The effect of consumer ethnocentrism and cosmopolitism on brand loyalty: A research on GSM operators

For companies, determining the attitudes and behaviors of consumers in the target market and understanding the reasons for these attitudes and behaviors are very important for marketing success. Although countries have become interdependent with globalization, different trends are observed in consumer behavior. The existence of consumers who primarily care about their own country's interests, the tendency of ethnocentrism, known as ethnic nationalism, is one of the factors that slows down global commitment. However, cosmopolitan individuals who feel themselves as citizens of the world, approach not only their country but also all citizens of the world equally and observe objectively, are nourished by globalization. It is observed that these differences in consumer tendencies are reflected in brand image perception, brand preference and brand loyalty. Revealing and measuring these trends and their results creates an important data set for brand managers. In this context, the aim of the study is to determine how effective consumer ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism are on brand loyalty towards GSM operators, which are today's leading players in communication. Another aim is to reveal whether there is a difference in GSM operator brand loyalty, brand image, ethnocentrism and cosmopolitan tendencies according to the demographic characteristics of the participants. For these purposes, a questionnaire was prepared online and 420 people were reached. In the study, convenience sampling, one of the non-random sampling techniques, was used in the selection of the sample. The data collected after the survey was analyzed with the SPSS 23.0 program. For the purposes of the research, the variables were subjected to Independent Samples T-test, one-way analysis of variance, correlation and regression analyzes and the findings were interpreted. All of the hypotheses established have been confirmed, and according to the results of the research, it is seen that ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism have a positive effect on brand loyalty. However, brand image has a positive and significant effect on brand loyalty. On the other hand, significant differences were found between different education, age and income groups in terms of consumer ethnocentrism level, and similarly between education groups in terms of cosmopolitanism level. It is thought that researching consumer trends in the GSM operators in the service sector will contribute to the literature in terms of examining different sectors. In this way, comparisons can be made between sectors and verification of the similarities in terms of results or analysis of the differences can be achieved. The benefit of the findings, which emerged as a result of the research, for company managers is that they will contribute to the understanding of target audience demands.