Bangladeshi Consumers Research Articles

The Effect of Country of Origin Image, Ethnocentrism, and Religiosity on Purchase Intentions: An Empirical Investigation on Bangladeshi Consumers

This research endeavour was undertaken in order to understand the effect of three different aspects namely, Country of Origin, Ethnocentrism, and Religiosity on Bangladeshi consumers' intention of purchasing imported or foreign products. At the initial stage of the study, 260 questionnaires were given out to Bangladeshi consumers in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong. However, out of the 260 questionnaires, 230 were validated and tested for the purpose of statistical analysis. Descriptive analysis was conducted first in order to assess the demographic characteristics of the respondents, after which, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted, and finally, the hypotheses were tested, and the proposed model was verified through the application of structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings demonstrated that Country of Origin Image, Ethnocentrism, and Religiosity significantly affected Bangladeshi consumers' intention of buying imported products. The findings generated from this study will provide useful information to marketers who are selling imported or foreign products in the Bangladeshi market as well as help them in developing effective marketing strategies. At the same time, this study is also a meaningful contribution to literature, given the scarcity of research studies on this topic pertaining to Bangladesh.

Purchase Intention of Foreign Products

The current research aims to investigate various factors that influence consumers’ intention of buying foreign products. The data were collected by means of self-structured questionnaires from a total of 260 Bangladeshi consumers residing in the two major cities of the country, Dhaka and Chittagong. At the initial stage, statistical analyses, particularly descriptive analysis as well as exploratory factor analysis, were conducted using SPSS, after which structural equation modeling was run by using AMOS. The findings have established that brand image and quality of foreign products carry significant positive influence on purchase intention of foreign products. However, religiosity leaves a significant negative effect on the purchase intention of foreign products. Furthermore, findings have also revealed that the image of the country of origin carries a significant positive effect on brand image but ethnocentrism carries a significant negative effect on perceptions about the quality of foreign products in their purchase intention. The major contribution of the current study is that it focuses on Bangladesh, as there is a vacuum in contemporary literature on this topic in the context of Bangladeshi consumers. The findings derived from the study could facilitate marketers in the creation of effective marketing strategies and at the same time are also valuable for academicians as well as consumers at large.

Driving Factors Affecting Users Acceptance Towards Mobile Value Added Services in Bangladesh

Mobile technology services are growing very fast in different countries while it is relatively slow in others. This study tries to understand the factors that contribute to the use intention of these mobile value added services (MVAS) in Bangladesh. Drawing from the Technology Acceptance Model, this study develops a model for consumers’ use acceptance towards mobile values added services. Based on a sample of 230 Bangladeshi consumers’ survey, the main factors of use intention towards MVAS are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, perceived risk, and perceived enjoyment. This study also finds that among different MVAS internet browsing, and MMS and SMS services are more popular use than others with different interest among different gender, age, and occupation. Overall findings of this study provide some contribution to the researchers in the area of mobile commerce and some assistance to practitioners in articulating better strategies to retain current MVAS users as well as potential customers.

The prevalence of ethnocentric tendencies in Bangladesh

Purpose – This paper aims to argue that the traditional belief that “consumer ethnocentrism is a phenomenon of the developed countries only” is no longer true. To establish this argument, our study assesses the applicability of the Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale (CETSCALE) in Bangladesh by judging the unidimensionality feature of the same. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on sample of 788 respondents collected from 27 border and non-border districts of Bangladesh. Findings – Statistically significant results show that for the consumers of border and non-border districts, the original CETSCALE is, to a great extent, applicable as those groups have shown positive attitudes in retaining 12-14 items out of the 17 items of the original scale. However, the groups and the respondents as a whole did not agree with the unidimensionality feature of the CETSCALE. Practical implications – The results of the study show that Bangladeshi consumers prefer to see “Made in Bangladesh” tags when buying consumer products – a significant potential threat that the multinational companies need to address while planning to expand business in Bangladesh. Originality/value – This type of rigorous study on Bangladesh has never been done before. Moreover, the study identifies the difference in ethnocentric behavior of the consumers living in border and non-border areas – a study of ethnocentrism from a different point of view.

Understanding Consumer Ethnocentrism in Developing Countries: Case Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This article argues that the traditional belief that “consumer ethnocentrism is a phenomenon of developed countries only” is no longer true. To establish this argument, our study assesses the applicability of the Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale (CETSCALE) to Bangladesh by judging the unidimensionality feature of the same. The methodology is based on a sample of 788 respondents collected from 27 districts in Bangladesh. Statistically significant results show that for three chosen sociodemographic groups, namely, students, job holders, and businesspersons, the original CETSCALE is to a large extent applicable as those groups have shown positive attitudes in retaining 12 to 14 items of the 17 items of the original scale. However, the groups and the respondents as a whole did not agree with the unidimensionality feature of the CETSCALE. Moreover, the results of the study show that Bangladeshi consumers in greater extent prefer to see “Made in Bangladesh” tags when buying consumer products that Bangladeshi businesses can produce locally—a significant potential threat to international business that multinational companies need to address.

Firms Commitment And Brand Image And Their Impact On Experience Marketing: Developing Countrys Perspective

This research applied exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to investigate the experience marketing philosophy on service providers within the context of Bangladeshi consumers. The findings confirmed that there is a strong relationship between brand images towards experience marketing when physical context of a firm plays a mediating role. This research opens up opportunities for managers to identify significant factors those are linked towards building experience marketing.

