The role of consumer ethnocentrism on boycott behaviour: What if a domestic business behaves egregiously?

Abstract

AbstractAlthough there is an extensive body of literature on ethnocentrism and boycott behaviour toward foreign products, this study focuses on how consumer behaviours with ethnocentric tendencies are affected by a boycott movement caused by an egregious act committed by a domestic business. The results show that although consumers tend to boycott strongly, given the egregious acts of a domestic business, their boycott behaviour is largely eliminated by ethnocentric sentiments. Therefore, no matter how the extent of the egregious act, ethnocentric tendencies seem to cause consumers to lose their sensitivity toward that kind of behaviour and to change their consumption preferences accordingly.