Sub-national consumer ethnocentrism and the importance of the origin of food products: An exploratory analysis

Abstract

Purpose This study’s main objective is to analyse the role of the consumer’s ethnocentrism as a potential segmentation basis and to detect product origin-sensitive groups. The relationship between the consumer’s regional ethnocentrism, local and regional identity and corresponding valuation and purchase of food products from a region is also examined. Design/methodology/approach The responses of 358 consumers residing in two Spanish regions are analysed by means of a mediation analysis and a cluster analysis. Findings The results suggest the convenience of considering ethnocentric consumer tendencies, also at the regional level, when studying attitudes, valuation, information search and effective purchase of foods of diverse categories and origins. Originality The main contributions of this work derive from the assessment of consumer ethnocentrism at a sub-national level (which is much less present in the literature) and the evidence of its usefulness for segmenting the market and detecting groups of origin-sensitive consumers, which can be useful to companies that produce and market food products in different regions.