 1931 2931 3931 4931 5931 6931 3041 4041 5041 6041 7041 8041 9041 0141 1141 2141 3141 0241 1241 2241 3241 4241 5241 6241 7241 8241 9241 0341 7341 8341 9341 571 671 4141 5141 6141 7141 8141 9141

7931 8931 9931 0041 1041 2041

1.

2.

1341 2341 3341 4341 5341 6341

3.

4.

18

0441 1441 2441 3441 4441 5441 6441 3541 4541 5541 6541 7541 8541 0641
9541

7441 8441 9441 0541 1541 2541

5.

4641
3641

6641 7641 8641

5641

2641 9641
1641

771 871

28

971 0741 1741 2741 3741 4741 5741

6741
7741

8741 9741 0841 1841

2841
3841

4841 5841 6841 7841 8841 9841 0941 1941 2941 3941
4941

81- 02 52-12 03-62 53-13 53

5941 6941 7941 8941 9941 0051 1051 2051 3051 4051 5051

052 052- 005 005- 057 057- 0001 0001

081 181

38

182 1506Appendix 1507

B: National Identity Survey (NATID)

1508 1509Emphasis on National Heritage 1510 1511N1. Important people from the country's past are admired by people today 1512N2. One of America's strengths is that it emphasizes events of historical importance 1513N3. The United States has a strong historical heritage 1514 1515Emphasis on Cultural Homogeneity 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522Emphasis on Belief System 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 183 184
84

C1. An American possesses certain cultural attributes that other people do not possess. C2. Americans in general feel that they come from a common historical background C3. Americans are proud of their nationality C4. People frequently engage in activities that identify them as American

B1. A specific religious philosophy is what makes a person uniquely American B2. It is impossible for an individual to be truly "American" without taking part in some form of religious activity B3. Religious education is essential to preserve the cohesiveness of the American society B4. A specific religious philosophy is not an important part of being an American. B5. A true American would never reject his or her religious beliefs

185 1533Emphasis on Consumer Ethnocentrism 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 E1. We should purchase products manufactured in America instead of letting other countries get rich off us. E2. It is always best to purchase American products E3. Americans should not buy foreign products, because it hurts American business and causes unemployment. E4. It may cost me in the long run but I prefer to support American products E5. Only those products that are unavailable in the United States should be imported

186 187

85

881 1544Appendix 5451

C: Names of Professors who validated the survey

6451

. . . . . 1 2 3 4 5

981 091

68

191 1547Appendix Term Belief System Consumer Ethnocentrism

D: Definitions
Definition The role which religion or super national beliefs play in facilitating cultural participation and solidarity The beliefs held by consumers about the appropriateness and the morality of purchasing foreignmade products The cultural uniqueness of a given societys sense of national identity The sum of the values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and thought processes that are learned and shared by a group of people, then transmitted from generation to generation The inexorable integration of markets, transportation systems, and communication systems to a degree never witnessed before in a way that is enabling corporations, countries, and individuals to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before The existence of a unique model (one religion, one language) throughout the whole population Those attributes that make you unique as an individual and different from others A named human population sharing a historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, public culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members The importance of historical figures and events in history The set of meanings owned by a given culture that sets it apart from other cultures Author (Keillor and Hult (1999

(Shimp and Sharma (1987

Cultural Homogeneity

(Keillor and Hult (1999

Culture

(Herskovitz (1952

Globalization

(Friedman (2002

Homogeneity Identity

(Usunier and Lee (2009 (Olson (2002

Nation

(Smith (1991

National Heritage National Identity 1548 192 193

(Keillor and Hult (1999 (Keillor et al, (1996

87

491 1549Appendix 0551 1551 2551 3551 4551 . 5551 . 6551 7551 8551 9551 0651 1651 2651 272 3651 0102. 4651 . ) 98.81( 5651 . 6651 ) 81.5( ) 57.4( 7651 8651 9651 0751 1751 2751

E: Arabic Abstract

) ( .

)96.4( )52.4(.

591 691

88