Journal of Consumer Behaviour

J. Consumer Behav. 7: 88–100 (2008)

Published online in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/cb.238

Consumer ethnocentrism, cultural

sensitivity, and intention to purchase
local products—evidence from
Vietnam
Tho D. Nguyen 1,2*, Trang T.M. Nguyen 3 and Nigel J. Barrett 2
1
University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
3
Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This study empirically investigates the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism and cultural
sensitivity on both imported product judgment and intention to purchase local products
in the context of a developing country—Vietnam. Structural equation modeling was used
to test these impacts, utilizing a sample of 549 consumers. The results show that consumer
ethnocentrism is negatively related to imported product judgment and positively related
to intention to purchase local products. In addition, cultural sensitivity has a positive
relationship with imported product judgment but not with consumer ethnocentrism. The
results also indicate that the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism on imported product
judgment and on intention to purchase local products are not different in terms of
product categories, gender, income, and education levels. However, differences exist
between younger and older consumers.
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction Brands Protection, Vietnam’s Brand Festivals,

The globalization of world markets has accel-
erated the competition between local and
imported products. Local producers in devel-
oping economies like Vietnam need to be able
to compete effectively against imported pro-
ducts. As a consequence, in Vietnam, programs
that promote locally made products, e.g.,
Vietnam’s High Quality Products, Vietnam’s
*Correspondence to: Tho D. Nguyen, School of Market-
ing, University of Technology, Sydney, P. O. Box 123
Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
E-mail: tho.nguyen@uts.edu.au
have been launched by a number of Vietna-
mese organizations. These include business
as well as government organizations, such as
Saigon Marketing News, Ho Chi Minh City
People’s Committee, and the Vietnam Market-
ing Association. The slogan ‘‘Vietnamese use
Vietnamese Products’’ has been promoted to
encourage ethnocentric behavior by Vietna-
mese consumers (Saigontiepthi, 2005). Among
these programs, the ‘‘Vietnam’s High Quality
Products’’ and ‘‘Vietnam’s Brands Festivals’’
have received much attention by the govern-
ment as well as by local consumers, resulting

