IMPACT OF CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM ON WILLINGNESS TO BUY DOMESTIC SKINCARE PRODUCTS IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Globalization has brought a variety of foreign products to the Sri Lankan cosmetics market and the competition between domestic and foreign entities has intensified. Therefore, local marketers focus on consumer ethnocentrism as a strong weapon to influence the purchase decisions of consumers and to face intense competition in the cosmetic industry. This study attempted to address the gap of insufficient studies to measure the ethnocentric tendencies using a valid extended scale which can tackle the intensely competitive nature in the Sri Lankan skin care product market. Thus, multi dimensional CEESCALE was applied instead of CETSCALE to measure consumer ethnocentrism in the Sri Lankan context. The five dimensions of CEESCALE (pro-sociality, cognition, insecurity, reflexiveness and habituation) were used as independent variables in order to identify the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on willingness to buy domestic skincare products. The survey method was employed as the main research method and the sample comprised of 170 Sri Lankan female consumers. Ethnocentric pro sociality, ethnocentric insecurity, ethnocentric reflexiveness and ethnocentric habituation showed a significant impact on willingness to buy domestic skincare products while ethnocentric cognition showed no significant impact in the Sri Lankan context. The study also revealed significant differences among income groups and education levels regarding the willingness to buy domestic skincare products.