Investigation of Consumer Attitudes, Intentions and Brand Loyal Behavior on the OTC Drugs in Bangladesh

Aims: To investigate the consumers’ attitudes and intentions to exhibit brand loyal behavior of Bangladeshi consumer on over the counter (OTC) drugs. Study Design: A cross- sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: Consumers from the five major hospitals (Dhaka, Bangladesh) had been surveyed between January 2012 and June 2012. Methodology: The study was conducted among 100 OTC consumers in Bangladesh. Data were collected through questionnaire surveys and personal interviews. Results: The experimental data suggest that direct experience with the product, price range and brand reliance are important determinants of repetitive purchase behavior on OTC drugs. Cost sensitivity had a vital effect on intention to further purchase (r = .02, p =0.05). Moreover, earlier experience with the brand was critical in determining trustworthiness, beliefs, price sensitivity and purchase behavior. The behaviors of OTC consumers are influenced by a different set of factors. Previous experience and price sensitivity is dependent (Chi square = 31.603; p = 0.01. Furthermore, medical experience and buying an OTC product is dependent and the result were also found significant (Chi square = 32.292; p = 0.01). Conclusion: Present study shows that branding and prior experience remains the major influences to buy an OTC drug in Bangladesh.

Optimal Return Period to Encourage the Online Shopping Tendency of Potential Bangladeshi Consumers

Return policy is a promising catalyst to attract shoppers towards online purchasing since it compensates the dilemma of not examining the products physically before ordering. Objective of this research is to estimate an approximate return period expected by the potential Bangladeshi online shoppers to get rid of the inertia to go for adopting such recent shopping channel. Feasibility of that return period was also analyzed from retailers' point of view to determine an optimal value. An anonymous questionnaire was designed for data collection used in the survey conducted at random locations of Dhaka city during January and February, 2013 covering 120 participants aged above 20 years old, with Internet competency. The findings show that, a maximum of 30 days return period would be optimal for both consumers and retailers.

Effect of Consumer Ethnocentrism and Country-of-Origin Image: An Overview of Bangladeshi Consumers’ Perception Towards Foreign Banks

Survival of any business depends on its customers’ acceptability. Due to increased globalization the customer base is not limited to domestic market but also international market. This requires managers to have better insight about consumer perception and behavior to predict the foreign market entry acceptance. Among many variables ethnocentrism and country of origin are two variables that worry many marketers for having influential effect on consumer perception. Although, many studies concentrated on consumer ethnocentrism and country-of-origin cues for product base but very few research has been carried out to analyze its effects on services. The target of this research paper is to measure intensiveness and effects of ethnocentrism and country-of-origin image towards foreign brands in Bangladesh market. A thorough literature review has been done to identify the main determinants of ethnocentrism and country-of-origin image. Qualitative approach was employed in this research work by interview to gain understanding about consumer perception towards foreign and domestic services. This research contributes to the area of marketing by providing useful insights about the key determinants, namely country-of-origin image and ethnocentrism, which affect foreign-service quality evaluation and purchase. It also offers recommendations for practitioners and limitations to be avoided in future research.

Developing a Taste for Coffee: Bangladesh, Nescafé, and Australian Student Photographers

Developing a Taste for Coffee: Bangladesh, Nescafé, and Australian Student Photographers

Consumer sentiment towards marketing in Bangladesh

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the overall attitudes of consumers in Bangladesh toward marketing. The paper also empirically tests for associations between consumer attitudes toward marketing, satisfaction with marketing mix and perception of government regulation in least developing countries (LDCs) using the structural equations modelling.Design/methodology/approachA multi‐stage cluster sample of 600 consumers was surveyed to measure consumer sentiment toward marketing in Bangladesh and to test the theoretical model. Data were analyzed using analysis of variances and structural equations modelling.FindingsThe study found Bangladeshi consumers are aggregately more unfavourable towards marketing practices in comparison to transitional countries and less unfavourable in comparison to developed ones. The marketing sentiment scale showed evidence of divergent, convergent and predictive validity. The results from the structural equation paths provided evidence that associations do exist between attitudes toward marketing, satisfaction and government regulation variables. The study also revealed that there were no significant differences in attitude towards government regulation with respect to various demographics variables.Research limitations/implicationsThis is the first such research carried out in an LDC, similar studies need to be carried out in other LDCs to validate the findings further.Practical implicationsIt gives an insight into the mind of the Bangladeshi consumers. It can be useful for marketers in designing effective marketing programs and positioning of existing and future products in LDCs.Originality/valueThis is the first measurement of consumer sentiment towards marketing in a LDC. In addition, the study empirically provides evidence for researchers and practitioners that significant associations do exist between consumer attitudes toward marketing, satisfaction and government regulation variables.

A Study on the Consumer'S Behavior of Bashundara City (One of the Largest Shopping Mall in the South Asia)

This paper can help us to understand the Bangladeshi Consumer's Behavior through studying the Consumer's Behavior of th largest shopping-mall of the country. It will help us to know about the biases of Consumer's preferences to a product or service.

Consumers’ country‐of‐origin (COO) perceptions of imported products in a homogenous less‐developed country

In recent years, consumers worldwide have been having increased access to a wide variety of products and services from other countries. Furthermore, with advances in satellite communication, travel, television outreach and Internet access as well as increased education, consumers all over the world are becoming more aware of the products/services available throughout the world. As a result, the significance of products’ county‐of‐origin images in influencing consumer behavior is increasing rapidly. An understanding of the role of COO images for imported products as against domestic ones would aid in the formulation of better marketing plans, strategies and policies by companies of both domestic and international origin. The purpose of this empirical research study is to examine Bangladeshi consumers’ quality perceptions of products outsourced from nine foreign countries from where the country sources most of its product needs and compare them with their perceptions of domestic products. Study findings indicated that Bangladeshi consumers overwhelmingly preferred western made products, though there were differences in their perceptions across product classes as well as degree of suitability of sourcing countries.