Consumer Sentiments: a Missing Link between Personality Traits and Purchase Intention toward Foreign Products - an Empirical Study on Young Vietnamese Consumers

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of consumer sentiments on purchase intention toward foreign products and to determine which personality traits are responsible for the formation of consumer sentiments. In this study, we employed Structural Equation Modeling to test the research model using data collected from a survey of 400 young Vietnamese consumers in Ho Chi Minh City. The results provide empirical evidence of the positive impact of consumer cosmopolitanism and xenocentrism on consumers’ purchase intention toward foreign products. Furthermore, through this study, we indicated that certain personality traits shape consumer sentiments. Generally speaking, in the context of foreign consumption, there is an enhanced link between personality traits and purchase intention via the mediating role of consumer sentiments. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.