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DOI: 10.1002/cb
Consumer ethnocentrism in Vietnam
in an annual government- and business-
sponsored competition for locally produced
high quality products. Firms that have been
awarded a ‘‘Vietnam’s high quality products’’
certificate could be expected to gain a
competitive advantage over others. This is
because these firms have the right to use the
‘‘Vietnam’s high quality products’’ logo which
Vietnamese consumers perceive as a signal of
quality (Saigontiepthi, 2004).
Conventional wisdom suggests that consu-
mers choose imported products based upon
their superior quality. However, in some cases,
consumers prefer imported products whose
quality is not superior to that of local products.
Accordingly, factors other than product quality
may help to explain the phenomenon. Several
factors have been identified, such as brand
globalness (e.g., Steenkamp et al., 2003), con-
sumer ethnocentrism (e.g., Shimp and Sharma,
1987; Herche, 1994; Klein, 2002), cultural
openness (e.g., Sharma et al., 1995), global
openness (e.g., Suh and Kwon, 2002), and
product judgment (e.g., Han, 1988; Knight,
1999; Kaynak and Kara, 2002). However, the
majority of these studies have been undertaken
in advanced economies. Little research has
been done in developing countries such as
Vietnam.
Research shows that consumers in advanced
countries tend to perceive local products as
being of higher quality than those that are
imported (Dickerson, 1982; Herche, 1992). In
contrast, in developing economies, consumers
tend to believe that products made by local
producers are not as good as imported
products (Agbonifoh and Elimimian, 1999;
Batra et al., 2000; Wang and Chen, 2004).
Therefore, ethnocentric tendencies of consu-
mers could be expected to exhibit different
degrees of influence in developed and devel-
oping countries. Research also shows that, in
advanced economies, consumers who have
experienced cultures other than their own
tend to be less ethnocentric and tend to be
more favorably disposed to imported products
rather than to local products (Howard, 1989;
Sharma et al., 1995; Suh and Kwon, 2002).
Despite this, little is known about the relation-
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
89
ships between cultural sensitivity, consumer
ethnocentrism, and imported product judg-
ment in developing countries. Accordingly,
this study examines the impacts of consumer
ethnocentrism and cultural sensitivity on
imported product judgment and, subsequ-
ently, on intention to purchase local products
in the context of a developing country—
Vietnam. Also, it investigates the moderating
effects of product category and consumer
demographics: age, income, education level,
and gender. The paper is structured as follows:
literature review and hypotheses, method, data
analysis and results, discussion, implications,
and conclusions.
Literature review and hypotheses
A number of researchers have argued that
globalization will not eliminate cultural differ-
ences nor lead to standardized consumer
behavior around the world (e.g., Schutte
and Ciarlante, 1998; Keillor et al., 2001; Suh
and Kwon, 2002). Further, it has been
proposed that it is dangerous to assume
that consumer buying behavior is globalizing
(Keillor and Hult, 1999). Accordingly, the
assumption that consumer psychological
tendencies are becoming less important as
influencers of consumer behavior is question-
able (Belk, 1996; Keillor and Hult, 1999). In
order to empirically test this assumption in the
context of a developing country, this study
develops and tests a model incorporating
cultural sensitivity, consumer ethnocentrism,
imported product judgment, and intention to
purchase local products. In addition, research
on consumer ethnocentrism in developed
countries shows that product categories
and consumer demographic characteristics
(such as gender, income, age, and education)
influence consumer ethnocentric tendencies
(Sharma et al., 1995; Keillor et al., 2001). For
this reason, this study examines the moderat-
ing effects of product category and four demo-
graphic variables: gender, income, education,
and age. Figure 1 represents these relation-
ships and hypotheses.
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90
Figure 1. Conceptual model.
Consumer ethnocentrism,
imported product judgment,
and intention to purchase local
products
Consumer ethnocentrism has been widely
studied in marketing (e.g., Shimp and Sharma,
1987; Klein et al., 1998; Klein and Ettenson,
1999; Pecotich and Rosenthal, 2001; Klein,
2002; Speece and Pinkaeo, 2002; Balabanis and
Diamantopoulos, 2004). Consumer ethnocent-
rism stems from the concept of ethnocentrism
in social psychology, where ethnocentrism was
defined as ‘‘the view of things in which one’s
own group is the center of everything, and all
others are scaled and rated with reference to it’’
(Sumner, 1906, 13). Based on Sumner’s work,
Adorno et al. (1950) define ethnocentrism
in terms of an individual who tends to be
‘ethnically-centered’, i.e., to strongly accept
the culturally ‘alike’ and reject the culturally
‘unlike’. From this viewpoint, ethnocentrism is
judged from an evaluative perspective, i.e., an
attitude which evaluates all other cultures by
the standards of one’s own culture.
In the marketing literature, consumer eth-
nocentrism embodies ‘‘the beliefs held by
consumers about the appropriateness, indeed
morality, of purchasing foreign-made pro-
ducts’’ (Shimp and Sharma, 1987, p. 280).
For highly ethnocentric consumers, purchas-
ing imported products leads to job losses,
damages the economy, and is viewed as
unpatriotic behavior (Shimp and Sharma,
1987). Ethnocentric consumers tend to evalu-
ate highly that which belongs to their own
group, and to devalue that which does not
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tho D. Nguyen et al.
belong to their group, thus leading to a bias in
their evaluations of and intention to purchase
local and foreign made products (Shimp and
Sharma, 1987; Klein et al., 1998). For example,
Klein et al. (1998) found that consumer
ethnocentrism is negatively related to foreign
product judgment and willingness to buy
foreign products. Balabanis and Diamantopou-
los (2004) found that consumer ethnocentrism
is positively related to consumer preferences
for domestic products.
The relationship between product quality
and consumer choices is well documented in
the literature on branding (e.g., Aaker, 1996;
Yoo et al., 2000). In developing countries like
Vietnam, product quality is perhaps the most
meaningful attribute for consumers because
those consumers tend to have experienced
low quality products manufactured by local
firms (Nguyen and Nguyen, 2004). However,
to evaluate the quality of a product is not
always an easy task. Often, consumers judge
the product based on their perception, which
is affected by several factors external to the
product (e.g., Pecotich and Rosenthal, 2001;
Klein, 2002). For example, country of origin
and country of production play a considerable
role in the perception of product attributes
(e.g., Peterson and Jolibert, 1995; Bruning,
1997; Ulgado and Lee, 1998; Knight, 1999;
Pecotich and Rosenthal, 2001; Kaynak and
Kara, 2002). These factors direct consumers in
developing countries toward favorable judg-
ments of imported products, reducing their
intention to purchase local products. There-
fore, the intention to buy local products by
consumers is influenced by both their ethno-
centric tendency and foreign product judg-
ments (Klein et al., 1998; Wang and Chen,
2004). Accordingly,
H1. A positive relationship between con-
sumer ethnocentrism and intention to
purchase local products is expected.
H2. A negative relationship between con-
