An examination of the relationship among consumer lifestyles, ethnocentrism, knowledge structures,...

455

An examination of therelationship among consumer

lifestyles, ethnocentrism,knowledge structures, attitudes

and behavioural tendencies:a comparative study in

two CIS states

Erdener KaynakPennsylvania State University at Harrisburg

Ali KaraPennsylvania State University at York

The objective of this study is to investigate ethnocentric and/or regiocentric behaviour of

Azeri and Kyrgyz consumers. In particular, the study focuses on how ethnocentrism

explains consumers’ attitudes, intentions and actual purchasing behaviour towards

products from major sourcing countries. Data for the study were collected through

personal interviews in four districts of Greater Bishkek: the capital city of Kyrgyz

Republic, and Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. Survey findings lend greater support to

earlier studies conducted in the USA, Western and Eastern Europe and Japan. Non-

ethnocentric Kyrgyz and Azeri consumers have significantly more favourable belief

structures, attitudes, intentions and the resultant purchasing behaviour regarding imported

products compared to their ethnocentric Azeri and Kyrgyz consumer counterparts. The

findings of the study offer important research, public policy and managerial implications

for companies, government agencies and international donor agencies alike who are either

operating in the region or contemplating an entry in the future. Foreign companies may

use pan-regional marketing strategies and may be able to standardise their products and

marketing strategies in the region, since consumers have identical and/or very similar use

behaviour and uses for the products and services.

International Journal of Advertising, 20, pp. 455–482© 2001 Advertising AssociationPublished by the World Advertising Research Center, Farm Road, Henley-on-Thames,Oxon RG9 1EJ, UK

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 455

INTRODUCTION

The legal-political, social and techno-economic systems evolved overthe past five decades have complicated the creation and institu-tionalisation of effective marketing systems in Eastern/CentralEuropean countries, Baltic States and Commonwealth of IndependentStates (CIS). As the countries of the regions emerge from the ruins ofcommunism, they are all making concerted efforts to continuouslydevelop their indigenous economies and improve the standards ofliving and quality of life of their citizens. In most cases, the crucialissue confronting foreign companies is identifying the most lucrativeconsumer market segments in these countries in order to developappropriate marketing plans and strategies to explore and exploit theseemerging markets.

During 70 years of a centrally planned command economy period,scant information was available about the consumers and theirpurchasing/consumption behaviours in these countries. Theprevailing supply-oriented economy did not necessitate consumerbehaviour information. However, during the past decade, withadvances in communication, increased wealth and travel, introductionof satellite TV, infusion of free market economy principles,privatisation efforts and liberalisation in these countries have createddistinct consumer market segments. These ‘New Rich’ consumers arevery discerning in their selection and purchase of products andservices as well as patronising stores. These consumer groups have themeans, intentions and behaviour to purchase foreign-made products.In response to this increased demand for foreign products, morecompanies are entering into the region, forming strategic allianceswith local companies. In addition, more foreign direct investment andcontract manufacturing activities are taking place in response toincreased business and investment opportunities in the region.

In many of these emerging countries, a clandestine marketeconomy and disparity of income concurrently prevail where on theone hand an extremely affluent market (upscale consumers) existsalong with low-income consumer market segments. The affluentsegment’s consumption behaviour may be characterised asconspicuous, with strong preferences for shopping for branded,foreign consumer goods originating in Western Europe, NorthAmerica and Japan (Svennevig et al., 1992). In addition, different types

456

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING, 2001, 20(4)

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 456

of promotional strategies are being utilised in reaching the variousmarket segments in the region.

The purpose of this study is to investigate consumer ethno-centrism, and how this variable relates to lifestyles and purchaseattitudes/intentions of consumers concerning foreign products. Insimple terms, is ethnocentrism likely to influence product/brandattitudes and perceptions, appropriate price and purchase intentions?Furthermore, how should marketers and decision-makers deal withethnocentric consumers in these newly emerging markets? Whatmarketing strategy changes, if any, should multinational companiesundertake to comply with this kind of consumer/user behaviour?Consumer behaviour knowledge of this type will be vital for smoothtransformation of these economies into a free market economy in thenear future. It will also help domestic and foreign manufacturers aliketo better target their products and/or services to the needs ofconsumers with different ethnocentrism levels.

THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND

Over the past decade, a number of theoretical constructs andconceptual frameworks have been developed to better understand thebehaviour of ethnocentric consumers (Papadopoulos and Heslop,1993). However, consumer behaviour-related data are still rathersparse in the newly emerging markets of Central/Eastern Europe, theBaltic States and CIS. Some of the most significant studies conductedso far have been related to demographics, socioeconomics, social classand psychological characteristics of consumers as well as theirbehavioural tendencies and conative purchase actions. Alldemographic dimensions have received broader acceptance, and lendthemselves easily to quantification and readily available consumerclassification. The use of demographics, however, has beenquestioned and it is argued that demographic profiles have not beendeemed sufficient because they lack richness and often need to besupplemented with additional databases and behavioural constructs(Wells, 1975). Social class, on the other hand, adds more depth andrichness to demographics, but it, too, often needs to be supplementedwith additional parameters in order to obtain meaningful insights intoconsumer behavioural characteristics. It is known that these variablesare far more than simple demographics (Westfall, 1962). Lifestyle

A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN TWO CIS STATES

457

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 457

1 Footnote.

relates to how people live, how they spend their money, and how theyallocate their time among different types of activities. One canpropose that there will be differences as well as similarities amongnations/cultures. If we are able to identify consumer groups withcommon attitudinal and behavioural characteristics and tendencies in aforeign environment, we may then be able to develop moreprecise/targeted marketing plans, programmes and strategies.Consequently, we can reach the target markets better. Hence,consumer lifestyle information may be of additional use to us and itenriches our understanding of how consumers live, what type ofactivities they engage in, and how these affect their purchasing andconsumption-related behaviour.

In general, the country-of-origin (COO) cue interacts with otherinput variables such as product class knowledge, consumer andcountry characteristics along with other important variables such asnationalism, patriotism and internationalism (Balabanis et al., 2001).These input variables influence product brand attitudes (productbrand perceptions of price) and behaviour (purchase intentions andchoice of brand). In this process, the relationship is moderated byconsumer ethnocentrism (see Figure 1).

The effect of the COO cue on product perception, evaluation andselection has been examined from two general perspectives: thecontent and the process approach (Pecotich et al., 1996, p. 215). Theformer deals with product and price perceptions and purchasebehavioural intentions, whereas the latter deals with the cognitivedecision-making process of product choice and purchase. The majorityof the research on COO has tended to focus on aspects of contentwhere its effects on product evaluations and perceptions were studiedat product class and product brand levels (Han and Terpstra, 1988).

Consumer product class information of both intrinsic and extrinsictype does have an impact on consumer evaluations. Intrinsic cues arephysical attributes of a product whereas extrinsic cues are related tothe augmented part of a product such as brand name, labelling andpackaging (Lee and Ulgado, 1996). The augmented part of a producthas two components: packaging and support services. The former isused at two different levels such as packaging a promotional deviceand packaging a protective device. It is believed that consumers aregenerally more familiar with extrinsic cues than intrinsic cues, and usethem to organise their belief structures and knowledge bases aboutvarious products/brands. The significant effects of extrinsic cues on

458


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 58

1 Footnote.

product evaluations found in numerous empirical studies havesubstantiated such beliefs (Lee and Ulgado, 1996). In the emergingmarket of China, for instance, urban consumers rely heavily on suchextrinsic cues as foreign brand name and labelling when forming anattitude towards products (Li, 1998; Wu, 1999). In addition, in thehigh-context culture of Japan, celebrity advertisements using well-known foreign personalities exert strong influence on consumers inmaking decisions. Hence, previous studies have demonstrated thatbrand name along with other abstract attributes has a significant effecton product evaluations, and in most cases consumers rely on a brandname and/or its advertising message to judge the quality of a product(Aaker and Keller, 1990). This is also a trend in most of the emergingmarkets of Asia, Latin America and Africa. All indications are that itwill continue to be influential.


