Exploring Consumer Cosmopolitanism and Ethnocentrism Effects in the Purchase Intentions towards the Products of a Foreign Country

Sousa,Ana F. Antunes,Nobre,Helena M.,Farhangmehr,Minoo 한국유통과학회 2019 KODISA ICBE (International Conference on Business Vol.2019 No.-

A successful integrated strategy across national borders helps companies to target potential consumers at the global market. The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of cosmopolitanism and ethnocentrism on consumers’ preferences for domestic versus foreign products and their visiting intentions. A questionnaire assessing the influence of consumer cosmopolitanism and consumer ethnocentrism on the intention to buy domestic versus foreign products and travelling to Portugal was passed on a sample of 386 international consumers. Findings reveal that cosmopolitan consumers show a higher predisposition to buy foreign products and visiting the country. On the other hand, ethnocentrism seems to act as a barrier to visiting foreign countries.

Cosmopolitanism and the Mediating Effect of Country Image on Consumers’ Purchase, Visit and Investment Intentions

Ana SOUSA,Helena NOBRE,Minoo FARHANGMEHR 한국유통과학회 2018 KODISA ICBE (International Conference on Business Vol.2018 No.-

The paper aims to understandthe mediating effect of country image on the relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and consumers’ purchase, visit and investment intentions towardsa foreign country, considering the moderating effects of ethnocentrism, materialism, product familiarity, and visits to a country in a global market. The following research questions are investigated: (1) What is the mediating effect of Country Image on the relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and consumers’ purchase (PI), visit (VI) and investment (II) intentions, considering the moderating effects of consumer ethnocentrism, materialism, product familiarity, and visits to a country?, and (2) How the effect of the moderating variables consumer ethnocentrism, materialism, country product familiarity and visits to a country, influence the relationship between CI dimensions and consumers’ PI, VI and II towards a foreign country? Four hundred and fifty-seven valid responses from international consumers were collected through a questionnaire measuring country image dimensions, namely country cognitions and country affect, consumer dispositions toward foreign countries, and consumer behavioural intentions. These results show that country cognitions and country affect have a positive mediating effect on the relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and consumers’ PI, VI and II. Findingsindicate that the country image dimensions mediate the relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and consumers’ purchase, visit and investment intentions.

An Empirical Study about the Influence of Country Personality and Product Involvement on Consumer’s Purchase and Visit Intentions

Ana Sousa,Helena Nobre,Minoo Farhangmehr 한국유통과학회 2018 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.5 No.3

The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of country personality dimensions and product involvement on European consumers purchase and visit intentions, considering the Portuguese context. The increasing economic globalisation has resulted in the reducing of trade barriers between nations and the availability of more foreign products and services across borders. Therefore, the place associations of these products and services might be regarded as a potential competitive differentiator in their respective markets. Despite the proliferation of literature devoted to assessing the effects of country-of-origin, the symbolic dimension of a country’s image remains understudied. A questionnaire measuring country personality dimensions, product involvement, and consumer´s purchase and visit intention was passed on a sample of 335 European consumers. Country personality indeed matters both positively and negatively. Findings show that while assiduousness positively influences consumer’s visit intentions, wickedness has a negative influence on consumer’s purchase intentions. Findings also reveal that product involvement has a positive significant influence on consumer’s purchase and visit intentions. On developing marketing strategies, international marketers and governmental decision-makers should consider product involvement attributes and specific country personality traits to provide the country’s products with a competitive edge, as well as to promote the country as a travelling destination.

Cosmopolitanism and the Mediating Effect of Country Image on Consumers’ Purchase, Visit and Investment Intentions

Ana Sousa,Helena Nobre,Minoo Farhangmehr 한국유통과학회 2019 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.6 No.4

The paper aims to understand the mediating effect of Country Image (CI) on the relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and consumers’ purchase, visit and investment intentions towards a foreign country, considering the moderating effects of ethnocentrism, materialism, product familiarity, and visits to a country in a global market. The study extends research on the global and local consumption by simultaneously analysing the influence of country image dimensions and several moderating effects on consumers’ behavioural intentions. Four hundred and fifty-seven valid responses from international consumers were collected through a questionnaire measuring country image dimensions. Findings indicate that cosmopolitanism has a significant and positive effect on foreign consumers’ behavioural intentions and country image dimensions mediate this relationship. Moreover, a moderating effect was found for ethnocentrism, materialism, product familiarity, and visits to a country on the relationship between country cognitions and the intentions to visit the country. This study shows the importance of considering cosmopolitanism as a potential segmentation variable in international markets. The results can help managers and policymakers to better understand the image that foreign consumers hold about Portugal, their intentions to buy or invest in the country, as well as to think of Portugal as a tourism destination.

Improving Environmental Durability of Epoxy Resin Using Tetra-n-butylammonium (TBA) Salt Modified Montmorillonite Nanoplatelets

Isa Karimzadeh,Mohammad Sabzi,Behrouz Safibonab,Iraj Hasanzadeh,Mojtaba Farhangmehr,Ali Arman 한국고분자학회 2017 폴리머 Vol.41 No.1

This study aimed to investigate the effect of organoclay concentration variation (1-5 wt%) on the weathering resistance of epoxy resin in terms of the strength, modulus and weight changes of the specimens after exposure to accelerated weathering conditions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed an exfoliated and good dispersed nanofiller structure throughout the matrix up to 3 wt% loading. The tensile strength, modulus, and weight of the samples decreased after combined UV radiation and condensation, with much less extent for the nanocomposites than neat epoxy indicating that the presence of organoclay led to dominant enhancement in mechanical properties endurance of epoxy resin to environmental degradation. Nanocomposites also displayed much lower weight loss as compared to the unfilled epoxy after being subjected to the accelerated weathering by either temperature-humidity or by combined UV radiation and condensation.

An Empirical Study about the Influence of Country Personality and Product Involvement on Consumer’s Purchase and Visit Intentions

Ana F. Antunes de Sousa,Helena Nobre,Minoo Farhangmehr 한국유통과학회 2017 KODISA ICBE (International Conference on Business Vol.2017 No.-

The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of country personality dimensions and product involvement on European consumers purchase and visit intentions, considering the Portuguese context. The increasing economic globalisation has resulted in the reducing of trade barriers between nations and the availability of more foreign products and services across borders. Therefore, the place associations of these products and services might be regarded as a potential competitive differentiator in their respective markets. A questionnaire measuring country personality dimensions, product involvement, and consumer’s purchase and visit intention was passed on a sample of 335 European consumers. This study rather assesses common CP within European consumers and offers a new perspective about the influence of CP dimensions and PI on European consumers’ purchasing and visiting intentions. Findings show that product involvement and wickedness have a significant influence, positive and negative respectively, on consumer’s purchase intentions, whereas assiduousness and product involvement have a significant positive influence on consumer’s visit intentions. On developing marketing strategies, international marketers and governmental decision-makers should consider product involvement attributes and specific country personality traits to provide the country’s products with a competitive edge, as well as to promote the country as a travelling destination.