sumer ethnocentrism and imported pro-
duct judgment is expected.
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Consumer ethnocentrism in Vietnam
H3. A negative relationship between
imported product judgment and intention
to purchase local products is expected.
Cultural sensitivity
Individuals in a society have different experi-
ences and attitudes toward the value and norms
of cultures different to their own. If members of
a culture have opportunities to be exposed to
individuals belonging to other cultures, their
prejudice against the difference of their own
culture from others tends to be lessened
(Sharma et al., 1995). This characteristic reflects
their cultural sensitivity, which refers to the
degree of awareness, understanding, and accep-
tance of the values of other cultures (e.g., Craig
and Douglas, 2000). Consumers with high levels
of cultural sensitivity are likely to accept the
differences between their own cultures and
other cultures. They are willing to learn from,
enjoy being with, and are less threatened by
people from other cultures (Loo and Shiomi,
1999). Accordingly, consumers with a high
degree of cultural sensitivity tend to evaluate
imported products more favorably than those
with a low degree of cultural sensitivity.
Research also shows that, when consumers
accept the difference in cultures and appreci-
ates the values of other cultures, their degree of
ethnocentric behavior is likely to decrease (e.g.,
Sharma et al., 1995). Therefore,
H4. A positive relationship between cul-
tural sensitivity and imported product
judgment is expected.
H5. A negative relationship between
cultural sensitivity and consumer ethno-
centrism is expected.
Moderating effects of product
categories and demographics
This study examines the moderating effects of
product categories (low involvement and high
involvement) and demographic characteristics
on the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
91
on both imported product judgment and
intention to purchase local products. Previous
research in advanced economies shows
that the degree of consumer ethnocentric
tendencies varies according to demographic
characteristics such as age, gender, educa-
tional level, and income, as well as product
category (e.g., Han, 1988; Sharma et al., 1995;
Keillor et al., 2001). For example, older people
and females are generally more conservative
and patriotic than younger people and males
(e.g., Han, 1988; Keillor et al., 2001), and they
strongly advocate local products (Bannister
and Saunders, 1978). In terms of ethnocentric
tendencies, Sharma et al. (1995) found a
significant difference between male and
female consumers but no significant difference
between younger and older consumers. They
also found that consumers with higher levels of
income and education exhibit significantly less
ethnocentric tendencies than consumers with
lower levels of income and education. How-
ever, Keillor et al. (2001), found differences
only for income level but not for education
level. In terms of product categories, the
impact of ethnocentric tendencies on product
judgment and purchase intention may vary
depending on how the product is perceived,
i.e., necessary or unnecessary (Balabanis
and Diamantopoulos, 2004). Sharma et al.
(1995) found that the effect of ethnocentric
tendencies is greater with imported products
that are perceived as unnecessary than with
those that are perceived as necessary. Overall,
it appears that product categories and con-
sumer demographic characteristics have an
impact on the degree of consumer ethno-
centric tendencies. Accordingly,
H6a. The impacts of consumer ethnocentr-
ism on both intention to purchase local
products and imported product judgment
are weaker for the high involvement
product category than for the low involve-
ment product category.
H6b. The impacts of consumer ethnocentr-
ism on both intention to purchase local
products and imported product judgment
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92
are weaker for male consumers than for
female consumers.
H6c. The impacts of consumer ethnocentr-
ism on both intention to purchase local
products and imported product judgment
are weaker for consumers with higher
education levels than for consumers with
lower education levels.
H6d. The impacts of consumer ethnocentr-
ism on both intention to purchase local
products and imported product judgment
are weaker for higher income consumers
than for lower income consumers.
H6e. The impacts of consumer ethnocentr-
ism on both intention to purchase local
products and imported product judgment
are weaker for younger consumers than
for older consumers.
Method
The design and sample
The research comprised two phases, a pilot
study and a main survey, and was conducted in
Ho Chi Minh City, the principal business
center of Vietnam. There were two product
categories: motorbikes and powdered milk.
Motorbikes are high involvement products
whilst powdered milk is a low involvement
product. These categories were chosen
because they represent a variety of products,
both locally made as well as imported. In
addition, the markets for these two product
categories are very competitive. The pilot
study was undertaken in two stages: qualitative
and quantitative. In-depth interviews were
used in the qualitative phase. There were 16
groups of consumers (4 demographics  2
categories  2 products) under investigation.
Therefore, 16 consumers were recruited by an
interviewer using a screening questionnaire. A
quantitative pilot survey was then undertaken
with a convenience sample of 120 consumers
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tho D. Nguyen et al.
of motorbikes and powdered milk. These pilot
studies were used to modify and refine the
scale items.
The main study was conducted using quota
sampling. Respondents were selected based
on two screening questions: (1) whether
the respondents were the decision makers in
purchasing the products (i.e., motorbike for
the motorbike sample and powdered milk
or the milk sample); and, (2) whether the
respondents had a job. The control charac-
teristics were age and income. It is noted
that the study targeted only respondents aged
from 21 to 45 (younger: 21–30; older: 31–45).
Interviewers distributed the questionnaire
to respondents with instructions of how to
complete the questionnaire. In order to mini-
mize possible response bias, instructions
also emphasized that the study only focused
on the respondents’ personal opinions.
There were no right or wrong answers.
After completing the questionnaire, inter-
viewers were responsible for checking and
collecting it. The purpose of the main
study was to assess the scales and test the
models.
Structural equation modeling (SEM), using
the AMOS 5 program, was used to analyze the
data. Based on the rule of five observations
per parameter estimated (e.g., Bollen, 1989),
the sample size needed for testing the
overall model was 180 (there were 36 free
parameters). However, in the multi-group
analysis, the following groups were used:
product (motorbikes and powdered milk),
gender (male and female), age (younger and
older), income (low and high), and education
level (with and without a bachelor degree).
The highest number of free parameters was
72. Based on this, the minimum size of the
sample required for each group was 180,
and the minimum size of the sample was
360. However, to ensure the required size,
it was decided to target a sample of 560
(280 each). Among the 560 questionnaires
administered, 11 were not useable due to the
high number of missing values. Consequently,
the final sample size was 549. Table 1
presents the sample characteristics.
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Consumer ethnocentrism in Vietnam 93

Table 1. Distribution of the sample (number of respondents)

Product Gender Age Income/month Education level

Female Male 21–30 31–45 <$US 120 $US 120 <bachelor bachelor

Motorbikes 292 125 167 186 106 152 140 101 191
Powdered milk 257 182 75 127 130 84 173 85 172
Total 549 307 242 313 236 236 313 186 363

Measurement Results
Four constructs were examined: consumer The measurement models
ethnocentrism (CET), cultural sensitivity
Cronbach’s alpha and CFA were used to assess
(CSE), imported product judgment (IPJ), and
local product purchase intention (LPI). CSE the measures of constructs based on the data
collected from the main survey. The Cron-
was measured by five items based upon Loo
bach’s alphas of CSE, CET, IPJ, and LPI were
and Shiomi (1999), asking consumers about
0.66, 0.72, 0.81, and 0.67, respectively. The
their attitudes towards foreign cultures. CET
CFA results of the final measurement model
was measured by six items based upon Klein
et al. (1998). These items addressed the indicate that the model received an acceptable
fit to the data: x2(112) ¼ 146.31 ( p ¼ 0.016);
attitudes of consumers towards the purchase
of imported products. IPJ was measured by GFI ¼ 0.969; CFI ¼ 0.982; RMSEA ¼ 0.024; and
RMR ¼ 0.046. However, two items had low
four items based on Klein et al. (1998). These
items asked consumers about their percep- factor loadings (<0.50; one of the CSE scale
and the other of the CET scale). Therefore,
tions of quality, production technology, and
these two items were deleted from further
value of the product. Finally, LPI was measured
analysis. After deleting these two items, the
by three items based upon Han (1988), asking
final measurement model had a good fit to the
consumers about the likelihood of their
purchasing the local product. data: x2(83) ¼ 95.17 ( p ¼ 0.17); GFI ¼ 0.977;
CFI ¼ 0.993; RMSEA ¼ 0.016; and RMR ¼ 0.043.
The scales were first refined using Cron-
bach’s alpha and exploratory factor analysis In addition, all factor loadings were significant
and substantial (0.50). Therefore, it can be
(EFA) from the pilot sample of 120 consumers.
The results indicate that one item in the CET concluded that these measures were satisfac-
tory with the requirement for convergent
scale was deleted due to its low item-total
correlation (0.20). Other items of the scales validity. Also, the correlations between con-
structs, together with their standard errors,
used had satisfactory item-total correlations
indicated that the discriminant validity was
(>0.30) as well as Cronbach’s alpha (>0.70)
achieved (e.g., Steenkamp and van Trijp, 1991)
(Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994). The EFA
(Table 2).
extracted four factors at an eigenvalue of
1.56 and 58.80 per cent variance extracted. In
addition, all factor loadings were greater than
Results in the structural models:
0.50. In conclusion, the refining step indicates
testing the main effects
that all items measuring the constructs were
satisfactory. Consequently, they were used The SEM results indicate that the proposed
for the main survey (see Appendix A for the model received good fit to the data: x2(84) ¼
scale items). 99.56 ( p ¼ 0.118); GFI ¼ 0.976, CFI ¼ 0.991,

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Jan.–Feb. 2008
DOI: 10.1002/cb
94 Tho D. Nguyen et al.

