MEASURING ETHNOCENTRIC TENDENCIES OF CONSUMERS IN TUZLA CANTON

Abstract

Consumer ethnocentrism is a tendency of consumers to buy and consume domestic products and services. The aim of the paper was to identify the key attitudes and barriers related to consumer ethnocentrism, and to examine the impact of socio–demographic characteristics of households on the tendencies in consumer ethnocentrism in the Tuzla Canton area. The study was conducted on a random sample of 110 households, and the questionnaire consisted of two parts. In the first part, questions were answered from the standard CET scale with 17 claims, while the second part of the questionnaire consisted of a set of questions that concerned habits and preferences of consumers, barriers to consumer ethnocentrism, and socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. It was found that Bosnia and Herzegovina consumers are ethnocentric, most prominently in the purchase of domestic food products. The extent of Pearson's coefficient of correlation shows that their tendency towards purchasing domestic products significantly correlates positively with promotional activities. The results of the study showed that for most of the socio–demographic characteristics of the respondents there was no statistically significant difference in relation to the tendency of consumer ethnocentrism. The only exception is the ethnicity of the respondents. In addition, consumers do not reject foreign products, but agree that they should be limited in the Tuzla Canton area. The results of the conducted empirical research can provide valuable guidelines for improving the business activities of production companies in both Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Tuzla Canton.