459

Country-of-origin

Product classknowledge

Consumercharacteristics

Countrycharacteristics

Other variablesConsumer

ethnocentrism

Productbrand perceptions

Perceptionsof price

Purchaseintentions

Choiceof brand

Purchaseof brand

Moderation factor

OutputInput

Attitud

esB

ehaviour

The

content

The

pro

cess

FIGURE 1 THE EFFECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS, CONSUMER AND COUNTRY CHARACTERISTICS ON CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR MODERATED BY CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 459

1 Footnote.

Enduring behavioural patterns, demographic, socioeconomic andpersonality characteristics of consumers are extremely important inconsumer decision-making in the global marketplace (Clark, 1990). Ina study by Neese and Hult (1996), four demographic characteristics ofconsumers are shown to be significant predictors of COO tendencies.These are age, income, race and education. In their studies, Schooler(1971) and Tongberg (1972) discovered that older consumers tendedto evaluate foreign products more favourably than did their youngercounterparts. The general implications of these results are that firmscan predict COO tendencies by examining a select set ofdemographics and socioeconomic characteristics, thereby increasingthe likelihood of achieving a competitive advantage in themarketplace. In addition, COO tendencies become more favourabletowards foreign-made products as income levels of consumersincrease. Less educated consumers are generally more negativetowards imported products, and those with higher education showmore positive attitudes towards the quality of foreign-made products(Neese and Hult, 1996).

Consumers’ knowledge and belief structures about a product’sCOO may have an impact on their subsequent product evaluations.Unfortunately, in past COO studies, individual consumer differenceswere overlooked. In this research, it may be useful to find out whetherthere are individual consumer characteristics that give rise to thedifferences in product attribute effects and overall productevaluations. This will be examined mainly using a segmentationapproach, where distinct consumer segments are developed based onconsumers’ individual characteristics.

Country and/or regional characteristics may also affect consumerproduct evaluations. This new concept, called COO label, wasexamined by use of ‘Made in Europe’ as a distinct construct.Consumers’ perceptions of the quality of various products within thislabel are compared to the quality of products ‘Made in the USA’ and‘Made in Japan’. Results indicated that European products labelled‘Made in Europe’ are perceived to be of at least the same quality asproducts from Europe’s Japanese and US competitors on worldmarkets (Schweiger et al., 1995). Past studies also indicate that COOeffects typically operate in a hierarchical manner where products frommore economically advanced countries are generally preferred tothose from developing or less-developed countries. Consumers alsoprefer products from their own country to those from other similar

460


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 460

1 Footnote.

countries (Kaynak and Cavusgil, 1983; Klenosky et al., 1996). On theother hand, at a country level, COO effects have not been positive insome countries. For instance, being British is not the key to marketingsuccess overseas. Jaguar, the quintessential British car brand, had toadopt a high-tech image and tone down the links with its COO(Barrett, 1996). Its COO is now totally forgotten since it waspurchased by FMC, and is perceived as a luxury car aiming at a globalupscale consumer market.

In view of the past marketing and consumer behaviour literature,this study uses demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle analysis,along with other research techniques, to identify ethnocentricsubpopulations sharing similar patterns of social norms, beliefstructures, attitudinal orientation and behavioural patterns, using Azeriand Kyrgyz consumers as case examples. Once these variety marketsegments are identified, appropriate marketing plans and strategiesmay be purposefully developed to reach these markets effectively. Thiswill also help local manufacturers to improve product design andappeal, and appropriately position or reposition as well as promotetheir products against imported products so that they can gaincompetitive advantage in the local and overseas markets.

CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM

Ethnocentrism is a universal phenomenon and is deeply rooted inmost areas of intergroup relations. It is defined as the beliefs(knowledge structures and thought processes) held by consumersabout the appropriateness, indeed morality, of purchasing foreign-made products in place of domestic ones (Shimp and Sharma, 1987).Ethnocentrism forms the basis of a powerful appeal, too strong forfirms to disregard (Pecotich et al., 1996). The degree of strength andintensity of consumer ethnocentrism does vary from culture/countryto culture/country, even from region to region. It is posited thatgenerally speaking, members of a high-context culture (i.e. Japan,China) are more ethnocentric than members of a low-context culture(i.e. USA and Western European countries), though there might besome similarities between the two cultural groupings in terms ofsubgroups (i.e. teen market, upscale consumer market). In recentyears, a number of attempts have been made in cross-cultural/nationalconsumer research to investigate this phenomenon (Manrai and


461

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 461

1 Footnote.

Manrai, 1995). In a study conducted by Pfaff (1994), it was stated thatethnicity and nationalism are the strongest motivating forces in theglobal marketplace. One of the ways ethnocentric consumers candemonstrate their cultural orientations, beliefs and nationalism isthrough consumptive behaviour limited to domestic products.

Among these, an important contribution to consumer research hasbeen the development and international application of theCETSCALE, which measures consumer ethnocentrism acrosscultures/nations, and which comprises 17 items. Consumer ethno-centrics are said to view purchasing foreign products as wrong becauseit hurts the domestic economy, leads to a loss of jobs, and is simplyunpatriotic. For non-ethnocentric consumers, foreign products shouldbe evaluated on their own merit and on the basis of the utility theyoffer consumers, rather than based on where they are manufactured orassembled. The consequences of consumer ethnocentricity includeoverestimation of the quality and value of domestic products orunderestimation of the virtues of imports, a moral obligation to buydomestic products, and preference for domestic products and/orservices.

After providing support for the psychometric properties of thescale in the USA, Shimp and Sharma (1987) suggested severalpotential applications of the scale to population groups in othercountries and cultures. However, researchers were first cautioned toprovide an accurate translation and assessment of the scale’spsychometric properties. In response, Netemeyer et al. (1991) foundstrong support for the psychometric properties and nomologicalvalidity of the scale across four different developed countries, namelythe USA, France, Japan and Germany. Netemeyer et al. (1991) alsorecommended that researchers translate the CETSCALE in otherforeign languages and use it in other countries and regions, such as inthe former Soviet-bloc countries. In these countries, renowned fortheir ethnic diversity and nationalist sentiment, ethnocentrism shouldnot be overlooked as an influence on purchase and consumptiondecisions. The CETSCALE instrument may be incomplete in suchcountries. One such study was undertaken among Russian consumerswhere the CETSCALE’s psychometric properties and mean valueswere compared with the USA. Results of the study support the scale’sunidimensionality, reliability, and discriminant and nomologicalvalidity (Durvasula et al., 1997). The intervening influence of othercultural/national factors on consumers, as well as foreign consumers’

462


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 462

1 Footnote.

personal characteristics, may influence meaningful data interpretation(Hult and Keillor, 1994). To overcome these difficulties, Netemeyer et al. (1991) strongly recommended the accurate translation andapplication of the CETSCALE in countries that have recently adoptedfree market economy principles and eased trade restrictions, and arealso trying to privatise most of their industries.

Along with increased nationalism and heavy emphasis on culturaland ethnic identity, consumer ethnocentrism will be a potent force inthe global business environment in the years to come. So far, theCETSCALE has not really been validated and compared in developingcountry environments. In particular, validation studies involvingcountries of Eastern/Central Europe and CIS are sparse or non-existent. This study uses lifestyle analysis as a proxy for ethnocentrictendencies, along with other research techniques, to identifysubpopulations who share similar patterns of social norms, beliefs andbehavioural tendencies among Azeri and Kyrgyz consumers. Managerialand public policy implications of ethnocentrism are also offered.

THE STUDY

This study examines the process underlying consumers’ attitudestowards products being imported into their domestic economies. Itseeks to accomplish several objectives. First, it uses a tested scale(CETSCALE) and applies it in different cross-cultural environments.Second, it explains the nature of ethnocentrism for consumers indifferent demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle segments. Third, itprovides the results of empirical consumer research studies conductedin two emerging markets: Kyrgyz Republic and Azerbaijan. Finally, thefindings of the study offer managerial and public policy implications,which may facilitate the development of consumer markets andconsumer-oriented public policies in these emerging economies.Consumer behaviour knowledge of this type will also facilitate smoothtransformation of these economies into a free market economy in theforeseeable future.

Research questionnaire

A questionnaire was developed to collect the data for this study, whichconsisted of five sections. In the first section, 56 AIO statements wereobtained from marketing literature used to understand lifestyles of


463

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 463

Kyrgyz and Azeri consumers. The items extracted from Westernsources were adapted and modified to Kyrgyz and Azeri market andcountry environments by use of pre-tests among a group of Kyrgyzand Azeri consumers. A five-point Likert scale was used where ‘1’ was‘strongly disagree’ and ‘5’ ‘strongly agree’. The second section of thequestionnaire included questions about consumer ethnocentrism. TheCETSCALE used in this study consisted of 17 items, including‘Kyrgyz/Azeri people should always buy Kyrgyz/Azeri-madeproducts instead of imports’; ‘Only those products that areunavailable in Kyrgyz Republic/Azerbaijan should be imported’; and‘Kyrgyz/Azeri products, first, last, and foremost’. In the third sectionof the questionnaire, questions related to the perceptions of Kyrgyzconsumers of product attributes and characteristics coming from fivemajor sourcing countries, namely Japan, the USA, the PRC, Russia andthe UK, were measured. (For the Azeri sample the following countrieswere used: Japan, the USA, Hong Kong, the PRC, Russia and Turkey.1)In addition, information about concrete and abstract productattributes was collected. The final section of the questionnaireincluded demographic and socioeconomic questions that are used tointerpret the responses on other questions.

In Kyrgyz Republic, some 22% of the population is Russian, andthere are other ethnic groups such as Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Germans,Koreans and Chinese who all speak Russian, and the official languageof the republic is Russian. For this reason, a questionnaire wasdeveloped first in English, then translated into Russian by a staffmember who was fluent in both languages at a Kyrgyz university. Backtranslation was also done to check for any inconsistencies as well aspossible translation errors by using a group of Kyrgyz graduateuniversity students. The questionnaire was also administered to agroup of Kyrgyz consumers at different socioeconomic strata to pilottest the questionnaire for clarity, comprehension and consistency. As aresult of this pre-test, several questions were reworded and a few ofthe attitudinal statements were dropped due to their irrelevance to theKyrgyz environment. For instance, credit cards were not available inKyrgyz Republic during data collection stage, hence the questionrelated to credit card usage had to be omitted. A similar procedure wasalso used for the Azeri questionnaire.

464


1 The reason for selection of these countries was that during data collection, most ofthe Kyrgyz Republic’s and Azerbaijan’s imports originated from these countries.

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 464

Data collection from Azeri consumers

The data for the study were collected from Azeri consumers in thecapital city of Azerbaijan, Baku. It is estimated that the population ofBaku is approximately 2 million. According to the informationobtained from the Azerbaijan State Statistical Bureau at the time ofthe study, there were approximately 358,000 households living inBaku. Hence, to gain a systematic sample from Baku, the city wasdivided into four regions, namely east, west, north and south(Azerbaijan State Statistical Bureau, 1994).

It was decided to target 0.1% of the households in Baku. It was feltthat the targeted sample size would create a meaningful type ofinformation base to carry out the different analyses and would also bewithin the budget and personnel (interviewer) limitations. Hence, thetargeted number of respondents from different regions is alsoillustrated. Forty-four students from the Azerbaijan State BusinessAdministration Institute were used as interviewers. In a classroomsetting, these students were trained and instructed about their dutiesduring the data-collection process. To test whether graduate studentshad understood all the instructions, they were asked to carry out apilot test among a sample of respondents and their actions observed.In case of difficulties in survey administration, necessary steps weretaken by the researchers to correct miswordings in the questionnaireand possible misunderstandings in data collection. A total of 400questionnaires were distributed to the 44 interviewers, who in turnadministered them among the designated four regions of Baku,Azerbaijan. Interviewers were randomly assigned to each region. Theinterviewers were instructed that they had approximately one week tocomplete the interviews in their respective regions. A total of 211


465

TABLE 1 DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLDS AND TARGET NUMBER

OF RESPONDENTS FROM FOUR REGIONS OF BAKU,

AZERBAIJAN

Population Total no. of Target no. of No. of

Regions (%) households households interviewers used

East 37 132,760 132 16

West 15 53,700 53 7

North 26 93,080 93 11

South 22 78,760 79 10

TOTAL 100 358,300 357 44

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 465

1 Footnote.

completed questionnaires were returned. Lack of understanding ofconsumer surveys and inexperience with survey questionnairecompletion on the part of respondents resulted in a high rate ofunusable completed questionnaires. However, among these 211surveys returned, 19% of the questionnaires were considered unusabledue to completion errors. Hence a total of 170 questionnaires werefinally considered usable for the study.

Data collection from Kyrgyz consumers

Similarly, the data for the study were collected in the capital city ofKyrgyz Republic, Bishkek. It was estimated that the population ofBishkek was 620,000 in 1995. According to the information obtainedfrom the Kyrgyz State Statistical Bureau at the time of the study, therewere approximately 150,000 households living in Greater Bishkek.Hence, to obtain a systematic sample from Bishkek, the city wasdivided into four districts excluding suburbs, namely Lenin, Pervomay,Sverdlov and Octyabr. Researchers decided to target 0.4% of thehouseholds living in Bishkek. It was believed that the targeted samplesize would create a meaningful information base to carry out thedifferent analyses, and would also be within the budget and personnel(interviewer) limitations of the researchers (see Table 2).

Sixty-eight MBA students from Bishkek International School ofBusiness and Management (BISBM) (renamed Academy ofManagement) were used as interviewers. They were all taking amarketing research course with one of the researchers. In a classroomsetting, these students were trained and instructed about their dutiesduring the data-collection process. To test whether students hadunderstood all of the instructions, they were asked to carry out a pilottest among a sample of respondents, and their actions were observedand the necessary amendments to the questionnaire made. A total of680 questionnaires were distributed to the 68 interviewers, who in turndistributed them among the four districts of Bishkek. Interviewerswere randomly assigned to each district. They were given approxi-mately two weeks to complete the interviews.

A total of 638 completed questionnaires were returned. However,of these, nearly 6% of the questionnaires were considered unusabledue to completion errors. Hence a total of 601 of the questionnaireswere finally considered usable for the study and the analysis was basedon these responses. Due to the difficulties of collecting data by meansof probability samples, since sampling frames were non-existent in

466


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 466

1 Footnote.

these two countries, the researchers used stratified sampling byregions. In each region, respondents were selected from low, mediumand high-income neighbourhoods. Since we had more and betterresources in Kyrgyz Republic, we were able to collect data from alarger sample.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

The data collected from the two countries were analysed by usingparametric and non-parametric statistical techniques. First, thedemographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the sample ofrespondents who participated in the study were compared to the


467

TABLE 2 TOTAL POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLD SIZE OF FOUR

DISTRICTS OF BISHKEK, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC,

1 JANUARY 1995

Target No. of

Household no. of interviewers

Districts Population (%) size (%) households used

Lenin 128,541 21.1 30,456 20.4 123 14

Centre

Jal

Pervomay 138,258 22.7 33,200 22.3 134 15

Youg – II

Centre

Sverdlov 179,018 29.3 44,195 29.7 178 20

Vostok – V

Vostok – VI

Alamedin

Tuaguch – 1, 2

Octyabr 164,543 26.9 41,127 27.6 166 19

3–12 Mikrodistr

Asanbay

Kok-jar

Total 610,360 100.0 148,978 100.0 601 68

Suburbs

Orto-say 3,100

Tshon-aryk 6,600 4,222

Bishkek total 620,060 153,200

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 467

1 Footnote.

national statistics (census reports) to verify the representativeness ofthe samples. Table 3 shows demographic and socioeconomiccharacteristics of the samples of Azeri and Kyrgyz respondents.Second, to understand the existing lifestyle dimensions of the Azeriand Kyrgyz consumers and to discern the kinds of lifestylecharacteristics of these consumers, 56 AIO statements were factoranalysed. The missing values were substituted by the mean values. Theresultant factor matrix was rotated using VARIMAX rotation. Third,the 17-item CETSCALE was subjected to a reliability analysis. Theresults of reliability analysis showed that overall reliability (Cronbachalpha) was 0.892 for Azeri consumers and 0.91 for Kyrgyz consumers,which may be considered high reliability coefficients. Fourth, based onthe results of the reliability analysis, it may be assumed that all 17 itemsused are measuring the same construct (ethnocentrism), and asummative measure may be used to represent the ethnocentrism scoreof the respondents. The correlation between the factors extracted andthe ethnocentrism score was computed by using Pearson correlationanalysis. Fifth, a K-means-type cluster analysis was used on the factorsextracted. The objective of this analysis was to identify distinct marketsegments existing among Azeri and Kyrgyz consumer markets byusing attitudinal orientations and lifestyle patterns. Market clusterswere then defined using demographic and socioeconomiccharacteristics, ethnocentrism, household decision-making, productattribute importance and original lifestyle variables. To test thestatistical significance among three clusters on demographic andsocioeconomic variables, a Chi-square analysis was used. To test thestatistical significance among the clusters on ethnocentrism andproduct attribute importance, a one-way ANOVA was performed.Sixth, to understand COO perceptions that existed among Azeri andKyrgyz consumers, a correspondence analysis was used. Using a 5-point Likert scale, perceptions of products coming from majorsourcing countries such as Japan, the USA, Hong Kong, the PRC,Russia, the UK and Turkey with regard to product attributes andcharacteristics from these countries were measured. Finally, theanalysis results of Azeri and Kyrgyz data are compared for betterunderstanding of consumer behavioural tendencies.

Ethnocentrism and lifestyle patterns

Past consumer behaviour literature indicated that ethnocentricconsumers had different lifestyle patterns compared to

468


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 468


469

TABLE 3 SAMPLE DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC

CHARACTERISTICS OF AZERI AND KYRGYZ

RESPONDENTS

Azeri Kyrgyz

respondents respondents

Characteristics (%) (%)

Age

below 20 9.4 8.5

20–30 31.2 44.1

31–40 34.1 26.1

41–50 18.2 12.1

over 50 7.1 9.2

Income1

Azeri Kyrgzy

<300,000 <3,000 13.5 36.6

301–601,000 3–5,000 40.0 20.1

601–901,000 5.1–7,000 8.8 18.7

901–1,201,000 7.1–9,000 19.5 10.1

>1,201,000 >9,000 18.2 14.5

Marital status

Single 38.3 28.7

Married 61.7 71.3

Education

Azeri Kyrgyz

Less than high school Less than 10 yrs of schooling 2.4 8.8

High school 8 plus 2 technical school 9.6 16.8

Some technical school High school not completed 0.6 13.9

Technical school Higher education 12.0 60.5

Some college 9.6

College graduate 65.8

Gender

Male 58.2 60.5

Female 41.8 39.5

Occupation category

Professional/managerial 59.4 8.0

Technical, sales administrative support 14.1 15.6

Service 2.9 16.1

Farming 1.2 1.0

Precision production, craft and repair 2.4 1.7

Operator or labourer 17.6 36.9

Not currently working 2.4 20.71 At the time of data collection, US$1 � 3500 Azeri manat and US$1 � 10.70 Kyrgyz soms.

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 469

1 Footnote.

non-ethnocentric consumers (Shimp, 1984). In order to uncover thelifestyle characteristics of ethnocentric Azeri and Kyrgyz consumers,56 AIO statements were factor analysed. The missing values weresubstituted by the mean values. The resultant factor matrix was rotatedusing VARIMAX rotation.

The analysis of the Kyrgyz data produced ten factors, whichexplained approximately 57.9% of the total variance. Only those fac-tors with an eigenvalue greater than 1.00 were retained (see Table 5).The first and second factors account for 11.5% and 8.1% of the totalvariance and may be labelled Fashion-conscious and Independent factor,respectively. The remaining factors extracted are given in detail inTable 4. Similarly, the analysis of Azeri data also produced ten factorsthat explained approximately 56.7% of the total variance. The first twofactors account for 8.4% and 8.2% of the total variance, and may belabelled Homemaker factor and Family orientation factor, respectively. Theremaining factors are given in Table 5.

Pearson correlation analysis of the factors extracted and theethnocentrism score for Kyrgyz consumers indicated that Fashion-conscious factor (r � –0.29, p � 0.04), Adventurer factor (r � –0.24, p � 0.001)and Perfectionist factor (r � –0.12, p � 0.001) were significantly negativelycorrelated with the ethnocentrism score. In other words, as Kyrgyzconsumers become more fashion-conscious, more adventurous andmore perfectionist, they tend to be less ethnocentric. On the otherhand, Homemaker factor (r � 0.15, p � 0.08), Community-oriented factor (r �0.21, p � 0.0001), Price-conscious factor (r � 0.17, p � 0.001) and Dependentfactor (r � 0.19, p � 0.0001) were positively correlated with the ethno-centrism score. That is, those Kyrgyz consumers who are morehomemaker, more community-oriented, more price-conscious andmore dependent display more ethnocentric tendencies. Pearsoncorrelation analysis of the factors extracted and the ethnocentrismscore of Azeri consumers indicated that only Factor 5 (Fashion-conscious) was significantly correlated (r � –0.23, p � 0.003) with theethnocentrism level. In other words, as the fashion-consciousnesslevel increased, the ethnocentrism score of the Azeri consumersdecreased. All other factor correlations with the ethnocentrism scorewere not statistically significant. Study results indicated that theKyrgyz consumer segment of strugglers and the Azeri consumersegment of traditional female consumers showed more ethnocentrictendencies than the other two market segments.