Table 2. Correlations (r) between constructs with between cultural sensitivity and consumer
standard error (se) ethnocentrism was in the expected direction,
but failed to reach statistical significance
Relationships r(se) ()1r Critical
ratio (1r)
(g2 ¼ 0.09, p > 0.15). Therefore, H5 was
not supported.
CSE $ IPJ 0.13 (.059) 0.87 14.79
LPI $ IPJ 0.33 (0.064) 0.67 10.38
LPI $ CET 0.38 (0.077) 0.62 8.12
CSE $ CET 0.10 (0.063) 0.90 14.32 Results of multi-group analysis:
LPI $ CSE 0.05 (0.061) 0.95 15.53 testing the moderating effects
CET $ IPJ 0.13 (0.057) 0.87 15.43
To test the moderating effects of product
categories and consumer demographic charac-
teristics (age, gender, income, and education
levels) on the relationships between consumer
RMSEA ¼ 0.018; and RMR ¼ 0.047. It is noted ethnocentrism and imported product judg-
that all factor loadings on the latent constructs ment, and between consumer ethnocentrism
were significant and substantial (0.50), and and intention to purchase local products, the
no improper solutions were found in any multi-group analysis in SEM was employed. It is
results of the tests (Heywood cases were noted that there were two groups for each
absent; all standardized residuals were less moderating variable, i.e., product (motorbike
than j2.58j (Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1996). The and powdered milk), age (younger and older),
standardized estimates of structural paths are gender (female and male), income (high and
shown in Table 3. low), and education levels (with and without a
Consistent with H1, consumer ethnocentr- bachelor degree). Two stages of analysis were
ism was found to be positively associated undertaken (Bollen, 1989). Firstly, these two
with intention to purchase local products samples were used to estimate the paths
(b1 ¼ 0.34, p < 0.001). H2 posits a negative with no structural paths constrained (i.e.,
relationship between consumer ethnocentr- the paths between consumer ethnocentrism
ism and imported product judgment. This and imported product judgment, and between
hypothesis was also supported (b2 ¼ 0.12, consumer ethnocentrism and intention to
p < 0.05). H3, which proposes a negative purchase local products). Next, constraints
relationship between imported product judg- were imposed for these structural paths for
ment and intention to purchase local products, both groups, i.e., they were set to be equal for
was also supported (b3 ¼ 0.29, p < 0.001). both groups. It is noted that no constraints
H4 posits a positive relationship between were set for the measurement models (partial
cultural sensitivity and imported product invariance).
judgment. This hypothesis was also supported The results of the multi-group analysis
(g1 ¼ 0.12, p < 0.05). Finally, the relationship indicate that no difference was found in the
two models (variant and invariant) in terms of
product categories (motorbike and powdered
Table 3. Standardized structural paths
milk) (Dx2 ¼ 3.54, Ddf ¼ 2, p > 0.17); in terms
Structural Estimate p-value of gender of consumers (female and male)
path (standard error) (Dx2 ¼ 0.04, Ddf ¼ 2, p > 0.81); in terms of
income level (low and high) (Dx2 ¼ 0.01,
H1(b1): CET ! LPI 0.34 (0.066) 0.000 Ddf ¼ 2, p > 0.95); and, in terms of education
H2(b2): CET ! IPJ 0.12 (0.056) 0.037 levels (non-bachelor and bachelor or post-
H3(b3): IPJ ! LPI 0.29 (0.059) 0.000
H4(g1): CSE ! IPJ 0.12 (0.058) 0.047
graduate) (Dx2 ¼ 0.28, Ddf ¼ 2, p > 0.96). Con-
H5(g2): CSE ! CET 0.09 (0.061) 0.152 sequently, hypotheses H6a, H6b, H6c, and H6d
were not supported.

