Ethnocentric Behavior Research Articles

Cultural Dilemmas Beyond Borders: Xenocentric and Ethnocentric Explorations in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

This research paper endeavours to examine the manifestations of xenocentric and ethnocentric behaviours exhibited by the immigrant characters within Jhumpa Lahiri’s diasporic narrative The Namesake (2003). It aims to meticulously scrutinize and analyse instances within the storyline where these characters demonstrate attitudes or actions that reflect either a preference for foreign culture (xenocentric behaviour) or a bias towards their own culture (ethnocentric behaviour) within the diasporic context. The paper seeks to delve deeper into these occurrences to understand their implications and significance in the characters' experiences and interactions within the diasporic setting portrayed in the novel. The novel brilliantly illustrates these contrasting attitudes within the diasporic context, portraying the tension between embracing a new culture and preserving one's heritage. The characters' interactions with each other and their surroundings depict the complexity of diasporic life, where clashes between differing cultural values often lead to moments of introspection and conflict. Lahiri intricately weaves these instances throughout the novel, showcasing how xenocentric and ethnocentric behaviours shape the characters' identity, choices, relationships, and sense of belonging in a foreign land.

If you are different, you are inferior: how does ethnocentric behaviour disengage employees?

If you are different, you are inferior: how does ethnocentric behaviour disengage employees?

The relationship between ethnocentric behaviour and workforce localisation success: The mediating role of knowledge sharing tendency

Ethnocentric conduct among employees is observed in multicultural work environments characterised by the presence of individuals from diverse origins. The existence of ethnocentrism inside the workplace has been observed to have repercussions for colleagues. Nevertheless, despite the significance of the aforementioned factors, there hasn't been a considerable pertinent scholarly study on how these aspects affect the localisation of human resources. This research closes the gap in the literature by integrating ethnocentrism and human resource localisation variables. We used Andrew F. Hayes PROCESS V4.0 to assess the hypothesised relationship between employees' ethnocentric behaviour and human resource localisation success. In addition, employee knowledge-sharing tendency works as a mediator, and employee cultural intelligence (CQ) is a moderated mediator. From the analysis of 361 respondents from multinational Company (MNC) workers, we found that ethnocentric behaviour reduces employee knowledge-sharing tendency among workers and, in return, reduces human resource localisation success. However, CQ moderates the mediated relationship between employee knowledge-sharing direction and localisation success. We also found that when employees have high CQ, the negative effect of ethnocentrism on localisation success weakens. Managers of multicultural organisations should reduce ethnocentrism to ensure the success of human resource localisation. MNCs can consider employing culturally intelligent individuals and giving them sensitivity training. Future research can integrate other variables, such as the firm's cultural characteristics, to continue this research domain. Further research can also consider collecting data from nations with high cultural distances; comparative studies between two countries are also encouraged.

Authoritarian personality, antidemocratic behavior, and ethnocentrism in Brazil

Inspired by the Studies on authoritarian personality and based on contemporary research on authoritarianism in Brazil, we will analyze the construction of the idol aura surrounding former president Bolsonaro, which allowed the far right to be elected and remain in power until the last elections in 2022. We see his rise as mostly due to the digital violence that largely benefited his campaign and was directed against the block of left-wing candidates. So as to clarify this issue, we will revisit the sociohistorical and psycho-political fundamentals of the antidemocratic and ethnocentric behaviors spurred by that leadership that became idolized. We will also outline an emancipatory, antiracist, culturally relevant and decolonial education, as a way to provide what Adorno regarded as being the antidote to the reemergence of a regressive barbarism. In the case of Brazil, barbarism refers to the remnants of the slave system implemented in the country for three and a half centuries, whose destructive potential was awakened under Bolsonaro’s government, given the latent antidemocratic and authoritarian tendencies in our society.