470


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 470


471

TABLE 4 ROTATED FACTOR PATTERN (VARIMAX ROTATION),

KYRGYZ SAMPLE

Factor Variance

loadings explained

Factor 1: Fashion-conscious 0.1155. I usually have one or more outfits that are of the very latest style 0.5166. When I must choose between the two I usually dress for fashion,

not for comfort 0.6987. An important part of my life and activities is dressing smartly 0.7788. I often try the latest hairstyles when they change 0.687

Factor 2: Independent 0.08125. I think I have more self-confidence than most people 0.64926. I am more independent than most people 0.70527. I think I have a lot of personal ability 0.67928. I like to be considered a leader 0.67929. My friends or neighbours often come to me for advice 0.56130. I sometimes influence what my friends buy 0.503

Factor 3: Family-oriented 0.07917. When my children are ill in bed I drop almost everything else

in order to see to their comfort 0.75718. My children are the most important things in my life 0.79719. I try to arrange my home for my children’s convenience 0.81420. I take a lot of time and effort to teach my children good habits 0.681

Factor 4: Homemaker 0.05638. I like to sew and frequently do 0.76739. I often make my own or my children’s clothes 0.80040. You can save a lot of money by making your own clothes 0.68241. I would like to know how to sew like an expert 0.729

Factor 5: Community-oriented 0.04713. I am an active member of more than one service organisation 0.56514. I do volunteer work for a hospital or service organisation on

a fairly regular basis 0.77615. I like to work on community projects 0.74416. I have personally worked in a political campaign or for a candidate

or an issue 0.610

Factor 6: Price-conscious 0.0441. I shop for specials 0.7212. I find myself checking the prices in the grocery store even for small items 0.6354. A person can save a lot of money by shopping around for bargains 0.687

Factor 7: Adventurer 0.04252. I would like to take a trip around the world 0.63153. I would like to spend a year in a foreign country 0.644

Factor 8: Dependent 0.04042. I depend on canned food for at least one meal a day 0.62843. I could not get along without canned foods 0.675

Factor 9: Social 0.03834. I must admit I really don’t like household chores 0.63335. I find cleaning my house an unpleasant task 0.727

Factor 10: Perfectionist 0.03721. I don’t like to see children’s toys lying around 0.66722. I usually keep my house very neat and clean 0.50023. I am uncomfortable when my house is not completely clean 0.607

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 471

472


TABLE 5 ROTATED FACTOR PATTERN (VARIMAX ROTATION),

AZERI SAMPLE

Cum. % of

Factor variance

Items loaded on each factor loadings explained

Factor 1: Homemaker 0.08438. I like to sew and frequently do 0.78939. I often make my own or my children’s clothes 0.77240. You can save a lot of money by making your own clothes 0.72241. I would like to know how to sew like an expert 0.717

Factor 2: Family-oriented 0.16617. When my children are ill in bed I drop almost everything else

in order to see to their comfort 0.46818. My children are the most important things in my life 0.76919. I try to arrange my home for my children’s convenience 0.70520. I take a lot of time and effort to teach my children good habits 0.73222. I usually keep my house very neat and clean 0.410

Factor 3: Community-oriented 0.23513. I am an active member of more than one service organisation 0.49114. I do volunteer work for a hospital or service organisation on

a fairly regular basis 0.71815. I like to work on community projects 0.59516. I have personally worked in a political campaign or for a candidate

or an issue 0.61251. I participate in sports activities regularly 0.634

Factor 4: Opinion leader 0.29725. I think I have more self-confidence than most people 0.51926. I am more independent than most people 0.53627. I think I have a lot of personal ability 0.72728. I like to be considered a leader 0.56229. My friends or neighbours often come to me for advice 0.682

Factor 5: Fashion-conscious 0.3455. I usually have one or more outfits that are of the very latest style 0.5266. When I must choose between the two I usually dress for fashion,

not for comfort 0.6837. An important part of my life and activities is dressing smartly 0.6768. I often try the latest hairstyles when they change 0.566

Factor 6: Independent 0.39633. I spend a lot of time talking with my friends about products and brands 0.52134. I must admit I really don’t like household chores 0.54335. I find cleaning my house an unpleasant task 0.50336. I enjoy most forms of homework 0.442

Factor 7: Night-life 0.4133. I usually watch the advertisements for announcements of sales 0.672

10. I like parties where there is lots of music and talk 0.579

Factor 8: Adventurer 0.48553. I would like to take a trip around the world 0.68154. I would like to spend a year in a foreign city 0.61755. I like to pay cash for everything I buy 0.549

Factor 9: Optimism 0.52121. I don’t like to see children’s toys lying around 0.58032. I often seek out the advice of my friends regarding which brand to buy 0.46637. My idea of housekeeping is ‘once over lightly’ 0.45348. I will probably have more money to spend next year than I have now 0.434

Factor 10: Price-conscious 0.5671. I shop for specials 0.5602. I find myself checking the prices in the grocery store even for small items 0.4639. I would rather spend a quiet evening at home than go out to a party 0.511

23. I am uncomfortable when my house is not completely clean 0.534

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 472

1 Footnote.

Ethnocentrism and market segmentation

In general, irrespective of nationality and ethnic background,consumers prefer to purchase locally produced products overimported ones (Bilkey and Nes, 1982). However, availability ofdomestic products of the desired quality in Azerbaijan and KyrgyzRepublic is rather limited. An understanding of whether the level ofethnocentrism is a differentiating consumer characteristic for productsoriginating from overseas is useful in the development of marketingstrategies for imported and domestic products alike.

It would be useful to identify the lifestyle variables that make someKyrgyz and Azeri consumers ethnocentric and the variables thatinfluence others to change. As a result of cluster analysis (K-meanspartitioning), three distinct segments were recovered. Strugglersdisplayed the highest degree of ethnocentrism whereas self-actualisersshowed the lowest degree of ethnocentrism. They are mostlyconcerned about a product’s concrete (core) attributes as well asfunctional consequences of its use while their self-actualisercounterparts place more importance on the augmented part (abstractattributes) of the product and psychosocial consequences of its use.The first group of customers displayed the highest levels ofethnocentric tendencies, indicating that these consumers wouldprobably prefer to purchase domestic products (see Table 6). Inpromotional strategies, different approaches need to be used. Whiletargeting ethnocentric consumers, advertising messages mustconcentrate on the concrete attributes of the product and use ofnational, well-known spokespersons, whereas for non-ethnocentricconsumers the emphasis must be on aesthetic quality and use ofinternationally known celebrities.

Kyrgyz consumers in each of the three different market segmentsalso differed in their demographic, socioeconomic and behaviouralcharacteristics. Respondents in the strugglers segment are mostlyfemale, married, younger, and low-income earners. Availability ofalternative product choices and prestigious brand names are notimportant whereas product workmanship, price, maintenance andstyle are important to this market segment. On the other hand, the self-actualisers segment contained mostly male, married and high-income-earner consumers. Availability of alternative product choices,prestigious brand name, style, product workmanship and maintenanceare very important whereas price is not an important consideration. Itmeans that this group is price insensitive. There is also ‘very low


