ETHNOCENTRISM MINDS AND LOCAL BRANDS: A STUDY ON CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM, ATTITUDES AND PURCHASE INTENTION IN MILK POWDER INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Globalization has increased the presence of international products in Sri Lanka, creating drastic competition between local and foreign brands. Especially, the local milk powder market faced this crisis. This study aims to examine the impact of consumer ethnocentrism using the consumer ethnocentrism extended scale CEESCALE, which consists of five main dimensions in measuring consumer ethnocentrism as cognition, pro-sociality, insecurity, reflexiveness, and habituation on purchase intention for domestic milk powder products in Sri Lanka by mediating consumer attitude. Thus, this study utilizes social identity theory in investigating the consumer ethnocentrism perspective. A quantitative research design was adopted, targeting milk powder consumers in Sri Lanka's Western Province. A sample of 384 respondents was selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured online questionnaire. Data analysis through both SPSS & AMOS. Thus, all the Cronbach's alpha values exceed the 0.7 threshold level, KMO values exceed the 0.5 expected level, the regression model fit indicates 0.668, and the PROCESS macro is used for mediation testing. Among the five main dimensions, cognition indicates the strongest contribution to purchase intention towards domestically produced milk powder because it indicates the strongest reliability B value of 0.444. Thus, consumer attitude acts as a partial mediator on both consumer ethnocentrism & purchase intention. Thus, this study provides valuable implications to local dairy firms, marketers & brand managers, and policymakers promoting domestic milk powder products can leverage consumer ethnocentrism strategies and appeals to face drastic foreign competition.