Navigating Unsettling Intercultural Issues of Volunteer Tourism: A Synthetic Review

In light of the burgeoning research and operational facets of international volunteer tourism, a discernible surge in the engagement of global volunteers for cross-cultural interactions within Global South communities has become increasingly evident. However, global volunteers encounter formidable challenges during their transition into and engagement with the local host community, stemming from a conspicuous paucity of intercultural awareness. This predicament poses a substantial impediment to the aspirational objective of effectuating a beneficial and constructive impact on cross-cultural interaction with the host community. With an intercultural sensitivity lens, this synthetic review examines the major issues surrounding cross-cultural understanding and interactive learning as well as discusses potential mitigating strategies that nurture intercultural sensitivity, making transition and participation more effective for the well-being of the host community. The review suggests that cultural stereotyping, ethnocentric behaviors, self-fulfilling behaviors of volunteers, and the absence of meaningful local participation in co-production of knowledge in volunteer tourism appear to be key factors affecting meaningful cross-cultural interactions and ethical behaviors. The proposed strategies including pre-departure training and orientation as educational discipline, aimed at facilitating cross-cultural immersion, assimilation and interaction, seem to be neglected in practice of volunteering tourism. This oversight undermines the effectiveness of these crucial initiatives in achieving their intended outcomes.

Etnocentrizam među potrošačima u odabranim zemljama srednje Europe

By employing surveys, this paper aims to conduct a cross-national comparison of ethnocentric behaviour in three neighbouring countries in the Central European region. The level of ethnocentrism, expressed by a reduced CETSCALE, is measured and assessed using six demographic indicators and four products. Responses to the reduced CETSCALE show that Polish respondents are more ethnocentric than Czech and Slovak respondents and that Slovak respondents are more ethnocentric than Czech respondents. However, only the differences between Czechia and Slovakia, and between Czechia and Poland are statistically significant. The strongest level of ethnocentrism among Poles is also evident when analysing consumer opinions on the four selected products. As far as possible differences in the ethnocentric consumer behaviour of the population are concerned, the analysis revealed that age and permanent residence in the three selected countries are discriminating factors. The study is original in that it combines two levels of investigation and examines three neighbouring countries simultaneously.

Amplifying the Dalit Pentecostal Historical Narrative amid the Persistent Syrian Christian ‘Privileged’ Narrative in Kerala

While studies indicate that Pentecostal teachings center the egalitarian move of the Holy Spirit with empowering effects on the social lives of the Dalits in the South Indian Pentecostal landscape, the persistence of ethnocentric behavior from “Syrian Christian” Pentecostals continues. Hence, this paper focuses on exploring the historical development of a Syrian Christian identity marker as a privileged one that became prefixed by the Pentecostals in Kerala, especially in Travancore. In this regard, this paper seeks to answer questions such as: How did caste dynamics structure the formation of Christian communities in Kerala? How did the historical Western missionary interactions deal with local caste-influenced distinctions (especially between the “Syrian Christian” and Dalit communities)? How did Pentecostalism challenge and perpetuate the Syrian Christian caste identity? Through an intersectional (religion and caste) historical analysis, this paper shows that the Syrian Christian community has been integrated into the caste system for the last two thousand years of Christian history in Kerala. At the same time, via a more inclusive historical narrative, the paper highlights Dalit conversions to Christianity since the sixteenth century as a critique against the privileged status of Syrian Christianity, even more so when Pentecostalism arrived at its shores, impacting the emergence of Dalit Pentecostalism.

Understanding the behavioral intentions to consume ethnic food in the country of origin after experiencing local ethnic cuisines

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to investigate the role of cosmopolitan and ethnocentric behaviour of ethnic food consumer on the intention to consume ethnic food in country of origin (ICEC). Study aims to explain the consumption patterns of ethnic food consumers with the mediating role of utilitarian/hedonic values and perceived country image (PCI). In addition, the study explained consumption behavior with the moderating effect of food neophilia (FNP). Methodology/Design/Approach: Data were gathered from 969 respondents visited Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Thai cuisines. Responses regarding experiences at ethnic cuisine were gathered through self-administrative survey. Findings: The results of the study showed a positive effect of consumer cosmopolitanism on ICEC and a negative effect of ethnocentric behavior on ICEC. Further study analyzed the mediating effect of hedonic and utilitarian values. The results showed that hedonic and utilitarian values significantly mediated the effect of cosmopolitanism/ethnocentrism on the ICEC. Moreover, PCI also showed significant serial mediation. The results indicate that high levels of FNP lead to high levels of ICEC. The originality of the research – The study presented a comprehensive model for analyzing the behavioral intentions of ethnic food consumers by combining social identity theory, hedonic value, and utilitarian value in culinary tourism.