473

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 473

474


1.M

ost

ly f

emal

e co

nsu

mer

s1

2.M

ost

ly m

arri

ed2

3.M

ost

ly b

etw

een

20

and 4

0 ye

ars

old

1

4.‘W

hat

ho

use

to

tak

e’dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e by

bo

th s

po

use

s3

5.‘W

hat

car

to

buy’

dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e

by

mal

e1

6.E

thn

oce

ntr

ica

7.A

vaila

bili

ty o

fal

tern

ativ

e p

roduct

ch

oic

es

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

b

8.P

rest

igio

us

bra

nd n

ame

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

b

9.W

ork

man

ship

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

b

10.P

rice

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

a

11.S

tyle

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

b

12.M

ain

ten

ance

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

b

13.9

0% h

ave

less

th

an 5

000

som

an

nual

inco

me

(low

-in

com

e co

nsu

mer

)4

14.P

refe

rs C

hin

ese,

India

n,I

ran

ian

,Per

sian

Gulf

Stat

es p

roduct

s

1.E

qual

num

ber

of

mal

e an

d fe

mal

e co

nsu

mer

s

2.M

ost

ly s

ingl

e

3.E

qual

ly d

istr

ibute

d a

ge g

roup

s

4.‘W

hat

ho

use

to

tak

e’dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e by

husb

and

5.‘W

hat

car

to

buy’

dec

isio

n is

equal

ly m

ade

by

mal

e an

d f

emal

e

6.L

ow

eth

no

cen

tric

7.A

vaila

bili

ty o

fal

tern

ativ

e p

roduct

ch

oic

es

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

8.P

rest

igio

us

bra

nd n

ame

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

9.W

ork

man

ship

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

10.P

rice

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

11.S

tyle

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

12.M

ain

ten

ance

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

13.6

5% h

ave

inco

me

bet

wee

n 5

000

to 7

000

som

annual

ly (

med

ium

-in

com

e co

nsu

mer

s)

14.P

refe

rs T

urk

ish

,Russ

ian

an

d K

azak

h

pro

duct

s

1.M

ost

ly m

ale

con

sum

ers

2.M

ost

ly m

arri

ed

3.M

ost

ly b

etw

een

20

and 4

0 ye

ars

old

4.‘W

hat

ho

use

to

tak

e’dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e by

bo

th s

po

use

s

5.‘W

hat

car

to

buy’

dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e

by

mal

e

6.V

ery

low

eth

no

cen

tris

m

7.A

vaila

bili

ty o

fal

tern

ativ

e p

roduct

ch

oic

es

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

8.P

rest

igio

us

bra

nd n

ame

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

9.W

ork

man

ship

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

10.P

rice

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

11.S

tyle

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

12.M

ain

ten

ance

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

13.7

0% h

ave

mo

re t

han

700

0 so

m a

nnual

inco

me

(hig

h-i

nco

me

con

sum

ers)

14.P

refe

rs U

S,Ja

pan

ese,

Wes

tern

Euro

pea

n

pro

duct

s

TA

BL

E 6

CH

AR

AC

TE

RIS

TIC

S O

F C

LU

STE

RS

IDE

NT

IFIE

D (

KY

RG

YZ

CO

NSU

ME

RS)

(n

= 6

01)

Str

ug

gle

rs (

eth

no

cen

tric

)S

triv

ers

(se

mi-

eth

no

cen

tric

) S

elf

-actu

ali

sers

(n

on

-eth

no

cen

tric

)

Clu

ster

1 (nnn

= 3

15)

Clu

ster

2 (

nnn=

101)

Clu

ster

3 (

nnn=

185)

No

tes

1Si

gnif

ican

t C

hi-

squar

e at

p<

0.0

012

Sign

ific

ant

Ch

i-sq

uar

e at

p<

0.1

03

Sign

ific

ant

Ch

i-sq

uar

e at

p<

0.0

54

Sign

ific

ant

Ch

i-sq

uar

e at

p<

0.0

1a

Sign

ific

ant

Fte

st a

t p

< 0

.000

1b

Sign

ific

ant

Fte

st a

t p

< 0

.01

cSi

gnif

ican

t F

test

at

p<

0.0

5

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 474

1 Footnote.

ethnocentrism’ among this group of respondents. Study resultsfurther indicated that non-ethnocentric Kyrgyz consumers tended tohave significantly more favourable beliefs, attitudes and intentionsregarding imported products compared to ethnocentric Kyrgyzconsumers.

As a result of cluster analysis on the Azeri data, three clusters werealso identified. To test the statistical significance among three clusterson demographic and socioeconomic variables, a Chi-square analysiswas performed. On the other hand, to test the statistical significanceamong clusters on ethnocentrism and product attribute importance, aone-way ANOVA was undertaken. Table 7 gives the characteristics ofthe clusters. After analysing the characteristics of the three clusters,cluster 1 may be labelled Sophisticated consumers. These consumers aremostly between the ages of 20 to 40, married and earn a high income.Husband and wife joint decision-making is in place. This group ofconsumers prefers prestigious brand names, and availability ofalternative product choices, good workmanship and product price areimportant to them. They are also fashion-conscious. These consumershave similar demands and requirements to their counterparts in theWestern nations. On the other hand, clusters 2 and 3 may be labelledTraditional male and Traditional female consumers. Consumers in thesesegments are highly ethnocentric and their demands are not assophisticated as consumers’ demands in cluster 1. These findings lendsupport to the classification scheme of Shimp (1984) and thereplication study of Netemeyer et al. (1991) in Kyrgyz and Azerienvironments. The evidence suggests that the scale may be used withconfidence across national and cultural boundaries.

To understand the perceptions of Kyrgyz consumers of importedproducts, a correspondence analysis was used. Using a 5-point Likertscale, perceptions of products from five countries (Japan, the USA,the PRC, Russia and the UK) with regard to the product attributes andcharacteristics from those countries were measured. Hence, eightproduct attributes by five-country data matrix was used for thecorrespondence analysis. The first two dimensions of thecorrespondence analysis explained 99% of the total variance. Japanand the USA were perceived to be associated with similar attributessuch as well-known brand name, technologically advanced, expensive, luxury,good style and appearance, and the products from these countries wereperceived to be heavily advertised. On the other hand, Russian productswere perceived to be less in reliability, durability and service. This finding


475

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 475

476


1.E

qual

num

ber

of

mal

e an

d f

emal

e

con

sum

ersa

2.M

ost

ly m

arri

edb

3.M

ost

ly b

etw

een

20

and 4

0 ye

ars

old

c

4.‘W

hat

ho

use

to

tak

e’dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e by

bo

th h

usb

and a

nd w

ifea

5.L

ow

eth

no

cen

tric

d

6.A

vaila

bili

ty o

fal

tern

ativ

e p

roduct

ch

oic

es

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

e

7.P

rest

igio

us

bra

nd n

ame

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

e

8.W

ork

man

ship

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

e

9.P

rice

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

e

10.F

ash

ion

-co

nsc

iouse

11.4

4% h

ave

mo

re t

han

1,2

01,0

00 m

anat

(hig

h in

com

e)

12.P

refe

rs W

este

rn E

uro

pea

n,J

apan

ese

and

US

pro

duct

s

1.M

ost

ly m

ale

con

sum

ers

2.M

ost

ly s

ingl

e

3.E

qual

ly d

istr

ibute

d a

ge g

roup

s

4.‘W

hat

ho

use

to

tak

e’dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e by

husb

and

5.H

igh

ly e

thn

oce

ntr

ic

6.A

vaila

bili

ty o

fal

tern

ativ

e p

roduct

ch

oic

es

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

7.P

rest

igio

us

bra

nd n

ame

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

8.W

ork

man

ship

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

9.P

rice

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

10.N

ot

fash

ion

-co

nsc

ious

11.7

0% e

arn

bet

wee

n 3

01 a

nd 9

01,0

00 m

anat

(med

ium

inco

me)

12.P

refe

rs T

urk

ish

pro

duct

s

1.M

ost

ly f

emal

e co

nsu

mer

s

2.M

ost

ly m

arri

ed

3.M

ost

ly b

etw

een

30

and 5

0 ye

ars

old

4.‘W

hat

ho

use

to

tak

e’dec

isio

n is

mo

stly

mad

e by

bo

th h

usb

and a

nd w

ife

5.H

igh

ly e

thn

oce

ntr

ic

6.A

vaila

bili

ty o

fal

tern

ativ

e p

roduct

ch

oic

es

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

7.P

rest

igio

us

bra

nd n

ame

is ‘n

ot

imp

ort

ant’

