The Effect of Ethnocentrism on Product Evaluation and Purchase Intention: The Case of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Abstract

This study is framed within the concept of sustainability of local foods such as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and considers the effects of country of origin (COO) and ethnocentrism as relevant factors in decision making about product choice. Our work contributes to the literature regarding the food industry with the main objective of investigating how consumer ethnocentrism may affect not only behavioral intention but also the perception of the quality of the EVOO. The authors of the present paper developed this line of research via a review of the existing literature, leading to the elaboration of the conceptual model proposed in this paper. The research was developed through a laboratory experiment and the modeling of consumer behavior, raising a series of hypotheses, which were contrasted following the different analyses conducted on the data. Results were obtained on factors such as the differences in evaluation according to label type, the effect of ethnocentrism on perception and purchase intention, and structural knowledge of the weight of the different variables that influence this decision making. Several guidelines and conclusions are derived from these results, which refer to the use of COO information as well as the satisfaction of consumer ethnocentrism. Understanding the role played by consumer ethnocentrism in the evaluation of food products in accordance with their origin may yield useful information for local food producers.