Avoiding uncertainty, consumer ethnocentrism and xenocentrism, the image of the country of origin, as determinants of acceptance of foreign brands

Abstract

The process of globalization and integration of the world market have led to the liberalized foreign trade of goods and services. The development of information technologies and traffic networks has made it easier for companies to internationalize their business. For successful and profitabile business, it is necessary to research the foreign market in which the company wants to appear and place its brands, because in that way information is collected that is necessary for formulating an adequate marketing strategy. Consumer decision to accept foreign brands is influenced by a number of determinants. The aim of the paper is to determine whether the avoidance of uncertainty as a dimension of national culture, consumer ethnocentrism and xenocentrism, as well as the image of the country of origin have an impact on consumer's decision to accept foreign brands. Empirical research was conducted using a survey method on the territory of the Republic of Serbia (Belgrade, Kragujevac), and the answers received from the respondents were analyzed through the statistical software of the SPSS. The total number of respondents in the sample is 255. Of the statistical analyzes, reliability analysis was applied to examine the relationship between research variables and the relevance of the research model, as well as multiple regression analysis to confirm research hypotheses. The results showed that avoidance of uncertainty and consumer ethnocentrism have a negative impact, and consumer xenocentrism and the image of the country of origin have a positive impact, on the decision of consumers to accept foreing brands.