The influence of consumer ethnocentrism on purchase of domestic fruits and vegetables: application of the extended theory of planned behaviour

PurposeWith the crescent globalisation together with economic and food crisis, consumers are increasingly confronted with food products from different origins and appeals to consume “national”. If many food products can be related to a specific region or country, many are sold as commodities with Portuguese origin indication. One factor influencing the purchase behaviour of domestic food products is the consumer ethnocentrism (CE) characteristic. The aim of this paper is to study consumers' purchase behaviour intention towards “produce in Portugal” fruits and vegetables applying a CE extended model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was presented to random sample of 700 individuals older than 18 and responsible for the household food purchase by computer-assisted telephone interview (CAT) system. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to examine direct and indirect effects of attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SuBNs), perceived behavioural controls (PBCNTRLs), intention and self-congruity on domestic fresh fruits and vegetables purchases.FindingsFindings suggest that TPB model is applicable in determining the consumers' intention to buy domestic fruits and vegetables in Portugal. CE has been shown to successfully influence purchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides the food industry and retail with informative basis about which mechanisms underlie the consumers' intention to buy domestic food. Also, this study provides useful insight into how different food categories and label affect the consumers' intentions, which can serve for communication strategies in order to increase purchase of domestic products as fruits and vegetables. New food categories should be studied.Originality/valueThis study gives a new approach on Portuguese consumer ethnocentric tendencies and opens a discussion on consumer purchase intention on Portuguese low value food products. This gives a first insight on Portuguese consumer ethnocentric behaviour.

Consumer Ethnocentrism in Indian Air-Conditioner Market: A Social Identity Theory Perspective

This study contributes to the theory of consumer ethnocentrism by empirically examining its role in the Indian market. The study has been conducted on Indian Millennials using the well-established CETSCALE to capture ethnocentric behaviour. The study’s findings show that CETSCALE is a unidimensional variable in India. Social identity theory has been used to explore and validate the results. The scale explains 75% of the variance through four key constructs toward ethnocentric behaviour of Indian millennials. This paper is of value to marketers interested in the rapid rise of home electronic appliances in India. The product used for this study is an air-conditioner. Multinational companies can use this study to strategically respond to entering the Indian market. Further theoretical and practical implications are presented with potential for future research.

Colonial Racial Ethnocentrism Towards Indigenous People in a Short Story Collection “Semua untuk Hindia” by Iksaka Banu (A Postcolonial Study)

Dutch colonialism in Indonesia brought about physical oppression and conquest of territory and instilled racism. Understanding racism positions the indigenous people as a third class whose rank has never been higher than the Dutch. Racial ethnocentrism leads people to concepts and views of life that consider their culture to be far superior to the culture owned by others. This study aimed to reveal and describe the forms of racial ethnocentrism brought by the Dutch towards Indonesian society. The data were obtained from excerpts or quotes that contain elements of racism from a short story collection “Semua untuk Hindia (All for Hindia)” by Iksaka Banu. The analysis results revealed that racial ethnocentrism or racism emerged in racial prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination in the short story collection. The cultivation of these ethnocentric behaviors was based on the Western cultural concept and view of ideal human beings and the human position passed down from generation to generation. It impacted the Dutch’s social construction and use of authority in oppressing the indigenous people in Indonesia. Indigenous figures were oppressed, marginalized, and their human rights were ignored. Research on the short story collection can strengthen the disclosure of colonialism history in Indonesia.

Indian consumers’ behaviour during COVID 19: An Exploratory Study

Time and again it is said that Indian consumers behave differently from the western or global customers. Since a pandamic like COVID 19 has force lockdowns restraining the customer all over the world the consumers have exhibited different behaviour other than the normal one. Consumers behaviour is shaped by their wants and hence the importance of understanding it. Many business face the challenge of understanding the consumers and their wants and hence the flounder at the market place. This is more apt in India for the foreign companies that try to market in India. Many big multinationals companies (MNCs) have struggled in India before they got the hold of the market. Further, India being a young country compared to other countries, it has become a attractive market. The success is evasive to those who fail to understand the Indian consumers. Somehow, the ethnocentric behaviour of MNCs have not augured well for them. Even though the consumer behaviour has been studied by researcher and scholars for long now, they mainly focused on the western customers. Only recently the scholars have had occasion to study Indian consumers. Hence, this study was undertaken with the intention of understanding the behaviour of Indian consumers during the pandemic.

