Effects of Consumer Ethnocentrism, Cosmopolitanism and Cultural Intelligence on the Acceptance of Foreign Brands

Abstract

Globalization of the market has diminished the importance of national borders, so that an increasing number of companies are internationalizing their business. It is very important that the company’s management investigates the characteristics of the foreign market in which it wants to operate. It is necessary to formulate and implement adequate marketing strategy, which will take into account ethnocentric tendencies and the cultural framework of consumers. Consumer ethnocentrism usually comes to the fore during crisis situations and a number of consumers want to strengthen the national economy by purchasing domestic products and services. On the other hand, a number of consumers have developed a high degree of cosmopolitanism and cultural intelligence, which implies preferences for foreign brands over domestic ones. The aim of this scientific paper is to identify some of the most important drivers of consumer ethnocentrism (patriotism, conservatism, dogmatism), and then to examine whether consumer ethnocentrism, cosmopolitanism and cultural intelligence through their basic factors (metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioral factors) influence the formation of consumer attitudes towards foreign brands. It also examines whether the positive attitude of consumers towards foreign brands affects the loyalty of consumers to foreign brands, because it is necessary for companies to move from transactional marketing to customer relationship management, because loyal consumers are a stable source of income and enable long-term profitable business. Empirical research was conducted using a survey method in the Republic of Serbia (Belgrade, Kragujevac). The results of the research showed that consumer ethnocentrism has a negative statistically significant impact, and consumer cosmopolitanism and cultural intelligence have a positive statistically significant impact on consumer attitudes towards foreign brands, and a positive attitudes implies consumer loyalty to foreign brands.