A meta-analysis of consumer ethnocentrism across 57 countries

Abstract

The concept of consumer ethnocentrism was introduced more than 30 years ago, and since then it has received keen interest among academic researchers. However, empirical evidence in published studies has been inconclusive and many macro-drivers of consumer ethnocentrism received cursory attention. This study meta-analyses 240 studies from 57 countries and tries to understand the key drivers of consumer ethnocentrism. The results indicate that consumer ethnocentrism is a universal phenomenon and is driven by culture and the interaction of economic and ethnic diversity variables. Challenging popular beliefs, the findings suggest that neither globalization nor economic threats are unconditional drivers of consumer ethnocentrism. Their effects are conditional on cultural values and economic situation. Results provide evidence that multi-ethnic societies tend to be more consumer ethnocentric when the culture of a country is not strong in egalitarianism. Finally, the paper presents evidence that consumer ethnocentrism affects the imports of consumer goods in a country.