Cooperation, correlation and the evolutionary dominance of tag-based strategies

Cooperation in the prisoner’s dilemma is possible if interactions are sufficiently correlated. We show that when conditions favorable to the evolution of cooperation hold (rb > c) tag-based strategies dominate. Thus, well-meaning interventions aimed at promoting cooperation may succeed but will often lead to in-group favoritism and ethnocentric behavior. Exploring ways that promote cooperation but do not usher in tag-based strategies should be a focal point of future work on the evolution of cooperation.

COVID-19 Impact on Buying Behaviour

Executive Summary Pandemics like COVID-19 result in a disruption in the lifestyle and buying pattern of a consumer and adversely impact the global economy. Consumer purchase of country’s own brand and the products manufactured in their own country plays a vital role in the GDP of that country and help in revival of the country’s economy. This study focuses on understanding the factors that influence consumer’s buying behaviour and model these factors to understand the causal relationship using partial least square-structural equation modelling. An online survey which was carried out between 30 March 2020 and 18 April 2020. A total of 367 responses were collected during this period. Findings of the study indicate that economic nationalism, lockdown sentiments and sustainable approach (LSSA), and product-specific ethnocentric behaviour (PSEB) tendency significantly influence the willingness to buy country’s own brands and products. Present study results reveal that during pandemic consumers have realized the importance of hygiene products, environment-friendly products, regional (local) products, and satisfaction beyond shopping; these factors determine their willingness to buy Indian brands (WBIB)/made-in-India products. Further, post lockdown and post COVID era, consumers feel that buying Indian-made products and encouraging others to buy them would impact and revive the Indian economy constructively. It was also found that the influence of factors such as economic nationalism, LSSA, and PSEB on the WBIB is mediated by attitude towards foreign products. The findings of the study can aid marketing managers in planning appropriate promotion strategies to stimulate ethnocentric tendency, and cues can be provided to invoke a sense of economic nationalism in consumers when they buy products or services.

Effects of reproductive skew on the evolution of ethnocentrism in structured populations with variable size

Large-scale cooperation is arguably one of the most astonishing achievements of humankind. In spite of its global abundance, members of many species, including humans, tend to direct their generosity exclusively towards phenotypically similar group-mates, thereby elevating the levels of intergroup tension and ingroup biased ethnocentrism. Recent studies have evidenced, however, that stable dominance of ethnocentric cooperation is endangered in the presence of memory, mobility, conformity, or link undirectedness in structured populations. In the present paper, we investigated the heterogeneity of reproductive time scales as a possible mechanism for the reduction of ethnocentric behavior and the promotion of global unconditional cooperation in phenotypically diverse populations with demographic fluctuations. To this effect, the regular reproduction stage that typically follows the interaction of agents in the evolutionary process of the ethnocentrism model is discarded. Instead, agents reproduce in accordance with their assigned reproduction times that obey a power-law distribution. Unlike the standard model of ethnocentric cooperation with proportional selection, we found that reproductive skew can elevate cooperation also by promoting non-ethnocentric strategies such as global altruism and conditional extra-group cooperation, while simultaneously reducing ethnocentric behavior. However, we found that this ethnocentrism-controlling potency of reproductive heterogeneity depends on the underlying population structure, with more pronounced effects on Barabási–Albert scale-free networks than on regular square lattices. With an increasing power-law exponent of the reproduction-time distribution, we identified a remarkable coexistence of strategies that was not reported in previous models of tag-based cooperation. Our further simulations revealed that this strategy coexistence varied with the fluctuating population size which in turn depended on the correlation between the node connectivity and the reproduction rate of individual agents. Our findings highlight the importance of reproductive skew and the relationship between node degree and reproduction rate for the stability of intra-group generosity in structured populations, potentially explaining the widespread coexistence of strategies in phenotypically diverse societies.

