Examining the animosity model in a country with a high level of foreign trade

Abstract

Much research relating to consumer attitudes toward foreign products has been conducted in large industrialized countries, with big internal markets and a wide range of domestic brands. Little attention has been paid to the case of countries with high levels of foreign trade where, in some product markets, no domestic brands or alternatives are available and hence consumers have no choice but to purchase foreign brands in that product category. The lack of domestic brands is, however, likely to affect feelings of ethnocentrism, nationality and animosity as well as attitudes towards the purchase of foreign products. This study examines consumer attitudes towards the purchase of foreign cars and TVs in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is viewed as a prototypical example of a country with high levels of foreign trade, well integrated into the global economy. In one category—cars, there are no domestic brands, while for TVs, Philips, a Dutch multinational, holds major market share. The results show that consumer ethnocentrism and feelings of animosity have an important impact on the evaluation of foreign products, even when no domestic brands are available.