Applying the Animosity Model in Foreign Product Purchases: Evidence from an Emerging Nation

ABSTRACT

Considerable attention has been devoted to research on animosity and ethnocentrism and their influence on foreign product evaluation. However, little attention has been paid to research in Saudi Arabia, a country that wields significant global political and economic influence as the cradle of Islam and where the perceived anti-American sentiment runs high. Drawing upon relevant extant literature, the article proposes a research model examining the relationship between animosity and ethnocentrism factors and product evaluation. The study also extends the line of inquiry to explore the moderating effects of domestic availability and foreign travel. By employing a survey, this study further examines how consumers in Saudi Arabia harbor varying degrees of animosity and ethnocentrism and their influence on product evaluation. This study found that economic animosity does not have a negative influence on US product evaluation. However, the study found a significant moderating effect of foreign travel on war animosity and evaluation of foreign products. The overall results show that war animosity and ethnocentrism significantly affect the evaluation of US products. Detailed discussions of the research, managerial, and contextual implications are reported.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer ethnocentrism
• country of origin
• economic animosity
• product evaluation
• United States
• Saudi Arabia
• war animosity

Funding

This study was funded under the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia, Internal Research Grants Program Project No. IN111032. The authors acknowledge KFUPM for the financial as well as other administrative support in completion of this research.