8.W

ork

man

ship

is ‘v

ery

imp

ort

ant’

9.P

rice

is ‘i

mp

ort

ant’

10.N

ot

fash

ion

-co

nsc

ious

11.8

2% h

ave

less

th

an 3

00,0

00 m

anat

(low

inco

me)

12.P

refe

rs I

ran

ian

,Russ

ian

,Ch

ines

e,

Geo

rgia

n p

roduct

s

TA

BL

E 7

CH

AR

AC

TE

RIS

TIC

S O

F C

LU

STE

RS

IDE

NT

IFIE

D (

AZ

ER

I C

ON

SUM

ER

S) (

n=

170

)

So

ph

isti

cate

d c

on

sum

ers

T

rad

itio

nal

male

co

nsu

mers

T

rad

itio

nal

fem

ale

co

nsu

mers

(no

n-e

thn

ocen

tric

)(s

em

i-eth

no

cen

tric

)(e

thn

ocen

tric

)

Clu

ster

1 (nnnn

= 1

12)

Clu

ster

2 (

nnn=

27)

Clu

ster

3 (

nnnn=

31)

No

tes

a Sig

nif

ican

t C

hi-

squar

e at

p<

0.0

5bSi

gnif

ican

t C

hi-

squar

e at

p<

0.0

2c S

ign

ific

ant

Ch

i-sq

uar

e at

p<

0.1

0dSi

gnif

ican

t F

test

at

p<

0.0

8e S

ign

ific

ant

Fte

st a

t p

< 0

.01

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 476

1 Footnote.

indicates that as Kyrgyz consumers become more acquainted withforeign products, their perception of product attributes as well as theweight of each attribute may change.

Similarly, to understand COO perceptions that existed among Azericonsumers, a correspondence analysis was used. Using a 5-point Likertscale, Azeri consumers’ perceptions of products from six countries(Japan, the USA, Hong Kong, the PRC, Russia and Turkey) withregard to the product attributes and characteristics from thosecountries were measured. Hence, 11 product attributes by six-countrydata matrix was used for the correspondence analysis. The first twodimensions of the correspondence analysis explained 97.67% of thetotal variance. Japan and the USA were perceived to be associated withsimilar attributes such as well-known brand name, technologically advanced,expensive, luxury, good style and appearance, and the products from thesecountries are perceived to be heavily advertised. On the other hand,Russian products were perceived to be less in reliability, durability andservice.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of the study indicated that there were several attitudinal,behavioural and lifestyle dimensions apparent among Azeri andKyrgyz consumers. The most dominant dimensions were family andcommunity orientation factors. In closed societies of several decades,the existence of these dimensions was not surprising. Advertisingstrategies promoting group decision-making and family-oriented typesof themes and messages would be very effective. For this marketsegment, appeal to consumers’ status and power position may be veryappropriate. However, it is important to note that several dimensionsfound among consumers of the Western nations such as, risk-taking,consumerism and health-consciousness were not found among Azeri andKyrgyz consumers. At this stage of their socioeconomic development,consumers in both countries as well as in the region (Turkic Republics)do not perceive any problems in healthcare, since the individual statesstill take care of their citizens’ health problems. Because of the lowlevel of market and industry development and prevailing supply-oriented market conditions, most of the consumers are not concernedabout consumerism issues at this stage of socioeconomic develop-ment of the two countries and the region. Finally, the low level of


477

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 477

1 Footnote.

income earned by a majority of the consumers and the fragile natureof present market conditions preclude many Kyrgyz and Azericonsumers from engaging in risky types of undertakings, such asentrepreneurship, business development and portfolio investment.This finding reconfirms our contention that middle and high-incomeconsumers irrespective of nationality and country of residence,demonstrate similar, if not identical, behavioural tendencies andpurchasing patterns to their Western counterparts. In these types ofmarket segments, one needs to use a ‘successful achiever’ theme inadvertising. In addition, these consumer market segments have a highregard for ‘environmentally friendly’ products/companies and sociallyconscious countries/firms and a desire for novelty, variety andpleasure, hence a strong demand for Western European, NorthAmerican and Japanese products. Conversely, low-income highlyethnocentric consumers also show similar purchasing practices andbehavioural tendencies to their poor counterparts. We can evenstipulate that these low-income ethnocentric Kyrgyz and Azericonsumers behave in a similar way to the ghetto poor who reside inless wealthier neighbourhoods of advanced countries in NorthAmerica (i.e. low-income-earner Hispanic and African Americanconsumers and West Indians in Canada) and Europe (i.e. Asianconsumers in the UK, North African consumers in France andTurkish consumers in Germany and Austria) are cases in point(O’Shaughnessy, 1987). Furthermore, in both countries, there havebeen a few financial crises in the market which led to bank closures,and many people lost their savings in the process. Because of theseincidents, people are very reluctant to invest funds. Successfulmarketing strategies in these two distinct market segments requiresignificant product and message modifications in the marketingstrategy. It was found that those products originating in Japan and theUSA were perceived to be associated with similar positive attributes,whereas Russian and Chinese products were perceived to be poor inquality, workmanship and after-sales service.

There are several lifestyle dimensions apparent among Azeri andKyrgyz consumers, which influence their ethnocentric behaviour andtendencies. As time changes and these countries become wealthier,more Westernised and more aware of mass-media communication,Kyrgyz and Azeri consumers will develop more non-ethnocentrictendencies. Significant relationships were found between the lifestyledimensions of Kyrgyz and Azeri consumers and their ethnocentrism

478


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 478

1 Footnote.

levels. Fashion-conscious, Adventurer and Perfectionist factors weresignificantly negatively correlated with the ethnocentrism score. Inother words, as Kyrgyz and Azeri consumers become more fashion-conscious, more adventurous and more perfectionist, they becomeless ethnocentric. On the other hand, Homemaker, Community-oriented,Price-conscious and Dependent factors were significantly positivelycorrelated with the ethnocentrism score. That is, as Kyrgyz and Azericonsumers became more homemaker, more community-oriented,more price-conscious and more dependent, they become moreethnocentric. To achieve organisational objectives, one long-termmarketing strategy for these countries as well as the ones at a similarlevel of development may be to attempt to change cultural values andbehavioural tendencies or at least appropriately modify them. Thisinformation has significant implications for the companies that arecurrently operating in the two countries or planning to enter into theregion as well as individual markets in the near future in thedevelopment of promotion, packaging, labelling and pricing strategiesfor their products and services.

Using the lifestyle dimensions extracted, three distinct marketsegments were found. After analysing the characteristics of eachcluster, it was discovered that consumers in the Self-actualiser customersmarket segment showed similar behaviour to consumers in Westerncountries. The net result of this is that companies can standardise theirmarketing strategies across nations while targeting these kinds ofmarket segments by the use of a more focused type of marketingstrategy – using a honed rather than a broad-brush approach. Theseconsumers were found to be low in ethnocentrism compared to theother segments; synchronic decision-making, brand name, choice ofproducts and price were considered to be very important, and theypaid more attention to fashion and design. This segment may beconsidered to be very important for marketers manufacturing majorconsumer goods such as household appliances, consumer non-durableproducts, automobiles and electronic products, and may require verylittle or no modification in the marketing strategy/promotion andapproach. On the other hand, the other two market segments foundwere basically similar to each other but the main differentiating factorwas the concentration of the different gender groups in each segment.The consumers in these segments were mainly traditional consumerslow in consumer sophistication but high in ethnocentrism. Theylargely worked in traditional professions and/or were unskilled


479

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 479

1 Footnote.

workers. Successful marketing strategies in these segments requiresignificant product and message modifications in the marketingstrategy.

