The impact of the relationship between brand name usage in indigenous and national defense vehicles and consumer ethnocentrism on brand image: A study

Consumer ethnocentrism refers to the narrow application of the concept of ethnocentrism to consumers, wherein individuals exhibit biased intergroup evaluations by perceiving their own culture or group as superior to others. It has been argued that consumers demonstrating ethnocentric behavior tend to prefer the use of domestic products, while finding foreign-origin products economically and ethically unfavorable, whereas consumers not exhibiting ethnocentric tendencies do not harbor concerns about the origin of the product (Shimp and Sharma, 1987). In recent times, the defense industry sector, which has begun to stand out in our country's industry, aims to increase the proportion of domestic production and international market share. Since the brand name is one of the most important indicators regarding the origin of a product, the use of expressions reminiscent of Turkish culture in naming defense vehicles leads stakeholders, especially the public, to form opinions about the vehicle. In this context, the aim of our study is to measure the impact of brand name usage in indigenous and national defense vehicles and consumer ethnocentrism on brand image. The final questionnaire, adapted from Cetscale, which was adapted to Turkey by Aysuna (2010) and used to measure the impact of consumer ethnocentrism, along with scales for brand image (Yüce, 2010) and brand name (Grace and O'cass, 2005), comprises a total of 42 statements. Due to the frequent coverage of defense industry news in the agenda, the study sample consists of 353 individuals aged 18 and over. Through statistical analysis, the study aims to determine whether there is any relationship between brand name usage in indigenous and national defense vehicles and consumer ethnocentrism, and if so, to identify the direction of this relationship. Furthermore, it examines whether there is a significant difference between brand image, brand name, and consumer ethnocentrism levels. Keywords: Consumer ethnocentrism, Brand name, Brand image, Defense industry