The mediating role of patriotic attitude in the effect of consumer ethnocentrism on foreign product purchase intention: A study on tea consumers in Ankara

Globalization has radically changed consumer behavior with the increase in economic, social and cultural interactions. Today, individuals' product and brand preferences are shaped not only by rational criteria such as price and quality, but also by socio-cultural factors such as national identity, patriotism and cultural values. In this context, consumer ethnocentrism stands out with the negative attitudes that individuals develop towards foreign products and the perception that these products pose a threat to the country's economy or cultural values. Multinational companies and changes in consumption habits that emerged under the influence of globalization have also caused differences in individuals' product preferences. The level at which individuals feel they are in a group emerges as a factor affecting their consumption. In addition, political problems, waves of migration and conflicts that emerge between countries may be factors that can cause individuals to behave more nationalistically. In this research, it was wondered what the ethnocentric levels of individuals are and what level of patriotic attitude they will exhibit according to their ethnocentric tendencies in the case of purchasing foreign products. In this context, the study aims to comprehensively examine the effects of ethnocentrism and patriotism on the intention to purchase foreign products and to reveal the mediating role of patriotism in this relationship. The study was conducted on 405 tea consumers in Ankara. The demographic characteristics of the consumers and the brands of tea they consumed were asked. The Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale, Patriotism Scale and Foreign Product Purchase Intention Scale were used as measurement tools in the survey. The analysis of the data obtained as a result of the surveys was carried out using SPSS and AMOS programs. According to the results of the analyses performed, it was concluded that individuals with high levels of nationalism developed blind patriotism tendencies and this tendency increased the intention to purchase foreign products. In addition, it was concluded that the preference for domestic products increased the tendency for constructive patriotism and as a result, decreased the intention to purchase foreign products.