It was found that the products originating in Japan and the USAwere perceived to be associated with similar attributes such as well-known brand name, technologically advanced, expensive, luxury, good style andappearance, and the products from these countries were perceived to beheavily advertised. On the other hand, Russian products were perceivedto be less in reliability, durability and service. It was found that there weresome negative perceptions of the products (product being imitationand lower quality) from China and Russia. On the other hand,although the perceptions were not as strong as with products fromJapan and the USA, the British products were also perceived to beclosely related to attributes such as technologically advanced, expensive,luxury, good style and appearance. This finding illustrates that thosecompanies which are not contemplating direct entry into KyrgyzRepublic themselves presently may use Europe, and in particular theUK, as a conduit for entry, or may engage in strategic alliances withBritish and other European companies who are already wellentrenched in the market. It was also perceived by the Azerirespondents that Hong Kong provided a wide choice of sizes andmodels. On the other hand, although the perceptions were not asstrong as in products coming from Japan and the USA, in Azerbaijan,Turkish products were also perceived to be closely related to theattributes such as technologically advanced, expensive, luxury, good style andappearance. This finding illustrates that those companies which are notcontemplating direct entry into Azerbaijan themselves presently mayuse Turkey as a conduit for entry, or may engage in strategic allianceswith Turkish companies which are already well entrenched in themarket.

REFERENCES

Aaker, D.A. & Keller, K.L. (1990) ‘Consumer evaluations of brand extensions’,Journal of Marketing, 54 (January), 27–41.

Azerbaijan State Statistical Bureau (1994) Azerbaijan State Statistical Bureau Report.Baku: Azerbaijan State Statistical Bureau.

Balabanis, G., Diamantopoulos, A., Mueller, R.D. & Melawar, T.C. (2001) ‘Theimpact of nationalism, patriotism and internationalism on consumerethnocentric tendencies’, Journal of International Business Studies, 32(1), 157–175.

480


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 480

1 Footnote.

Barrett, P. (1996) ‘Is Britain served by tradition?’ Marketing (December), 8.Bilkey, W.J. & Nes, E. (1982) ‘Country of origin effects on product evaluations’,

Journal of International Business Studies, 13 (spring/summer), 88–99.Clark, T. (1990) ‘International marketing and national character: a review and

proposal from integrative theory’, Journal of Marketing, 54 (October), 66–79.Durvasula, S., Andrews, J.C. & Netemeyer, R.G. (1997) ‘A cross-cultural

comparison of consumer ethnocentrism in the United States and Russia’,Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 9(4), 73–93.

Han, C.M. & Terpstra, V. (1988) ‘Country-of-origin effects for uni-national and bi-national products’, Journal of International Business Studies, summer, 235–255.

Hult, G.T.M. & Keillor, B.D. (1994) ‘The impact of a social desirability bias onconsumer ethnocentrism research: a cross-national perspective’, Journal ofMarketing Management, 4(2), 48–55.

Kaynak, E. & Cavusgil, S.T. (1983) ‘Consumer attitudes towards products offoreign origin: do they vary across product classes’, International Journal ofAdvertising, 2(2), 147–157.

Klenosky, D.B., Bennett, S.B. & Chadraba, P. (1996) ‘Assessing Czech consumers’reactions to Western marketing practices: a conjoint approach’, Journal ofBusiness Research, 36(2), 189–198.

Lee, M. & Ulgado, F.M. (1996) ‘Consumer reactions to binational products:implications for international marketers’, Journal of Marketing Management, 6(1),29–38.

Li, C. (1998) China: The Consumer Revolution. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons.Manrai, L.A. & Manrai, A.K. (1995) ‘Current issues in the cross-cultural and cross-

national consumer research’, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 8(3/4),9–23.

Neese, W.T. & Hult, G.T.M. (1996) ‘Demographic predictors of country-of-origintendencies: a luxury sedan example’, Journal of Marketing Management, 6(2),48–60.

Netemeyer, R.G., Durvasula, S. & Lichtenstein, D.R. (1991) ‘A cross-nationalassessment of the reliability and validity of the CETSCALE’, Journal ofMarketing Research, 28 (August), 320–327.

O’Shaughnessy, J. (1987) Why People Buy. New York: Oxford University Press.Papadopoulos, N. & Heslop, L. (1993). Product Country Images. Binghampton, NY:

International Business Press.Pecotich, A.M., Pressley, M. & Roth, D. (1996) ‘The impact of country-of-origin

in the retail service context’, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 3(4),213–224.

Pfaff, W. (1994) The Wrath of Nations: Civilizations and Furies of Nationalism.London: Oxford University Press.

Schooler, R.D. (1971) ‘Bias phenomena attendant to the marketing of foreigngoods in the US’, Journal of International Business Studies, 2 (November), 71–80.

Schweiger, G., Haubl, G. & Friederes, G. (1995) ‘Consumers’ evaluations ofproducts labeled “Made in Europe”’, Marketing and Research Today, 23(1), 25–34.

Shimp, T.A. (1984) ‘Consumer ethnocentrism: the concept and a preliminaryempirical test’. In T.C. Kinnear (Ed.), Advances in Consumer Research, Association ofConsumer Research Proceedings, 11, 285–290, Provo, UT.


481

Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 481

1 Footnote.

Shimp, T.A. & Sharma, S. (1987) ‘Consumer ethnocentrism: construction andvalidation of the CETSCALE’, Journal of Marketing Research, 24 (August),280–289.

Svennevig, M., Pounds, J. & Olszewski, M. (1992) ‘Researching Central andEastern Europe’, Marketing and Research Today, 20(3), 200–205.

Tongberg, R.C. (1972) An Empirical Study of Relationship Between Dogmatism andConsumer Attitudes Toward Foreign Products. Unpublished PhD dissertation, ThePennsylvania State University.

Wells, W.D. (1975) ‘Psychographics: a critical review’, Journal of Marketing Research,12 (May), 196–213.

Westfall, R. (1962) ‘Psychological factors in predicting product choice’, Journal ofMarketing, April, 34–40.

Wu, Y. (1999) China’s Consumer Revolution: The Emerging Patterns of Wealth andExpenditure. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr Erdener Kaynak is presently Professor of Marketing and Chair ofthe Marketing Department at the School of Business Administration,Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg. He holds a PhD inMarketing Management from Cranfield University and an honoraryDSc degree in Economics from Turku School of Economics andBusiness Administration. A regular contributor to the IJOA, DrKaynak has had 22 books and over 200 articles published, and has saton the Journal’s Editorial Board since its inception some two decadesago. He has lectured widely in diverse areas of marketing andinternational business, and has trained people from business andgovernment officials in over forty countries across five continents.

Ali Kara is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the College ofBusiness Administration, Pennsylvania State University at York. Heholds a doctorate from Florida International University, Miami, and anMBA degree from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He hasbeen published extensively in scientific marketing journals, such as theJournal of Marketing Research, European Journal of Operations Research andJournal of Global Marketing, and has made several national andinternational conference presentations. His current research focuseson analytic hierarchy process and conjoint analysis, modelcomparisons and market organisations.

482


Kaynak.qxd 24/10/01 15:05 Page 482

An examination of the relationship among consumer lifestyles, ethnocentrism, knowledge structures,...

Documents

Transcript of An examination of the relationship among consumer lifestyles, ethnocentrism, knowledge structures,...