Consumer ethnocentrism and attitudes towards local products: A case of Kenyan consumers

Abstract

This paper entails a study that was conducted to investigate the existence of consumer ethnocentrismand the attitudes towards locally made products among Kenyan consumers. The study is founded onthe different perspectives of consumer attitudes towards domestic and foreign made products. Thesample for this study was drawn from adult customers who live in Nairobi. Altogether, the studysampled 385 respondents to whom questionnaires were distributed and, 315 completed and returnedfor analysis. The consumer ethnocentric tendency was measured using the consumer ethnocentrismscale developed by Shimp and Sharma in 1987 while consumer attitude was measured using a scalederived from the literature. Cronbach’s Alpha values of each construct confirmed that a good reliabilityexisted, hence appropriate to make inferences. Principle component analysis was employed todetermine the important factors affecting consumer attitudes. Four components were identified throughconfirmatory factor analyses which were labelled as: Patriotism; Economic Impact; Foreign Products;and, Made in Kenya Attitude. A structural equation model was developed showing the relationshipsbetween consumer ethnocentrism components and attitude towards made in Kenya products. Consistentwith other African studies, it was found that the Kenyan consumers were not ethnocentric. They werehowever concerned with the impact of foreign products to the economy and especially on employment.On the other hand, Kenyans were found to be xenocentric (preference for foreign made products.