Regional Ethnocentrism on the Food Market as a Pattern of Sustainable Consumption

Paweł Bryła

doi:10.3390/su11226408

Abstract

The paper aims to assess the level and predictors of regional ethnocentrism on the market of regional food products in the context of sustainable consumption. The study contributes to the theory of consumer ethnocentrism by extending our knowledge about its regional dimension. Regional ethnocentrism is the preference for products originating from the consumer’s region. I conducted a survey in a representative sample of 1000 inhabitants of Poland with the use of the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) methodology. Regional ethnocentric consumers were characterized by a significantly more favorable attitude to regional food products compared to the rest of the sample. In a multiple regression model, the following eight statistically significant predictors of the regional ethnocentrism were identified: the importance of brand and retailer trust on the food market; the importance of quality signs in regional food purchases; opinion that insufficient marketing constitutes an important barrier to the development of the regional food market; buying regional products in shops owned by producers, rather than large distribution networks; frequency of purchasing regional products as a tourist; and national ethnocentrism on the regional food market. These predictors are strongly related to the three major pillars of sustainable development—economic, social, and ecological.

Highlights

Sustainable consumption and production are identified as essential requirements for sustainable development [1,2]
The importance attached to the product originating from the consumer’s region is higher for regional food than for organic food or conventional food (Table 2)
Preferring regional products from one’s own region may be considered a sign of regional ethnocentrism

Summary

Introduction

Sustainable consumption and production are identified as essential requirements for sustainable development [1,2]. More sustainable food consumption can be stimulated through raising involvement, perceived consumer effectiveness, certainty, social norms, and perceived availability [7]. Ecological citizenship is a driving force for “alternative” sustainable consumption expressed by purchasing local organic food [15]. Consumers, and other actors can act to improve food sustainable and anti-consumption behaviors by embodying alternatives to conventional food systems [17]. Access to sustainable food is not necessarily determined by financial means only, nor by individual attitudes, but should be analyzed as embedded in the complex dynamics of multiple social practices [19]. I argue that the preference for food products originating from one’s own region (called regional ethnocentrism) constitutes a pattern of sustainable consumption

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion