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Some Factors Influence the Willingness to Buy Thai Products -A Case Study in
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 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 78

Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 Page [78-103]

Some Factors Influence the Willingness to Buy

Thai Products – A Case Study in Vietnam
Viet Quoc Cao*
School of Management, College of Business,
University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Received 2 February 2023, Received in revised form 11 October 2023,

Accepted 24 October 2023, Available online 7 May 2024

Abstract

As a predominant trend, the globalisation of markets continuously imposed

opportunities and challenges on international firms competing in the huge global market.
Due to the predominant trend facilitating foreign purchasing by consumers across
national borders, consumers’ sentiments are emerging as essential and prevailing
elements to investigate when explaining consumption behaviours. This research aims to
empirically test the effect of consumer ethnocentrism, consumer cosmopolitanism,
consumer affinity, and consumer xenocentrism on foreign product judgements and
willingness to buy. In the context of Thai product purchasing, data analysis was
performed based on 687 valid responses from Vietnamese consumers, which were
gathered via an online survey. The result indicated that 45.3% of the variance in the
willingness to buy construct and 9% of the variance in the product judgement construct
were explained by related independent variables. Accordingly, the research empirically
confirmed the positive impacts of consumer affinity and the negative influence of
consumer ethnocentrism on willingness to buy Thai products. Empirical evidence
supports the positive relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and foreign
product judgements. Notably, based on prior scholars’ recommendations and scant
empirical evidence, this research examined and confirmed a significant positive impact
of consumer xenocentrism on both willingness to buy and judgements towards foreign
products. Constructive managerial implications were hence discussed.

Keywords: consumer affinity; consumer cosmopolitanism; consumer ethnocentrism;

consumer xenocentrism; product judgements; willingness to buy.
JEL Classifications: D22, M30, M31

*
Corresponding author: Email: vietcq@ueh.edu.vn
Funding: The author(s) received financial support from the University of Economics
Ho Chi Minh City, for this article’s research, authorship, and/or publication.
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 79

1. INTRODUCTION

The globalisation of markets as a predominant trend, although facilitating the

foreign purchasing of consumers across national borders, continuously imposed
opportunities and challenges on firms competing in the huge global market. At the same
time, globalisation increases competition between domestic and imported goods
(Netemeyer et al., 1991). Globalisation forces countries to open up, gradually removing
barriers to integration. The process of integration into Vietnam’s AEC has been
occurring; a series of trade policies and barriers must be removed according to a particular
roadmap. As a result, there is no longer a distinction between the economic spheres in
each country and region.
Domestic enterprises are under competitive pressure from many foreign
competitors when integrating into the international market. According to Wang & Chen
(2004), easing trade barriers will give consumers more opportunities to choose imported
goods. In 2015, Vietnam officially joined the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
Vietnam market became a common market for countries such as Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore, and Indonesia. Vietnamese consumers have a wide selection of goods
originating from ASEAN countries. Therefore, Vietnamese businesses, foreign
enterprises, and even researchers on consumer behaviour want to understand consumer
buying behaviour to propose attraction policies.
Exploring and understanding consumer buying behaviour in a particular country
has been of interest to researchers for years in both developed, emerging, and developing
markets. However, the results of these studies are still under debate because they vary
from market to market and product to product. Although Social Identity Theory has
emerged as a dominant theory to understand consumer behaviours based on the countries
associated with the products, there are still deviations from the explanatory and predictive
power of the theory as mentioned above, especially for the phenomenon of low-status
groups favouring higher-status outgroups. As an illustration, either Social Identity Theory
or Personal Identity Theory falls short of explaining the phenomenon of out-group
favouritism coupled with negative self-stereotyping, eventually culminating in a rejection
of local choices (Diamantopoulos et al., 2019). Consequently, prior studies also used
other theoretical foundations to explain biases toward domestic and foreign brands. As
applied to international marketing, each theory drew distinct inferences and proposed
various mechanisms for explaining consumer favouritism.
Ethnocentrism is among the factors that directly influence purchasing behaviours,
and this factor has been studied by numerous authors, such as Netemeyer et al. (1991);
Klein & Ettenson (1999); Nguyen et al. (2008); and Shimp & Sharma (1987). In recent
years, affinity, cosmopolitanism, and xenocentrism have been involved as prevailing
factors in the pattern of explaining consumer behaviours; specifically, these factors are
formerly mentioned by Audi (2009); Cannon & Yaprak (2002); Riefler et al. (2012) and
Rybina et al. (2010). Our study investigates the influences of consumer affinity,
consumer cosmopolitanism, consumer xenocentrism, and consumer ethnocentrism on
willingness to buy Thai products and product judgements.
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 80

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Purchasing Thai products as foreign consumption: Willingness to buy

and product judgements
For domestic and international marketers, the globalisation of markets poses
significant opportunities and obstacles. One noteworthy trend is that target customers are
now more exposed to a greater variety of international brand choices than ever (Klein et
al., 1998). According to Balabanis & Diamantopoulos (2016), a significant portion of
customers in several nations progressively choose imported goods despite their higher
prices but occasionally even worse quality. Numerous scholars have thoroughly studied
the propensities of customers to purchase products based on the countries associated with
the products. Generally, there are at least two ways in which the perspectives of a certain
nation attached to specific products influence the consumption behaviours of
consumers (Josiassen, 2011). First, a halo effect—which refers to the behaviour of
applying the nation’s image or a total of experiences with similar items from the same
country—may occur and affect customers’ inferring product characteristics. Second,
Herche (1992) observed that even if consumers have favourable opinions about French
wine, they may still choose not to purchase it if they believe it will harm the domestic
economy. This phenomenon implies that favouritism or prejudice against a country is
independent of information about product quality but based on their perceptions of the
focal country (Shankarmahesh, 2006).
Instead of directly investigating actual purchasing behaviours or the ownership of
products, prevailing studies placed more emphasis on the aspect of intention to perform
the behaviours, particularly purchase intention towards foreign products in this research
topic. The theoretical foundations of this approach can be traced back to the Theory of
Planned Behavior (TPB), in which the individual’s intention to perform a given
behaviour is a central factor. As defined by Ajzen (1991), intention is the willingness
held in human memory to result in an actual action at the ideal time. The motivating
elements that drive action are argued to be captured by intentions (Ajzen, 1991), which
reflect how much effort someone is prepared to put forth to perform the behaviour. In
general, the strength of the intention will enhance the chance of engaging in behaviour;
however, the degree will decrease if there is a longer lag between the two. In the extant
literature on consumption behaviours, this aspect was reflected in either the construct of
purchase intention (e.g., Diamantopoulos et al., 2019; Pham & Nguyen, 2020; Mahmoud
et al.,2021) or willingness to buy (e.g., Oberecker & Diamantopoulos, 2011; Balabanis
& Diamantopoulos, 2016; Shoham et al., 2017; Guo et al., 2018). This research adopts
the term “willingness to buy” when investigating Vietnam’s consumers purchasing Thai
products as a sort of foreign product.
Earlier studies employed the concept of product judgements in the consumption
behaviours domain as overall perceptions regarding foreign products in terms of
product features (Han & Terpstra, 1988; Suh & Kwon, 2002), thereby providing a
construct for judging a country’s overall product quality (Netemeyer et al., 1991;
Durvasula et al., 1997). Consumers’ judgements on a certain product, whether domestic
or imported, reflect how they perceive and evaluate its features, including design,
workmanship, and prestige. According to research on the judgements of foreign goods,
assumptions about the focal nation that produced a product significantly impact how
consumers perceive the product’s characteristics (Klein et al., 1998). The positive
relationship between foreign product judgements and willingness to buy or purchase
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 81
intention towards foreign-made products was well documented by various scholars, such
as Klein et al. (1988); Suh and Kwon (2002); Cheah et al. (2016); and Camacho et al.
(2020).

2.2 Consumer Ethnocentrism (CET)

Applying social identity theory to the marketing domain, Shimp & Sharma (1987)
developed the notion of consumer ethnocentrism in investigating local versus non-local
consumption behaviours. The concept of consumer ethnocentrism was defined as a
“unique economic form of ethnocentrism that captures the beliefs held by consumers
about the appropriateness and morality of purchasing foreign-made products.” (Shimp &
Sharma, 1987, p. 280). For further understanding of the foundations of the idea, consumer
ethnocentrism could be traced back to the more generic concept of ethnocentrism, which
was grounded in the sociological discipline.
Social identity theory serves as an intellectual basis for developing the consumer
ethnocentrism concept (Balabanis et al., 2019). Shimp & Sharma (1987) posited that
purchasing foreign products is perceived as unpatriotic and detrimental to the domestic
economy in the mindset of typical ethnocentrism. Ethnocentric consumers resist
culturally diverse characteristics, values, norms, and beliefs (Herche, 1994). Highly
ethnocentric consumers discriminate between domestic and international products and
avoid purchasing foreign products for nationalistic causes (Shankarmahesh, 2006);
expressed differently, purchasing foreign products is viewed as a nationalistic issue
involving economic and moral concerns (Pham & Nguyen, 2020). The extant literature
consistently confirms inverse relationships between consumers’ willingness to buy
foreign-made products (Olsen et al., 1993; Herche, 1994; Sharma et al., 1995) and their
judgements on imported products (Klein et al., 1998; Klein, 2002).

2.3 Consumer Affinity (C.A.)

The term ‘consumer affinity’ was initially mentioned by Jaffe & Nebenzahl
(2001), who did not empirically validate their segmentation model or offer a rigorous
definition. In order to establish a conceptual description of consumer affinity and specify
the construct’s domain, Oberecker et al. (2008) explored the idea in a qualitative study,
and they contended that consumer affinity can be either idiosyncratic or normative by
nature and can be founded in direct ways, like experiences from overseas vacations, or in
indirect ways, such as experiences from mass media. Lifestyle, landscape, and tourism
influence customer affinity; however, the previous study has indicated that negative
emotions are typically triggered by war, economic, or political events (Klein et al., 1998;
Oberecker et al., 2008). Based on the intellectual basis, the conceptual definition of
consumer affinity was offered:
A feeling of liking, sympathy, and even attachment toward a specific foreign
country that has become an in-group as a result of the consumer’s direct personal
experience and/or normative exposure and that positively affects the consumer’s
decision-making associated with products and services originating from the
affinity country (Oberecker et al., 2008, p. 26)
According to Jaffe & Nebenzahl (2001), consumer affinity is a favourable attitude
toward a foreign country that may directly or indirectly impact conations and behavioural
outcomes, such as intentions to purchase products and services related to the affinity
country. Oberecker et al. (2008) posited that consumer affinity is purely affect-based and
hence distinct from cognitive-based factors such as country image; nevertheless, they
did not statistically examine their mentioned construct. Consumer affinity stems from
language, culture, political and economic positional similarities, and personal experience
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 82
with the nation (Oberecker et al., 2008; Josiassen, 2011). Oberecker & Diamantopoulos
(2011) conducted an empirical study on consumer affinity and analysed the impact of the
construct on perceived risk and willingness to buy products from the affinity nation. Their
research, the first empirical study on consumer affinity, revealed that customer affinity is
stronger than ethnocentrism in predicting consumers’ perceived risk and willingness to
buy. According to Nes et al. (2014), while several academics in the international business
and marketing domain have emphasised concepts relative to restricting foreign
purchasing (such as animosity and consumer ethnocentrism), the influence of fondness
for foreign countries and favouritism towards international brands has received far less
attention.

2.4 Consumer Xenocentrism (CXE)

Xenocentrism has lately risen to prominence as a construct for understanding
consumption behaviours toward domestic and foreign-made products (Camacho et al.,
2020), as well as a concept that accommodates both out-group favouritism and in-group
derogation (Diamantopoulos et al., 2019). Originally developed and discussed in
sociology literature, the notion of xenocentrism —the conceptual ancestor of consumer
xenocentrism —was first mentioned by Kent & Burnight (1951). According to the prior
work, xenocentrism was formerly conceptualised as the opposite of Sumner’s (1906)
ethnocentrism concept, defined as “individuals who prefer a society other than their own
and who rate and scale everything about it and not to their own” (Kent & Burnight, 1951,
p. 256). The concept alluded to a stereotyped perspective in which the outgroup is given
a superior and more favourable evaluation. Mueller & Broderick (2010, p. 6)
characterised a xenocentric consumer as “a person who prefers products from a country
(or region) other than their own and who rates and scales products about the foreign
country and not their own” and subsequently outlined the potential relevance of the
construct when investigating consumption behaviours. As argued by Diamantopoulos et
al. (2019), whilst Kent & Burnight (1951) and Mueller & Broderick (2010) both
comprehend xenocentrism as being targeted directly towards a specific outgroup such
as a particular foreign nation, Balabanis & Diamantopoulos (2016) offered a more recent
conceptualisation of xenocentrism from a broader perspective, with system justification
theory serving as the theoretical basis.
The recently developed definition of consumer xenocentrism, which is not
merely the polar opposite of well-established consumer ethnocentrism, was proposed
to clarify preferences for foreign products over domestic brands (Balabanis &
Diamantopoulos, 2016). According to Balabanis and Diamantopoulos (2016), the
consumer xenocentrism construct refers to xenocentric idolisation in which a consumer’s
internal perception of the inferiority of domestic goods and their tendency to favour
foreign goods as a sign of ascension to a higher social status. Notably, the notion of
consumer xenocentrism proposed by Balabanis & Diamantopoulos (2016) permits the
construct to predict strong favouritism toward outgroups directly. Accordingly,
consumers’ sense of internalised inferiority concerning the relative standing of their
nation would cause a derogation of domestic products, accompanied by a general
inclination to seek foreign-made goods and services as signs of higher status (Balabanis
& Diamantopoulos, 2016; Mahmoud et al., 2021). In line with these arguments, a
qualitative study conducted in China using focus group discussion concluded that
consumer xenocentrism is “the underlying mechanism that biases Chinese consumers to
foreign products even when domestic products are qualitatively similar or better”
(Mueller et al., 2016, p. 85). Balabanis et al. (2019) subsequently confirmed a negative
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 83
relationship between xenocentrism and loyalty to domestic brands, which is even stronger
for prominent brands.

2.5 Consumer Cosmopolitanism (COS)

Cosmopolitanism, which derives from the Greek word kosmopolitês (which
means “citizen of the globe”), is a prevailing concept employed in the management and
marketing disciplines and rooted in the realms of anthropology and social psychology
(Cleveland et al., 2011). The earliest reference to cosmopolitanism was made in the late
1950s by Merton (1957, as cited in Cannon & Yaprak, 2002), which defined
cosmopolitans as people who orient themselves beyond their local community, as
opposed to those who perceive themselves as citizens of a particular nation. In recent
years, cosmopolitanism has become a crucial consumer identity for market segmentation
on a global scale. Consumer cosmopolitanism is a widely used concept explaining
consumers’ lack of preference for local brands over international ones (Balabanis et al.,
2019). Nevertheless, Riefler et al. (2012) remarked that extant literature employed the
cosmopolitanism concept rather unsystematically, generally omitting to offer a
theoretical explanation of its underlying notion in the specific situation. The research also
argued that the absence of a widely acknowledged definition rendered cosmopolitanism
a vague notion with various discrete implications, emphasising the significance of
explicitly defining cosmopolitanism under certain circumstances related to the subject of
study. The current research adopts a perspective consistent with that of Riefler et al.
(2012), wherein the concept of consumer cosmopolitanism refers to an orientation that
encapsulates (1) how open-minded a consumer is toward other nations and cultures, (2)
how much they esteem the diversity that comes from the availability of goods from
various national and cultural backgrounds, and (3) how favourable they are toward
buying goods from other nations.
Cosmopolitanism entails being receptive to diverse cultures and willing to
experience unfamiliar products from other nations (Diamantopoulos et al., 2019).
According to Riefler et al. (2012), a cosmopolitan mindset is distinguished by several
affiliations regardless of domestic or international orientation rather than a homogeneous
attachment similar to an ethnocentric or xenocentric identity. A typical cosmopolitan, in
the position of a consumer, evaluates products based on their inherent characteristics
rather than their origin as a means to express the identity of global citizens rather than be
recognised as a citizen of a particular country; thus, the cosmopolitan consumer is more
inclined to respond positively to foreign purchases (Cleveland et al., 2009). Furthermore,
the advancements in information transmission technology considerably foster
cosmopolitanism. Revolutionised global communications and advancements in satellite
television, fibre optic, wireless technologies, and the Internet now facilitate a broader
range of individuals to evoke cosmopolitan perspectives and demonstrate COS traits,
even without leaving their own country or being a part of “archetypal cosmopolitan
populations,” such as business elite, refugees, and expatriates (Cleveland et al., 2009, p.
935). The manner in which cosmopolitanism affects customers’ behaviours was
conceptually noted in earlier studies. According to the literature, consuming foreign
products and searching for global standards was considered an instrument for enacting a
cosmopolitan identity (Cannon & Yaprak, 2002), because foreign products represent
diversity and authenticity as a means to eschew parochial culture (Holt, 1997). However,
the literature on consumer cosmopolitanism has been primarily theoretical, with scant
empirical research on the antecedents or outcomes of the construct, especially
consumption behaviours (Cleveland et al., 2009).
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 84
2.6 Fundamental Theories
Although social identity theory was noticeably a prevailing conceptual
framework to explicate how biases for local products occur, prior researchers employed
various theoretical foundations when investigating bias toward domestic and foreign
businesses. When adopted in international marketing, each theory proposed diverse
mechanisms to explain consumer favouritism.

2.6.4 Social Identity Theory

Social Identity Theory (SIT) was originally derived from research on social
categorisation, intergroup relations, and prejudice. The central philosophy of SIT is that
people feel a desire and inclination to shape a positive identity for themselves, which can
be demonstrated by their identification in various groups wherein they feel a strong sense
of attachment, sympathy, and admiration (Tajfel, 1981). The notion was subsequently
showcased with the discussion on “ethnocentrism” (Tajfel, 1982), which served as the
starting point to explain conflicts between various groups due to scarcity of goods or
resources. Regarding the consumer behaviour domain, SIT was typically employed as
the theoretical foundation for the statistical inference of hypothesised relationships when
investigating the phenomenon of country bias in consumer ethnocentrism (e.g.,
Cleveland & Laroche, 2012; Nes et al., 2014; Guo et al., 2018) and consumer affinity
(e.g., Oberecker et al., 2008; Nes et al., 2014).

2.6.2 Personal Identity Theory

Social Identity Theory concentrates on classifications and in-group facets of
behaviours, but Personal Identity Theory (PIT) concerns roles and how they determine
identities and conducts (Balabanis et al., 2019). The fundamental tenet of the theory is
that people frequently attempt to match their behaviours with their role identities to
minimise contradiction with how others regard them, as well as with their internalised
orientations (Hogg et al., 1995). In our current research, PIT serves as the intellectual
basis for investigating the impact of consumer cosmopolitanism on consumption
behaviours. According to a critical literature review on cosmopolitanism, Riefler et al.
(2012) postulated that the construct can best encapsulate the central and fundamental
notion of a personal identity concept; in a similar vein, consumer cosmopolitanism is, in
turn, a prevailing construct employed to predict consumers’ preference for local rather
than international businesses.

2.6.3 System Justification Theory

Either Consumer Ethnocentrism (anchored to SIT) or Consumer
Cosmopolitanism (anchored to PIT) falls short of explaining the phenomenon of out-
group favouritism accompanied by negative self-stereotyping, culminating in a rejection
of domestic offerings (Diamantopoulos et al., 2019). System Justification Theory (SJT)
explains why underprivileged groups show in-group derogation and out-group
favouritism in harmony with an inferiority complex, especially for people within low-
status communities.
System Justification Theory (SJT), as a social psychological theory, explains why
society opposes social change but supports contemporary social order and stability
(Mahmoud et al., 2021). System justification, particularly in consumption
behaviours, occurs when consumers accept and internalise national distinctions to the
point where they believe associating with a foreign country or consuming foreign-
made goods is a sign of higher social status (Mahmoud et al., 2021). The core tenets of
the SJT are captured directly by the dimensions of consumer xenocentrism, which
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 85
Balabanis & Diamantopoulos (2016) developed to predict favouritism toward foreign
brands rather than a local one. The study, therefore, adopts SJT as the conceptual
framework of the consumer xenocentrism construct.
The three theories mentioned above constitute the theoretical framework (Figure
1) for investigating the hypothesised relationships in our research.

Figure 1: Theoretical Framework and Proposed Research Model

Source: from the synthesis of author

2.7 Hypotheses and proposed research model

Consumer Ethnocentrism, Willingness to buy, and Product judgements
Ethnocentric consumers esteem what belongs to their group and devalue things
that do not belong to their group, resulting in a bias in their assessments of products
related to the focal countries (Klein et al., 1998) and eventually affecting their intention
to purchase domestic and foreign-made products (Shimp & Sharma, 1987). Early studies
such as those of Klein et al. (1998) and Suh & Kwon (2002), as well as a recent meta-
analysis of consumer ethnocentrism conducted in 60 studies by Guo & Zhou (2017),
exhibited statistical evidence for the direct inverse relationship between consumer
ethnocentrism and willingness to buy foreign products. Studies, including those by Klein
et al. (1998) and Klein (2002), provided empirical evidence for the mediating role of
negative foreign product judgements. Similarly, Nguyen et al. (2008) confirmed a
significant negative relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and imported product
judgment when conducting research in Vietnam.
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 86
Although well investigated over time, the effect of consumer ethnocentrism on
consumption outcomes still yields inconsistent empirical evidence. Guo & Zhou’s (2017)
meta-analysis recently indicated a negative effect on foreign product judgment but no
impact on willingness to purchase foreign products. When investigating Vietnam’s
customers, research conducted by Pham & Nguyen (2020) did not indicate any significant
influence of consumer ethnocentrism on the intention to purchase foreign products. They
further implied that consumer ethnocentrism is a valid predictor of favouritism towards
domestic products but not necessarily a consistent determinant of the disapproval of
foreign-made products. The finding did not align with the argument proposed by Shimp
& Sharma (1987). They theoretically argued that non-ethnocentric consumers judge
products based on their merits (including price, quality, and other important attributes).
Ethnocentric consumers typically believe buying imported products is unacceptable since
doing so will hurt the domestic economy, implying that ethnocentric perspectives would
significantly impact foreign product judgements and consumers’ purchasing behaviours.
Studies by Kim & Pysarchik (2000), Suh & Kwon (2002), and Josiassen (2011) likewise
revealed inconsistent empirical evidence.
According to Guo & Zhou (2017), existing studies produced various results,
which were occasionally inconsistent when addressing the impact of consumer
ethnocentrism regarding various degrees of economic development, cultural contexts,
and sampling techniques. For Vietnamese consumers, buying Thai products is regarded
as purchasing foreign-made products. Therefore, this research proposes that:
H1a: Consumer Ethnocentrism negatively influences willingness to buy Thai products
H1b: Consumer Ethnocentrism negatively influences foreign product judgements

Consumer Affinity, Willingness to buy, and Product judgements

Oberecker et al. (2008) proposed that affinity conception was grounded in social
identity theory and the dichotomy between in-groups and out-groups. According to Jaffe
& Nebenzahl (2001), consumer affinity is characterised as a favourable attitude toward a
particular foreign nation, which culminates in a purchase intention or willingness to buy
products, brands, and services associated with the affinity country. Regarding the impacts
that consumer affinity has on consumption-related outcomes, through in-depth interviews
and a focus group study in Belgium and Austria, insights derived from the qualitative
studies drew attention to a strong tendency of specific consumer segments to purchase
goods from the focal country for which they had a special affinity (Oberecker et al.,
2008). According to Oberecker et al. (2008), consumers’ propensity to purchase products
from their affinity countries appears to be motivated by either alleviating perceived risk
due to consumers’ high trust in their affinity countries or a desire to maintain attachments
with a country via consumption. Subsequently, Josiassen (2011) proposed that more
studies be conducted to determine whether consumer affinity is a significant determinant
of purchasing behaviour for foreign-made products. Thus, we propose empirically testing
the relationships:

H2a: Consumer Affinity positively influences willingness to buy Thai products.

Earlier studies did draw inconsistent inferences. Notably, Oberecker et al. (2008)
noticed that the inclination to purchase products from the affinity country was
independent of judgements about that country’s products, which indicated that affinity
feelings do not necessarily translate into favourable perceptions. However, regardless of
product attributes such as quality and price considerations, Oberecker et al. (2008) did
not reveal any other explanation for favouring products from affinity countries.
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 87
Notwithstanding Oberecker et al. (2008), who concluded affinity does not affect product
judgements, Wongtada et al. (2012) noticed affinity was associated positively with
product judgements. According to the study, Thai consumers’ affinity for the United
States substantially influences product judgment and moderately influences their
willingness to buy U.S. products. Guo et al. (2018) provided empirical evidence
supporting the above findings, confirming consumers are more inclined to trust products
from their affinity nation. This trust will enhance consumers’ desire to strengthen their
association with the focal country by purchasing its products. Based on these inconsistent
implications, we, therefore, propose investigating the effect of consumer affinity on
product judgements, especially in the context of Vietnam’s consumers purchasing Thai
products:

H2b: Consumer Affinity positively influences foreign product judgements

Consumer Xenocentrism, Willingness to buy and Product judgements

Balabanis et al. (2019) contended that consumer xenocentrism, a concept rooted
in system justification theory, offers more solid explanations for domestic and foreign
brand bias. Specifically, consumer xenocentrism was proposed to be a reliable predictor
for both in-group derogations as negative attitudes towards local products and out-group
favouritism as positive preferences for foreign-made products (Diamantopoulos et al.,
2019). In line with the key tenets of system justification theory, favourable bias leads to
perceptions of out-group favouritism, as evidenced in positive judgements of foreign
country images, which correspondingly impact positive brand attitudes and culminate in
purchase intentions (Diamantopoulos et al., 2019). System justification theory was,
therefore, adopted as the theoretical foundation for investigating the influence of
consumer xenocentrism on product judgements and willingness to buy products.
Country of origin and manufacture significantly impact the perception of product
qualities; in turn, these criteria lead customers in developing countries to favourably
judge foreign goods (Pham & Nguyen, 2020). Studies by Mahmoud et al. (2021),
collecting data from a cross-section of consumers in Ghana, have revealed a positive
impact of consumer xenocentrism on purchasing foreign-made products. In the research
context of Vietnam, Pham & Nguyen (2020) noted that those who exhibit out-group
favouritism, such as xenocentric consumers, will unquestionably exhibit favourable
desires toward purchasing foreign products. This study provided empirical evidence that
consumer xenocentrism and the intention to purchase foreign products have a positive
relationship. After highlighting the predictive validity of the C-XENSCALE and
correlating it with consumers’ willingness to buy domestic and foreign products,
Balabanis & Diamantopoulos (2016) proposed that future research concentrate on the
impact of consumer xenocentrism on other essential outcome variables, such as product
judgements and risk perceptions. However, in current research, a thorough examination
of the relevant literature has yielded no related article that empirically investigates the
relationship between customer xenocentrism and product judgements since the
recommendation of Balabanis & Diamantopoulos (2016). Based on the arguments, we
propose investigating the xenocentrism of Vietnam’s consumers when purchasing Thai
products:

H3a: Consumer xenocentrism positively influences willingness to buy Thai products

H3b: Consumer xenocentrism positively influences foreign product judgements
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 88
Consumer Cosmopolitanism, Willingness to buy, and Product judgements
According to the literature, acquiring and pursuing international standards
through the consumption of foreign products helps one express their cosmopolitan
identity (Cannon & Yaprak, 2002), since these products stand for authenticity and
diversity as a mechanism of eschewing local culture (Holt, 1997). Nevertheless, the
understanding of cosmopolitanism in the literature has mainly been theoretical, with little
empirical research on its antecedents or consequences, particularly on consumption
behaviours (Cleveland et al. 2009).
Since cosmopolitans believe they are less bigoted and backward than others
(Cleveland et al., 2009), they should first be receptive to global branding, which suggests
that consumer cosmopolitanism positively affects their willingness to buy foreign goods
(Riefler & Diamantopoulos, 2009). Subsequently, as expected, the results revealed that
consumer cosmopolitanism positively affects willingness to purchase foreign goods,
explaining a significant portion of the variance in the dependent variable (Riefler et al.,
2012). Based on the empirical evidence from 231 Chinese cross-border e-commerce
consumers, a study by Liu & Hong (2020) found that consumer cosmopolitanism is more
positively related to foreign cross-border e-commerce than local cross-border e-
commerce in terms of purchase intention. Especially in the Vietnam context, the positive
influence of cosmopolitan attitudes on consumer purchase intentions toward foreign
products was confirmed (Pham & Nguyen, 2020). Thus, we expected consumer
cosmopolitanism to positively influence the willingness of Vietnam’s consumers to buy
Thai products as foreign products:

H4a: Consumer cosmopolitanism positively influences the willingness to buy Thai

products

Cannon & Yaprak (2002) contended that cosmopolitan perspectives are even
more prevalent in emerging nations, where imported goods are perceived as being of
higher quality than domestic goods; nevertheless, there is still conflicting evidence. The
link between consumer cosmopolitanism and foreign product judgements in the study by
Riefler & Diamantopoulos (2009) was found to be non-significant, demonstrating the
lack of either positive or negative bias in consumer assessments. The results were in line
with the explanation put forth by Jaffe & Nebenzahl (2001), who contended that
cosmopolitan consumers would adopt an unbiased or neutral approach toward goods and
services from domestic and international sources and assess each product according to its
merits. This argument implied that consumer cosmopolitanism should not influence
judgements of either local or international products. However, there was a scant attempt
to prove this theoretical perspective and to empirically investigate the relationship
between consumer cosmopolitanism and judgements towards foreign products. Placing
Thai products in an emerging market like Vietnam, we propose:

H4b: Consumer cosmopolitanism positively influences foreign product judgements

Product judgements and willingness to buy

Product quality is a key aspect for consumers in developing nations such as
Vietnam because those consumers have previously encountered various low-quality
products produced by local companies (Nguyen et al., 2008). According to Camacho et
al. (2020), before making a purchase decision, customers consider a variety of views
regarding the features of products, entailing quality, style , and price. However,
evaluating the quality of a product to predict consumers’ behaviour is not necessarily a
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 89
simple process since people frequently judge the product based on their perceptions,
which are driven by a variety of environmental factors regardless of the product’s
inherent attributes (Nguyen et al., 2008). For example, research on evaluations of foreign
products indicated that assumptions about a certain country attached to a specific product
significantly affect perceptions of this product’s attributes (Klein et al., 1988), which
culminates in a willingness to buy products made in a certain country. Camacho et al.
(2020) noted a direct positive relationship between perceived product quality and
purchase intention for imported products. In addition, Cheah et al. (2016) provided
empirical evidence supporting the positive influence that product judgements have on
willingness to buy foreign products, especially Japanese products in this case. These
recent findings align with the extant literature, where the positive impact of product
judgements on willingness to buy foreign products was consistently confirmed in prior
studies, such as those of Klein et al. (1998) and Suh & Kwon (2002). Thus, we propose
the hypothesised relationship:

H5: Foreign product judgements positively influence willingness to buy Thai products

Prior studies used a system of theoretical foundations to explain bias toward

domestic and foreign brands, wherein each theory, as applied to international marketing,
drew distinct inferences and proposed various mechanisms in explaining consumer
favouritism; but, commonly, five prevailing theories were encountered in the literature:
social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), personal identity theory (Stryker, 1968),
cultural identity theory (Jensen, 2003), system justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994),
and categorical cognition theory (Balabanis et al., 2019). In this study, we applied three
out of the five theories as the theoretical foundations for the proposed research model
(Figure 2), along with their attendant constructs (consumer ethnocentrism, consumer
affinity, consumer xenocentrism and consumer cosmopolitanism).
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 90
Figure 2: Research Model

Source: from the synthesis of author

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 Country selection

To empirically examine the proposed conceptual model, we selected Vietnamese
consumers to represent the domestic market under investigation and considered Thai
goods as a sort of foreign product when investigating purchasing behaviours. Since 2015,
Vietnam has officially joined the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the Vietnam
market has become a common market for countries such as Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore, and Indonesia. From a practical perspective, it is undeniable that Vietnamese
consumers prefer Thai goods, which is attributed to factors such as attractive design, good
quality, and reasonable pricing relative to the income of Vietnamese individuals. Thai
products also hold a favourable position in the domestic market, being more affordable
than equivalent-quality Japanese and Korean products and offering better quality than
Chinese products in the Vietnamese market.
The nature of the economic, political, and commercial relations between Vietnam
and Thailand substantiates this context. No armed conflicts, intricate historical disputes,
or geopolitical rivalries have been documented. From a theoretical perspective, the
context thus provides an opportunity to examine the role of consumers’ sentiments
towards a specific nation from a holistic standpoint, encompassing both fondness for
foreign countries and favoritism towards international brands rather than solely
restricting foreign purchasing (such as animosity and consumer ethnocentrism). This
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 91
study did not focus on any specific type of commodity to enhance the generalizability of
the theory. In other words, all the terms used in the research and the formal survey refer
to Thai products in general.

3.2 Measurement
For all constructs in the proposed research model, the measures were obtained
from a review of relevant literature. In contrast to adapting measures with significant
alterations (adding or removing items), adopting pre-existing instruments refers to
implementing minor modifications to better reflect the specific situation under scrutiny.
Thus, all measurement items for each construct were adopted from previously validated
instruments with slight modifications when used to investigate Vietnam’s consumers
purchasing Thai products as foreign products.
Adopted from Klein et al. (1998), the willingness to buy (WTB) and product
judgment (P.J.) scales were modified based on the context related to Vietnamese
consumers, with 6 indicators for each construct. Similarly, measures for the consumer
ethnocentrism construct (CET) were based on a 5-item scale employed by Nguyen et al.
(2008). The construct of consumer affinity (C.A.) was measured by 7 items adopted from
Oberecker and Diamantopoulos (2011). Adopted from Diamantopoulos et al. (2019), the
second-order construct of consumer xenocentrism, which includes two first-order
components, was measured by 10 indicators (5 items for each dimension). Consumer
cosmopolitanism was measured with a 3-item scale adopted by Yoon et al. (1996).
The questionnaire for the full-scale survey was divided into two main sections:
one for the respondent’s basic information and one for their opinions on study constructs.
The basic data section included the demographic characteristics, which recorded the
gender, age, highest education, and income of participants. The second section, items for
each latent variable, captured the subject’s perception of constructs in the research model.
37 items were measured on 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree)
to 5 (strongly agree).

3.3 Participants and procedures

The survey data were gathered via a cross-sectional research design with
convenience sampling methods. Our questionnaire was scripted in Google Forms, a
widely used cloud-based survey software that enables automated data recording and
reduces coding errors. An online survey was conducted to recruit respondents through a
link to the questionnaire posted on the two dominant social media platforms in Vietnam:
Facebook and Zalo. Respondents were also encouraged to distribute the survey link
within their own social networks.
While prevalent in social science research, cross-sectional study design and self-
administered surveys carry the risk of common method bias, potentially impacting the
reliability and validity of empirical findings (Kock et al., 2021). Following the related
guidelines, we cautiously execute procedural controls for CMB in survey design. First,
the sequencing of questionnaire sections was rotated. Additionally, reversed questions
prevented suspicious response patterns (straight-lining or inconsistent answers). Finally,
and most importantly, respondents were assured of their responses’ strict anonymity and
confidentiality.
After collecting the data, a preliminary process was conducted to check for
unengaged responses, missing values, outliers, or straight lines. As a result, 687 valid
responses provided empirical data for further analysis. Regarding gender, the sample
distribution showed that 35.1% were male (n=241) and 64.9% were female (n=446).
Most participants were 20–29 years old, constituting 72.5% (n=498) of the sample,
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 92
followed by the 30-39 age group at 12.1% (n=83). This skewed age distribution was
attributed to recruiting participants through social media, reflecting the common usage
patterns in Vietnam. Consistent with the age distribution, the data also revealed that a
significant proportion of respondents (87.3%) had a monthly income below 15 million
VND. This finding aligns well with the income distribution in a developing country like
Vietnam. Additionally, the proportion of participants who held at least an undergraduate
degree (69.0%) or higher (9.2%) dominated other groups. Table 1 demonstrates detailed
information for a description of the sample characteristics.

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

PLS-SEM is gradually becoming widespread among academic fields, especially

in social science. The major strength of PLS-SEM is that the algorithm enables scholars
to analyse complicated models without violating certain distributional assumptions (Hair
et al., 2017). This research applied PLS-SEM as the key technique to test the research
model, in which data analysis was performed with SmartPLS version 3.0 to assess the
measurement model and structural model. The assessment criteria adopted in this study
followed the recommended threshold values by Hair et al. (2019).

Table 1: Sample Characteristics

Sample Characterisation Frequency Percent
Gender Male 241 35.10%
Female 446 64.90%
Total 687 100.00%
Age 20-29 498 72.50%
30-39 83 12.10%
40- 49 67 9.80%
50-59 32 4.70%
> 60 7 1.00%
Total 687 100.00%
Education Below high school 14 2.00%
High school 63 9.20%
Intermediate College 73 10.60%
Undergraduate 474 69.00%
Postgraduate 63 9.20%
Total 687 100.00%
Income Below 5 million VND 284 41.30%
5-10 million VND 215 31.30%
10-15 million VND 101 14.70%
15-20 million VND 44 6.40%
Above 20 million VND 43 6.30%
Total 687 100.00%
Source: from the data analysis of author
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 93
4.1 Measurement model assessment

4.1.1 Item Reliability

Examining the indicator loadings is the first step in evaluating a reflective
measurement model (Hair et al., 2019),wherein loadings greater than 0.708 are
recommended because they exhibit that a construct accounts for more than 50 per cent
of the variance of the indicator. Only nine items failed to meet the recommended criteria
and were eliminated, which are WTB2, WTB5, WTB6, PJ5, PJ6, CXEa5, CXEb5, CA1,
and CA2. The remaining items are above 0.708, indicating acceptable item reliability
(Table 2).

Table 2: Measurement Model Assessment–Item Reliability, Internal Consistency

Reliability and Convergent Validity
Composite
Outer Cronbach’s
Constructs Items Reliability AVE Source
Loadings Alpha
(C.R.)
Willingness to WTB1 0.806 0.760 0.862 0.676 Klein et al.
Buy Thai WTB3 0.861 (1998)
products WTB4 0.798
Product PJ1 0.778 0.841 0.893 0.675 Klein et al.
judgements PJ2 0.813 (1998)
PJ3 0.880
PJ4 0.813
Consumer CET1 0.721 0.816 0.871 0.576 Nguyen et al.
Ethnocentrism CET2 0.741 (2008)
CET3 0.769
CET4 0.816
CET5 0.744
Consumer CA3 0.750 0.866 0.903 0.651 Oberecker and
Affinity Diamantopoulos
CA4 0.780 (2011)
CA5 0.842
CA6 0.813
CA7 0.846
Consumer CXEa1 0.808 0.829 0.885 0.659 Diamantopoulos
Xenocentrism CXEa2 0.761 et al. (2019)
(CXEa) CXEa3 0.859
CXEa4 0.816
Consumer CXEb1 0.903 0.938 0.956 0.843
Xenocentrism CXEb2 0.930 Diamantopoulos
(CXEb) CXEb3 0.920 et al. (2019)
CXEb4 0.920
Consumer COS1 0.871 0.813 0.890 0.729 Yoon et al.
Cosmopolitanism COS2 0.873 (1996)
COS3 0.816
Source: from the data analysis of author

4.1.2 Internal Consistency Reliability and Convergent Validity

The reliability of measurement is typically evaluated based on internal
consistency reliability by assessing Cronbach’s alpha and the composite reliability C.R.
For a study that is more confirmative rather than exploratory in character , the values
between 0.7 and 0.9 for both metrics are considered satisfactory by Hair et al. (2019).
The results, presented in Table 2, demonstrated that construct WTB (Cronbach’s
Alpha=0.760, CR=0.862) has the lowest level of reliability, while construct CXEb
(Cronbach’s Alpha=0.938, CR=0.956) has the highest internal consistency reliability,
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 94
indicating all construct measures are above the 0.70 thresholds, hence the reliability of
the measurement model is at a sufficient level.
The values of the average variance extracted (AVE) for all items on each construct
were assessed to test the convergent validity. Hair et al. (2019) recommended that the
minimum acceptable AVE is 0.50 or higher, which indicates that the construct explains
50 per cent or more of the variance of the items that make up the construct. All constructs’
AVE values met the minimum requirements (Table 2), ranging from 0.576 (for CET) to
0.843 (for CXEb). Thus, the measurement of all constructs yields satisfactory levels of
convergent validity.

4.1.3 Discriminant Validity

In the path model, discriminant validity is the extent to which a construct is distinct from
other constructs based on empirical standards (Hair et al., 2019), wherein examining the
Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio (HTMT) of the correlations was proposed as an alternative
and a more reliable criterion when compared to traditional approaches. Henseler et al.
(2015), who suggested a threshold value of 0.85, argued that an HTMT ratio above the
cut-off point would indicate a lack of discriminant validity for conceptually distinct
constructs based on the theoretical foundations. Data analysis indicated that HTMT
values for all pairs of constructs are lower than the relevant threshold level (Table 3).
Thus, discriminant validity was established.

Table 3: Discriminant Validity – HTMT ratio

CA CET COS CXEa CXEb PJ WTB
CA
CET 0.497
COS 0.121 0.136
CXEa 0.051 0.110 0.179
CXEb 0.479 0.754 0.229 0.103
PJ 0.072 0.071 0.310 0.425 0.097
WTB 0.653 0.608 0.232 0.097 0.703 0.115
Source: from the data analysis of author

4.2 Structural model assessment

The threshold value for VIF is recommended to be, ideally, below 3 (Hair et al.,
2019). Analysis showed that the VIF values of all combinations of endogenous constructs
and corresponding exogenous constructs are below the recommended cut-off point, even
lower than the value of 2 for all constructs (Table 3). Hence, collinearity is not a critical
problem in the structural model. If the data indicated significant levels of collinearity
problems in the structural model, the estimation of path coefficients could be biased (Hair
et al., 2017); thus, the collinearity issue must first be investigated before evaluating the
structural relationships.
The R² coefficient was widely interpreted as an estimate to evaluate the predictive
power, particularly the in-sample explanatory power of the model (Hair et al., 2019). The
results (Table 4) showed that the model explained 45.3 per cent of the variance in the
WTB construct (R² = 0,453; R²adj.=0,449) and 9 per cent of the variance in the P.J.
construct (R²=0,09; R²adj.= 0,084) was explained by all exogenous constructs linked to
it.
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 95
Table 4: Structural Model Assessment—R²/R²adj. Coefficients and VIF Values
Dependent Variable Product Judgements
R² = 0,09 R²adj.= 0,084
Independent
VIF
Variables
CA 1.264
CET 1.838
COS 1.058
CXE 1.888
Dependent Variable Willingness to Buy
R² = 0,453 R²adj.= 0,449
Independent
VIF
Variables
CA 1.267
CET 1.849
COS 1.112
CXE 1.938
PJ 1.099
Source: from the data analysis of author

Path coefficients are among the estimates obtained from the PLS-SEM algorithm,
representing the hypothesised relationships among the constructs. We test the hypotheses
with a bootstrapping procedure conducted with 5000 sub-samples, as recommended by
Hair et al. (2017); from which estimated parameters are used to calculate standard errors
for the coefficients and yield p values to determine whether each coefficient is statistically
significant (significantly different from zero in the population). Assuming a significance
level of 5%, a p-value lower than 0.05 implies that the hypothesised relationship under
consideration is significant. The results of hypotheses testing are demonstrated in Table
5.

Table 5: Hypotheses Testing Results

Standard
Hypothesis Relationship Beta P-values Conclusions
Error
H1a CET  WTB -0.088 0.043 0.042* Supported
H1b CET  PJ 0.098 0.059 0.1 Not supported
H2a CA  WTB 0.34 0.035 0.000*** Supported
H2b C.A.  PJ -0.059 0.056 0.296 Not supported
H3a CXE  WTB 0.376 0.046 0.000*** Supported
H3b CXE  PJ 0.212 0.081 0.009** Supported
H4a COS  WTB 0.054 0.031 0.083 Not supported
H4b COS  PJ 0.224 0.053 0.000*** Supported
H5 P.J.  WTB -0.007 0.029 0.808 Not supported
Note:*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
Source: from the data analysis of author

4.3 Discussion
Hypothesis H1a gained empirical support (β= -0.088, p-value=0.042). Thus, the
result is in line with the extant literature, which consistently confirmed inverse
relationships between consumer ethnocentrism and consumers’ willingness to buy
foreign-made products (Herche 1994; Olsen et al., 1993; Sharma et al., 1995). However,
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 96
hypothesis H1b was not supported by the statistical evidence (β=0.098, p-value=0.100);
which is inconsistent with results obtained by Klein et al. (1998) and Klein (2002).
However, this finding is consistent with the evidence provided by Pham & Nguyen
(2020), which is, interestingly, also in the context of Vietnam.
Hypothesis H2a gained empirical support (β=0.340, p-value<0.001). This result
supports those obtained by Oberecker et al. (2008) and Oberecker & Diamantopoulos
(2011), who found a strong tendency for specific consumer segments to purchase goods
from the focal country for which they had a special affinity. However, hypothesis H2b
was not supported (β=-0.059, p-value=0.296), indicating a non-significant positive
impact of consumer affinity on foreign product judgements. This finding is inconsistent
with the previous study of Guo et al. (2018), as well as the notion of Wongtada et al.
(2012): certain consumers are more inclined to trust products from their affinity nation,
and this trust will enhance consumers’ desire to strengthen their association with the focal
country.
Both hypotheses, H3a (β=0.376, p-value<0.001) and H3b (β=0.212, p-
value=0.009), were supported. The statistical results not only support the arguments of
prior research that people who exhibit out-group favouritism, such as xenocentric
consumers, will unquestionably exhibit favourable desires toward purchasing foreign
products (Diamantopoulos et al., 2019; Pham and Nguyen, 2020), but also confirm the
positive impact of consumer xenocentrism on foreign product judgements. Although
there is scant evidence to draw a consistent conclusion, the findings in this research align
with the key tenets of system justification theory. Moreover, it can serve as empirical
evidence supporting Balabanis & Diamantopoulos’ (2016) recommendation for future
research to explore consumer xenocentrism's impact on various other essential outcome
variables, such as product judgements and risk perceptions.
Hypothesis H4a was not supported (β=0.054, p-value=0.083), indicating a non-
significant relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and Vietnamese consumers’
willingness to buy Thai products. This finding failed to support previous researchers, who
consistently provided empirical evidence for the positive effect that consumer
cosmopolitanism has on the willingness to buy foreign goods (Riefler et al., 2012; Liu &
Hong, 2020; Pham & Nguyen, 2020). The results of testing hypothesis H4b (β=0.224, p-
value<0.001) provide statistical support to the hypothesised relationship but contradict
the prior study of Riefler& Diamantopoulos (2009), which demonstrated the lack of
either positive or negative bias in consumer assessments. A possible explanation for the
non-significant relationship proposed by Jaffe & Nebenzahl (2001) was that
cosmopolitan consumers would adopt an unbiased or neutral approach toward goods and
services from domestic and international sources and assess each product regarding its
inherent characteristics. Nevertheless, our research notably found a significant positive
influence that consumer cosmopolitanism has on foreign product judgements,
particularly in the context of Vietnam’s consumers purchasing Thai products as a sort of
foreign-made product.
Hypothesis H5 was not supported (β=-0.007, p-value=0.808), which indicates
there is no empirical evidence to support the impact of foreign product judgements on the
willingness to buy products of Vietnamese consumers, contrary to prior studies in other
contexts,such as those of Klein et al. (1988), Suh and Kwon (2002) and Cheah et al.
(2016).
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 97

5. CONCLUSION

The globalisation of markets as a predominant trend, although facilitating the

foreign purchasing of consumers across national borders, continuously imposed
opportunities and challenges on firms competing in the huge global market. Consumers’
sentiments about a certain nation are emerging as essential and prevailing elements to
investigate when explaining consumption behaviours, progressively piquing the interest
of scholars in both management and marketing disciplines. This research aims to
empirically test the effect of consumer ethnocentrism, consumer cosmopolitanism,
consumer affinity, and consumer xenocentrism on foreign product judgements and
willingness to buy. In the context of Thai product purchasing, this research applied the
PLS-SEM method to analyse the data from 687 valid questionnaires through a cross-
sectional survey distributed to Vietnamese consumers. In this sense, the current effort has
enriched the extant literature by conveying significant theoretical contributions and
discussing important managerial implications for businesses to thrive in international
markets.

5.1 Theoretical Contributions

First, based on a critical review of the relevant literature, our research was the
first effort to simultaneously apply all three underlying theories as a comprehensive
system of theoretical foundations to explain bias toward foreign brands. Whilst the most
prevailing Social Identity Theory concentrates on classifications and in-group facets of
behaviours, Personal Identity Theory (PIT) is concerned with roles and how they
determine identities and conducts to minimise contradiction with how others regard them
(Balabanis et al., 2019). However, neither SIT nor PIT offers a rationale behind the
phenomenon of out-group favouritism accompanied by negative self-stereotyping,
culminating in a rejection of domestic offerings (Diamantopoulos et al., 2019). As
simultaneously adapted to international marketing, each theory drew distinct inferences
and proposed various mechanisms for explaining consumer favouritism and derogation.
Second, exploring and understanding the effects of consumers’ perceptions
towards a particular country on buying behaviours has been of interest to researchers for
years in developed, emerging, and developing markets. However, the results of these
studies are still in debate because they vary from market to market and product to product.
The results provided statistical evidence to support the inverse relationships between
consumers and their willingness to buy foreign-made products, consistent with the extant
literature (Olsen et al., 1993; Herche, 1994; Sharma et al., 1995). In addition, the non-
significant relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and foreign product
judgements was consistent with the empirical data from the research of Pham & Nguyen
(2020), which was also, interestingly, conducted in the context of consumers in Vietnam.
Third, Nes et al. (2014) posited that whilst several academics in the international
business and marketing domain have emphasised concepts relative to restricting foreign
purchasing (such as animosity and consumer ethnocentrism), the influence of fondness
for foreign countries and favoritism towards international brands received far less
attention. This research enriches the literature by empirically confirming the positive
impact of consumer affinity on willingness to buy foreign-made products and the positive
influence that consumer cosmopolitanism has on foreign product judgements.
Similarly, Balabanis & Diamantopoulos (2016) proposed that future research
concentrate on the impact of consumer xenocentrism on other essential outcome
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 98
variables, such as product judgements. Notably, based on prior scholars’
recommendations and scant empirical evidence, this research examined and confirmed a
significant positive impact of consumer xenocentrism on both willingness to buy and
judgements towards foreign products, consistent with the System Justification Theory
serving as the theoretical basis. These findings considerably served as empirical evidence
supporting Balabanis & Diamantopoulos’ (2016) recommendation for future research to
explore the impact of consumer xenocentrism on various other essential outcome
variables.

5.2 Managerial Implications

For businesses to succeed in international markets, they must assess consumer
affinity, cosmopolitanism, and xenocentrism for the products and services they provide
and then adjust their marketing mix following these findings to achieve the desired results
for their operations. It would be helpful for the marketers of the brand since it would
allow them to better grasp the customers' peculiarities in each foreign market. This
research, data, and analysis take on greater significance in the setting of highly
competitive global marketplaces since the idea of a global brand is evolving from a
uniform product to a more personalised offering. Firms will be able to make better and
more informed choices, appropriately alter their offers, and accomplish their goals and
objectives in every new market if they consider the effect of the factors that drive
customer behaviour toward goods and how they interact with each other.
According to our findings, the presence of a foreign nation whose inhabitants are
warm and approachable would encourage customers in Vietnam to have more faith in the
reliability of the goods produced in their country and boost their propensity to purchase
such goods. Affiliation is a sense of belonging that may be shared between individuals
and a nation. The attitude of a particular person may have a bigger impact on purchasing
choices than the attitude of a specific nation does.
The discovery that consumer affinity plays a significant role in understanding
why consumers would choose purposefully to purchase foreign goods, invest in other
nations, or visit these countries has apparent repercussions for international marketing.
Instead of only emphasising their production and technical know-how and supremacy,
we encourage policymakers and marketers to make an effort in their communications to
generate and enhance sentiments of loyalty for their nation. The decision-makers in each
nation’s government should pursue purely emotive topics that purposefully focus on
building and strengthening consumer affiliation sentiments for their nations. For
example, the “Discover Thai Products” marketing, which stresses the nation of origin as
a label for high-quality, standard and value items, starkly contrasts these methods. The
“Discover Thai Products” campaign is more sensible and conventional. Thai companies
can capitalise on customer affinity sentiments, strengthen their marketing
communications, and improve their own and their goods’ images if they link the items
they sell with national themes designed to strengthen such feelings. To be more precise,
businesses may emotionally use testimonials to appeal to customers in other countries.
An obvious implication of our research is that international businesses
headquartered in nations with a relatively higher status than the nation they are trying to
break into should capitalise on xenocentric tendencies by emphasising information
regarding the origin of their brands and the social and symbolic value of those brands. In
contrast, assuming that the xenocentric consumer segment is substantial in the domestic
market (and is therefore worth targeting), local firms should not emphasise the brand
origin in their marketing communication but instead opt for foreign consumers’ cultural
positioning and foreign branding strategies. This is because the xenocentric consumer
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 99
segment is substantial in the domestic market. Alternatively, domestic companies could
concentrate their communication efforts on educating and persuading local xenocentrics
that domestic goods and brands are of equivalent (or even higher) quality than foreign
companies’ offers and may represent greater value for money. Engaging well-known
international celebrities to advocate for local goods might aid these marketing efforts. It
would help combat the belief of xenocentric that domestic items and brands are of lower
quality.

5.3 Limitations and Further Research

Although this research represents a careful and systemic effort to incorporate
consumers’ sentiments about a certain nation from a holistic viewpoint, the research has
limitations. Firstly, the reliance on data from a single country raises concerns regarding
the generalizability of findings to other nations due to inherent sociocultural variations.
Future research may engage in cross-country comparisons to enhance generalizability,
enabling a better understanding of potential differences in the proposed model. Secondly,
implementing a cross-sectional research design limits inferential conclusions for cause-
and-effect relationships; studies should consider field or laboratory experiments to
validate the observed phenomenon. Thirdly, although proposing an integrated model with
various factors influencing consumers’ purchasing behaviours, the current study might
not be able to address all variables due to time and resource limitations. Future studies
might empirically explore the influence of factors including economic inequalities, past
experiences, customer demographics, boycott behaviours, and switching costs. These
factors may operate as covariates to increase the accuracy of determining how customer
ethnocentrism, xenocentrism, and cosmopolitanism affect purchasing behaviours.
 Thailand and The World Economy | Vol. 42, No.2, May – August 2024 | 100

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