| Sažetak | Globalizacija i otvaranje tržišta doprinijeli su povećanju ponude proizvoda stranog
podrijetla na domaćem tržištu čime je proces donošenja kupovne odluke kod kupca
postao još složeniji. Potrošači na svakodnevnoj razini donose odluku o kupnji proizvoda
stranog ili domaćeg podrijetla. Istovremeno, među pojedincima raste svijest o potrebi
očuvanja vlastitog gospodarstva te koncept potrošačkog etnocentrizma postaje važan
strateški alat kojim se koriste nacionalne kompanije. Potrošački etnocentrizam odnosi se
na uvjerenja potrošača o ispravnosti i moralnosti kupnje domaćih proizvoda. Republika
Hrvatska izuzetno ovisi o uvozu hrane te je zbog toga, ali i zbog kompleksnih povijesnih i
političkih zbivanja, posebno zanimljiva za istraživanje područja potrošačkog
etnocentrizma.
Cilj ovog rada je utvrditi stupanj potrošačkog etnocentrizma među hrvatskim potrošačima.
Nadalje, cilj rada bio je testirati model teorije planiranog ponašanja proširen konstruktom
potrošačkog etnocentrizma, utvrditi čimbenike koji utječu na etnocentrično ponašanje
potrošača u kupnji prehrambenih proizvoda različitog stupnja uključenosti (vino i čips) te
cjenovnu spremnost ispitanika za kupnju domaćih prehrambenih proizvoda, kao i
povezanost stupnja potrošačkog etnocentrizma i ponašanja u kupnji prehrambenih
proizvoda domaćeg podrijetla s cjenovnom spremnošću potrošača.
Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 348 kupaca čipsa i 315 kupaca vina. Provedena
je jednovarijatna analiza podataka, regresijska analiza te modeliranje strukturalnim
jednadžbama. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da je teorija planiranog ponašanja
proširena konstruktom potrošačkog etnocentrizma pogodna za predviđanje
etnocentričnog ponašanja u kupnji prehrambenih proizvoda. Potrošački etnocentrizam
najveći je prediktor stavova o etnocentričnom ponašanju u kupnji prehrambenih
proizvoda, dok su stavovi najveći prediktori namjere kupnje prehrambenih proizvoda
hrvatskog podrijetla. Namjera je najveći prediktor ponašanja, odnosno kupnje
prehrambenih proizvoda hrvatskog podrijetla.
Za utvrđivanje cjenovne spremnosti ispitanika za kupnju prehrambenih proizvoda
hrvatskog podrijetla te povezanosti cjenovne spremnosti ispitanika s potrošačkim
etnocentrizmom i ponašanjem u kupnji prehrambenih proizvoda hrvatskog podrijetla
korištena je metoda eksperimenta. Eksperiment je proveden na uzorku od 81 kupca čipsa
i 84 kupca vina. Rezultati eksperimenta pokazuju da ispitanici preferiraju kupnju
prehrambenih proizvoda hrvatskog podrijetla ukoliko je cijena tih prehrambenih proizvoda
domaćeg podrijetla jednaka cijeni uvoznih proizvoda, no porastom cijene prehrambenih
proizvoda hrvatskog podrijetla u odnosu na cijene uvoznih proizvoda, opada cjenovna
spremnost ispitanika za kupnjom proizvoda hrvatskog podrijetla. Nadalje, ispitanici s
većim stupnjem potrošačkog etnocentrizma su spremniji platiti veću cijenu za te proizvode
hrvatskog podrijetla.
Rezultati ovog istraživanja mogu poslužiti kao informativna podloga za kreiranje
marketinških strategija u svrhu povećane kupnje prehrambenih proizvoda domaćeg
podrijetla. |
| Sažetak (engleski) | The impact of globalization on the selection of domestic or foreign products is described in
the introduction section. Globalization and open markets have contributed to an increase
in the supply of foreign products in the domestic market, which make the purchasing
process for consumers even more complex. Consumers make decisions about buying a
product of foreign or domestic origin on a daily basis. At the same time, a growing
awareness about the need to preserve the economy of their country and the concept of
consumer ethnocentrism is growing among individuals and it has become an important
strategic tool used by national companies. Consumer ethnocentrism refers to the beliefs
held by consumers about the appropriateness and morality of purchasing domestic
products. Croatia is of particular research interest when it comes to consumer
ethnocentrism because it is highly dependent on food imports, but also because of its
complex historical and political background.
The objectives of work are defined next. The aim of this study is to determine the level of
consumer ethnocentrism among Croatian consumers. Another aim was to test model of
the theory of planned behavior extended with consumer ethnocentrism and to determine
factors that influence on consumers ethnocentric behavior in purchase of food products
with different level of involvement (wine and chips), so as relation among consumer
ethnocentrism level and behavior in purchase of domestic products with consumers’
willingness to pay.
In the chapter Overview of previous research the term attitude is defined and a review of
previous research about the relation between attitudes and behavior, and basic models of
consumer behavior is given. The concept of ethnocentrism and consumer ethnocentrism
is defined, as well as the method for consumer ethnocentrism measuring. At the end, the
term involvement is defined. Human behavior is constantly changing in interaction with the
environment, so the consumers' behavior is, due to the influence of many variables, a
complex area of research. For this reason, models that aim to show and predict consumer
behavior have been created. One of the most popular model for predicting consumer
behavior is the model of the theory of planned behavior, according to which behavior is
determined by three elements: attitudes towards specific behavior, subjective norm and
perceived behavioral control. Attitude towards specific behavior refers to the degree to
which a person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of the behavior in question.