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Jan.–Feb. 2008
DOI: 10.1002/cb
Consumer ethnocentrism in Vietnam
Nevertheless, in terms of age, the results
reveal that significant differences were found
between age groups of consumers (Dx2 ¼
10.12, Ddf ¼ 2, p < 0.01). It is also noted that
chi-square statistics are sensitive to sample size
(Bollen, 1989). Therefore, other model fit
indices (NFI, RFI, IFI, and TLI) were also
compared. A closer inspection of the structural
paths reveals that the relationship between
consumer ethnocentrism and imported pro-
duct judgment was significant in the older
group (b2older ¼ 0.26, p < 0.001). However,
this relationship was not significant in the
younger group (b2younger ¼ 0.07, p > 0.33).
Further, the relationship between consumer
ethnocentrism and intention to purchase local
products was weaker in the younger group
(b1younger ¼ 0.23, p < 0.01) than in the older
one (b1older ¼ 0.27, p < 0.001). Also, compared
to the results of the full sample, the role of
consumer ethnocentrism in both imported
product judgment and intention to purchase
local products appeared to be strongest in
the older group. These findings supported
hypothesis H6e (Table 4).
Discussion and implications
A particular focus of this study is to examine
the role of consumer ethnocentrism and
cultural sensitivity in the judgment of imported
products as well as the intention to purchase
local products by Vietnamese consumers.
Comparisons among different product cate-
gories and different demographic groups of
consumers are also investigated. The analysis is
based on a sample of 549 consumers in the
Table 4. Unstandardized structural paths: comparison between younger and older consumers
Group Structural path
Full sample CET ! LPI b1full
CET ! IPJ b2full
Younger group CET ! LPI b1younger
CET ! IPJ b2younger
Older group CET ! LPI b1older
CET ! IPJ b2older
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Jan.–Feb. 2008
95
main business center of Vietnam—Ho Chi
Minh City. Consistent with previous research
in advanced economies (e.g., Shimp and
Sharma, 1987; Balabanis and Diamantopoulos,
2004), consumer ethnocentrism positively
impacts the intention to purchase local pro-
ducts by Vietnamese consumers. In addition,
significant and negative relationships between
consumer ethnocentrism and imported pro-
duct judgment, and between imported pro-
duct judgment and intention to purchase
local products exist. These findings indicate
that, not only does consumer ethnocentrism
have a direct effect, but it also has an indirect
effect, on the intention to purchase local
products by Vietnamese consumers.
Research shows that consumers in devel-
oped countries are likely to perceive local
products as having higher quality than those
that are imported (e.g., Damanpour, 1993;
Elliot and Cameron, 1994). Therefore, ethno-
centric tendencies of consumers are positively
related to the preference for local products
(e.g., Shimp and Sharma, 1987; Sharma et al.,
1995). It is also argued that, in the developing
world, the reverse may be true because those
consumers tend to perceive local products as
being of lower quality (e.g., Agbonifoh and
Elimimian, 1999; Batra et al., 2000). However,
the findings of this study verify that, not only in
advanced economies but also in developing
countries, consumer ethnocentrism plays an
important role in the likelihood of purchasing
local products.
The findings in the multi-group analysis also
indicate that no differences between product
categories, gender, income, and education
levels of consumers exist. Nevertheless, a
Estimate (standard error) p-value
0.23 (0.044) 0.000
0.11 (0.051) 0.037
0.23 (0.078) 0.003
0.07 (0.074) 0.336
0.27 (0.071) 0.000
0.26 (0.076) 0.000
DOI: 10.1002/cb
96
difference is found in terms of age group. In
the older group, ethnocentrism does affect
imported product judgment whereas it has no
influence in the younger group. It is also noted
that, ethnocentrism has the same role in
purchase intention, even though the effect is
somewhat weaker in the younger group.
Similar to the previous results found in
developed economies, the moderating effects
of consumer demographics vary. For example,
the findings of this study disagree with those
found in Sharma et al. (1995) where gender,
income, and education levels are correlated,
but age is not correlated, with consumer
ethnocentrism.
These findings suggest a number of implica-
tions for local as well as international managers
in planning marketing strategies, especially
positioning strategies in the Vietnamese mar-
ket. Managers should understand that con-
sumer ethnocentrism does translate into bias
for imported products. Therefore, traditional
marketing tools such as sales promotions,
price promotions, and brand advertisements
will not be sufficient for attracting highly
ethnocentric consumers. Instead, strategies
that take into account the role of consumer
ethnocentrism are more appropriate. Market-
ing programs of imported products should
convey to Vietnamese consumers that the
consumption of imported products is not
harmful to the economy in order to reduce
such a bias.
For local mangers, the findings of this study
suggest that brand positioning strategies based
heavily on the physical attributes of brands are
no longer suitable. Such positioning strategies
may create serious problems for local brands in
the market since Vietnamese consumers often
