Comparing consumer innovativeness and ethnocentrism of young-adult consumers

Abstract

The impact of globalization on consumer behavior across demographic cohorts remains important for international marketers balancing standardization–adaptation challenges. The purpose of this paper is to compare young-adult consumers in the Western Balkans (Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia) and China. The study focuses on consumer innovativeness and consumer ethnocentrism, as two critical aspects for marketers catering to young-adult consumers (18–30years). Despite cultural differences, young-adult consumers in all four markets display high levels of consumer innovativeness and low levels of consumer ethnocentrism. The results show a weak but significantly positive pair-wise correlation between consumer innovativeness and consumer ethnocentrism in Slovenia and Macedonia, contrary to empirical evidence from adults. The study offers theoretical implications related to Global consumer acculturation theory and Social identity theory, as well as implications for marketers seeking to utilize growing China–CEE cooperation.