Subjective norm refers to the perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the
behavior, while perceived behavioral control refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of
performing the behavior (Ajzen, 1991). The more positive attitudes, higher subjective
norm and a higher level of perceived behavioral control, the higher is the intention of a
certain behavior, while higher intention and a higher perceived behavioral control mean
actual behavior. This paper used the theory of planned behavior to predict ethnocentric
behavior in buying two agri-food products with different levels of involvement. Involvement
refers to the perceived importance of the object with respect to the needs, values and
interests. I have chosen chips as a product with a lower level of involvement, while wine
was chosen as product with higher level of involvement. Additionally, an experiment was
conducted with wine and chips consumers to determine the willingness to pay extra
amount of money for domestic chips and wine, compared to foreign ones.
In the chapter Material and methods the course of research and data processing is
presented. After the selection of agri-food products (chips and wine) four focus groups
were conducted in order to create a questionnaire. After creating the questionnaire it was
tested on a sample of 30 wine consumers and 30 chips consumers. The main survey was
conducted on a sample of 315 wine consumers and 348 chips consumers. The
experiment was conducted with 81 chips consumers and with 84 wine consumers. The
results of the survey and the experiment were analyzed in the statistical program SPSS.
Univariate data analysis (frequency and data distribution) and regression analysis were
conducted. Before the analysis of the data, the reliability of the measurement scales was
tested by using Cronbach alpha coefficient. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test
the models. Statistical program Amos was used to fit structural equation models.
In the chapter Results, the main results obtained in the survey and experiment are listed.
The results of consumer ethnocentrism scale showed medium level of consumer
ethnocentrism among consumers of product with low involvement, as well as among
consumers of product with high involvement. Consumers of product with low involvement
have positive attitudes about purchasing that product of Croatian origin, high subjective
norm and a high degree of perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, they have medium
level of intention to purchase product with low involvement of Croatian origin and they
ocassionaly buy that product. The extended model for predicting purchase of product with
low involvement based on the theory of planned behavior shows that the intention of
buying product with low involvement has the highest positive impact on the behavior or
the purchase of product with low involvement while perceived behavioral control doesn't
have a statistically significant effect on behavior. Among the predictors of intention to
purchase product with low involvement, the greatest impact is that of attitude which
means that a more positive attitude about buying product with low involvement means a
greater intention to purchase that product. The extended model of the theory of planned
behavior explained 63% of the intention to purchase product with low involvement and
51% of behavior.
Consumers of product with high involvement have positive attitudes about purchasing
product with high involvement, high subjective norm and high level of perceived
behavioral control. They have high intention to buy product with high involvement and they
buy that product regularly. Results showed that intention to buy product with high
involvement regularly has the highest positive impact on behavior, namely regular
purchase of product with high involvement. Among predictors of intention to buy product
with high involvement regularly, the highest impact was that of attitudes. The extended
model of the theory of planned behavior explained 51% of the intention to purchase
product with high involvement and 37% of behavior, namely regular purchase of that
product. Results of experiment showed that 90.1% buyers of product with low involvement
chose that product when the price of Croatian and foreign product was the same. When
the price of Croatian product with low involvement was 6 kuna higher than the price of
foreign product with low involvement only 22.2% of respondents chose to buy product of
domestic origin. The results of the experiment with consumers of product with high
involvement showed that even 98.80% of them will choose Croatian product of high
involvement if the price of Croatian product with high involvement and the price of foreign
product with high involvement is the same. However, when the price of the Croatian
product with high involvement is 25 kunas higher than the price of foreign product with
high involvement, only 28.6% of them chose the Croatian product with high involvement.
In the discussion section, besides the comparison of the results with the results of
previous studies, the implications for business practices are given. The results of this
research are very important for business practices because they inform agri-food
producers, especially wine and chips producers about the role of individual factors in
ethnocentric behavior of consumers and about consumers' willingness to pay an extra
amount of money for the products of Croatian origin. Furthermore, this study used the
extended theory of planned behavior, which is often used for consumer behaviour
prediction.
The results of this study provide guidance for food producers and marketers to realize the
importance of highlighting the domestic origin on agri-food products in advertising
messages and on the products themselves.
It is important to educate consumers about the importance of consumer ethnocentrism for
economic development. Furthermore, it is important to examine and determine ways to
encourage ethnocentric behavior in purchasing food products. Based on the survey
results it is recommended to create and implement campaigns in order to increase
purchase of domestic products which would strengthen positive attitudes about buying
products of domestic origin. In addition, it is essential to increase the availability to
purchase domestic products. Since the customers with a higher level of consumer
ethnocentrism are willing to pay a higher price for Croatian food product, domestic food
producers do not need to primarily put emphasis on the low cost of the product, but on the
origin and quality to retain existing and attract new customers.
Apart from the business practice implications, in the discussion section some limitations of
research are listed. The key limitation of this research is a measure of behavior in which
the respondents expressed their behavior (self-report measure) and the fact that the same
subjects did not participate in the survey about regular purchase of Croatian product with
high involvement and in the survey about regular purchase of Croatian product with low
involvement.
In the conclusion section main conclusions emerging from the whole research are written.
In conclusion, this research showed the applicability of the extended theory of planned
behavior in predicting ethnocentric behavior in the purchasing of food products. |