consider imported products to have superior
quality to the local products (Nguyen and
Nguyen, 2004). Consequently, positioning
strategies which focus on consumer ethno-
centric tendencies may be more appropriate in
persuading highly ethnocentric consumers to
purchase local products.
Finally, previous research has shown that
consumers in the emerging world are willing
to participate in, and be perceived as, members
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tho D. Nguyen et al.
of the global consumer community (Venkatesh
and Swamy, 1994; Batra et al., 2000). The
findings of this study show that cultural
sensitivity has a positive impact on imported
product judgment. This implies that consu-
mers with a high level of cultural sensitivity
tend to evaluate imported products more
highly. Therefore, foreign exporters should
convey to Vietnamese consumers that sensi-
tivity to foreign cultures is a means to become
members of the global community.
Limitations and directions for
future research
This study has a number of limitations. Firstly,
only two product categories (motorbikes and
powdered milk) were investigated, and no
difference was found in these two types of
product. However, these two products are
necessities for Vietnamese consumers. There-
fore, other product categories, particularly,
luxury products, should be examined in future
research. Results found in such studies will
make it possible to undertake comparisons
with findings in other countries (e.g., Hud-
dleston et al., 2001). Secondly, this study was
conducted only in Ho Chi Minh City, the most
prosperous area in Vietnam. Consumers in
rural areas of the country may exhibit different
attitudes toward the consumption of imported
products. Moreover, a quota sample is used in
this study. Consequently, the generalizability
of the findings will be possible if a nation-wide
random sample is utilized in future research. In
addition, consumers from different cultures
can exhibit different levels of ethnocentric
tendencies and cultural sensitivity. Therefore,
cross-cultural studies involving other develop-
ing countries should be undertaken. Finally,
other factors may contribute to the intention to
purchase local products by Vietnamese con-
sumers. For example, country-of-origin, ani-
mosity (Klein et al., 1998), and individual
achievement orientation (Ross et al., 2003),
which have been extensively studied in other
countries, are largely ignored in Vietnam. This
should also be addressed in future research.
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Jan.–Feb. 2008
DOI: 10.1002/cb
Consumer ethnocentrism in Vietnam
Biographical notes
Tho D. Nguyen (PhD, UTS; E-mail: tho.
nguyen@uts.edu.au/ndtho@ueh.edu.vn) is
Associated Professor of Marketing, University
of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and
Honorary Associate, School of Marketing,
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
His works have been published in Advances
in International Marketing, International
Business Review, Journal of International
Marketing, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics, among others.
Trang T. M. Nguyen (PhD, UTS; E-mail:
mai.ntmt2001@gmail.com) is Lecturer in Mar-
keting, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam. Her works have been
published in Advances in International Mar-
keting, Journal of Customer Behaviour, Asia
Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics,
among others.
Nigel J. Barrett (PhD, UNSW; E-mail: nigel.
barrett@uts.edu.au) is Associate Professor of
Marketing, School of Marketing, University of
Technology, Sydney, Australia. His works have
been published in Advances in International
Marketing, International Marketing Manage-
ment, among others.
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Consumer ethnocentrism in Vietnam
Appendix A: Scale items
(d: deleted items)
Cultural sensitivity (CSE)
v1. I enjoy participating in cultural events of
people whose cultures differ with Vietna-
mese culture
v2. I believe that the influence of foreign
cultures doesn’t threaten Vietnamese cul-
ture (d)
v3. In my opinion, people coming from differ-
ent cultures should not isolate themselves
from each other
v4. In my opinion, people in this world are
basically the same
v5. I enjoy studying other cultures that differ
from my own culture
Consumer ethnocentrism (CET)
v6. Buying imported products is not a cor-
rect activity for Vietnamese (d)
v7. Buying imported products causes Vietna-
mese people to lose jobs
v8. True Vietnamese should always buy pro-
ducts made in Vietnam
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
99
v9. Buying imported products helps foreign
nations get rich
v10. Buying imported products damages local
businesses
Imported product judgment (IPJ)
v11. Imported motorbikes have higher quality
than those made in Vietnam
v12. Production technology employed to pro-
duce imported motorbikes is more
advanced than that employed to produce
motorbikes in Vietnam
v13. Imported motorbikes are more reliable
than those made in Vietnam
v14. Imported motorbikes are better value for
money than those made in Vietnam
Intention to purchase local products
(LPI)
v15. If buying a motorbike, I will not buy an
imported one
v16. I always buy motorbikes made in Vietnam
v17. I only buy imported motorbikes when
local products are not available
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Jan.–Feb. 2008
DOI: 10.1002/cb
 100