Ethical expectations and ethnocentric thinking: exploring the adequacy of technology acceptance model for millennial consumers on multisided platforms

PurposeMultisided platforms (MSPs) have become omnipresent. Millennial consumers have taken well to MSPs. It has become imperative to explicate the process of adoption of MSPs by millennials. The purpose of this study is to comprehend the factors that lead to the adoption of MSPs by millennials beyond the factors identified in the technology acceptance model (TAM).Design/methodology/approachData was collected from 252 respondents through a structured survey questionnaire to comprehend MSP adoption. Partial least squares structured equation modelling was applied for analysis.FindingsThe theoretical lens of TAM was applied for the study. Results indicated that over and above TAM, millennials’ intention to use of MSPs was moderated by ethical expectations, as well as ethnocentric thinking. The study, thus, extended TAM theoretical conversation by including factors of consumer ethnocentric behaviour and customer ethical considerations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study modifies the TAM factors theoretically by including two new factors, namely, customers’ ethical expectations and ethnocentric thinking.Practical implicationsThis study results would help MSP firm managers comprehend the importance of consideration of consumer ethnocentric behaviour and customer ethical considerations. Thus, managers have to include in their MSPs’ aspects of customers’ ethical expectations and ethnocentric thinking while marketing their MSPs’ while doing business with millennials.Originality/valueThis was one of the first studies that extended TAM by adding the factors of ethical expectations and ethnocentric thinking in the context of MSP adoption for millennial customers.

Consumer ethnocentric behavior and food choices in developing countries: The case of Nigeria

With rising incomes and urbanization, diets across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have diversified in source and form, encompassing more processed and packaged foods. While previous studies have identified ethnocentrism to be an influencing factor of purchase behavior, so far, no study has evaluated consumer ethnocentrism for food products in Nigeria. We conducted a study involving 2250 Nigerian consumers, using a widely validated consumer ethnocentric tendencies scale (CETSCALE). We aimed to answer the following questions: i) Are Nigerian consumers ethnocentric and how does this vary by socio-demographics? ii) Does consumer ethnocentrism affect their purchase frequency of imported food products? iii) What roles do country image and relatedly food safety concerns play in food purchasing behavior of imported food? We find that consumer ethnocentrism is indeed established in Nigeria among a large share of consumers. It is driven by key factors such as country image and food safety, and it tends to be strongly affected by socio-demographics such as income and education. We also find that ethnocentrism’s influence on purchase behavior varies across food categories. Our findings suggest that COO-labelling and a reliable formalization of product traceability with the support of the government could allow marketers to better capitalize on consumer ethnocentrism.

Alternative Proposals to Measure Consumer Ethnocentric Behavior: A Narrative Literature Review

CETSCALE (Consumer Ethnocentrism Tendencies Scale), the scale developed by Shimp and Sharma in 1987 to study consumer ethnocentric behavior, has received preferential use in the literature, with numerous replications carried out in countries on all continents. Although it was proposed as a 17-item scale along with a smaller version of only ten items, studies that use only a part of these have been become increasingly common. To some extent, this practice responds to the multidimensional behavior of CETSCALE, as can be widely confirmed. It is for this reason that a growing consensus is in favor of reviewing the scale as a tool to measure ethnocentrism, made evident by the appearance of new alternative scales. CEESCALE and CES are two of the most recent proposals, which were developed with a similar number of items but grouped into a number of clearly defined dimensions, providing more robust results.

Consumer Ethnocentrism and Willingness to Buy Foreign Products in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Turkey and Colombia

Consumer ethnocentrism (CE) has been a popular research topic in international marketing. However, limited CE research is available from the emerging markets. Heightened concerns about globalization and increased political support for restricting international trade around the world increases the importance of updated empirical findings on consumer ethnocentric behavior. Hence, the purpose of this empirical study is to examine consumer ethnocentrism and consumer willingness to buy foreign products in two emerging markets: Turkey and Colombia. Data was collected using online surveys from subjects in Turkey and Colombia. Results show that CE inversely influenced consumers’ willingness to buy foreign products in both countries.

Understanding the Dynamics of Intergroup Relations from the Perspectives of Western Immigrants Living in Korea

The literature on intergroup contact has mainly focused on how the majority group members reduce negative stereotypes and prejudice toward minority groups, also exploring the dynamics of intergroup contact in Western countries. The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamics of intergroup contact and interactions from the perspective of Western immigrants, and to understand how they interact with host individuals in South Korea. Using a constructivist grounded theory, three themes were identified associated with intergroup contact: (a) experiencing cultural growth and cultural conflicts, (b) reducing ethnocentric behaviors, and (c) experiencing cultural distance and boundaries. This study suggests that participants experienced the dynamics of intergroup contact with the host individuals.