Copyright
#
Appendix B: Correlation/covariance matrix of items

Mean SD v01 v02 v03 v04 v05 v06 v07 v08 v09 v10 v11 v12 v13 v14 v15 v16 v17

v01 4.36 0.919 0.845 0.259 0.291 0.204 0.366 S0.006 S0.059 S0.065 S0.111 S0.080 0.032 0.096 0.016 0.028 S0.011 S0.008 0.086
v02 3.67 1.204 0.234 1.449 0.380 0.241 0.200 S0.080 S0.054 S0.066 S0.061 S0.003 0.041 0.108 0.060 0.066 0.023 S0.016 0.068

2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

v03 4.37 0.942 0.337 0.335 0.887 0.358 0.334 S0.095 S0.040 S0.083 S0.075 S0.071 0.067 0.122 0.006 0.062 S0.001 S0.009 0.050
v04 4.30 0.985 0.225 0.204 0.386 0.970 0.269 S0.110 S0.036 S0.004 S0.003 S0.025 0.047 0.078 0.039 0.047 0.017 0.013 0.075
v05 4.12 1.002 0.397 0.165 0.354 0.273 1.005 S0.112 S0.018 S0.023 0.011 S0.061 0.036 0.139 0.053 0.057 0.024 0.051 0.118
v06 2.46 1.250 S0.005 S0.053 S0.081 S0.090 S0.090 1.563 0.550 0.538 0.398 0.230 S0.023 S0.116 S0.036 S0.069 0.103 0.118 0.069
v07 2.87 1.408 S0.046 S0.032 S0.030 S0.026 S0.013 0.312 1.984 0.619 0.870 0.757 S0.115 S0.129 S0.151 S0.063 0.134 0.263 0.230
v08 2.45 1.251 S0.057 S0.044 S0.070 S0.004 S0.018 0.344 0.351 1.565 0.695 0.354 S0.069 S0.088 S0.055 S0.021 0.297 0.426 0.306
v09 2.79 1.310 S0.092 S0.039 S0.061 S0.003 0.009 0.243 0.472 0.424 1.715 0.645 S0.091 S0.144 S0.077 S0.009 0.119 0.363 0.230
v10 2.74 1.220 S0.071 S0.002 S0.062 S0.021 S0.050 0.151 0.440 0.232 0.404 1.489 S0.087 S0.112 S0.079 0.034 0.140 0.202 0.169
v11 3.77 1.108 0.031 0.031 0.064 0.043 0.032 S0.016 S0.074 S0.050 S0.063 S0.064 1.227 0.692 0.724 0.552 S0.118 S0.249 S0.129
v12 3.95 1.077 0.097 0.084 0.120 0.074 0.129 S0.086 S0.085 S0.065 S0.102 S0.085 0.580 1.160 0.744 0.558 S0.153 S0.301 S0.127
v13 3.61 1.157 0.015 0.043 0.005 0.034 0.046 S0.025 S0.092 S0.038 S0.051 S0.056 0.565 0.597 1.338 0.659 S0.252 S0.347 S0.197
v14 3.34 1.149 0.026 0.048 0.057 0.042 0.050 S0.048 S0.039 S0.014 S0.006 0.024 0.434 0.451 0.496 1.319 S0.163 S0.230 S0.123
v15 2.62 1.180 S0.010 0.016 S0.001 0.014 0.021 0.070 0.081 0.201 0.077 0.097 S0.090 S0.121 S0.185 S0.120 1.393 0.657 0.527
v16 2.66 1.225 S0.007 S0.011 S0.008 0.011 0.041 0.077 0.153 0.278 0.226 0.135 S0.183 S0.228 S0.245 S0.163 0.454 1.502 0.692
v17 3.11 1.321 0.071 0.042 0.040 0.057 0.089 0.042 0.124 0.185 0.133 0.105 S0.088 S0.089 S0.129 S0.081 0.338 0.428 1.744

SD: Standard deviation. Covariances are above the diagonal; variances are on the diagonal and correlations are below the diagonal.

Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Jan.–Feb. 2008

DOI: 10.1002/cb
Tho D. Nguyen et al.