The prevalence of ethnocentric tendencies in Bangladesh
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-02-2013-0007 |
| Date | 05 January 2015 |
| Pages | 1-16 |
| Published date | 05 January 2015 |
| Author | Tamgid Ahmed Chowdhury |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,International business |
The prevalence of ethnocentric
tendencies in Bangladesh
Tamgid Ahmed Chowdhury
Tamgid Ahmed
Chowdhury is an
Assistant Professor
based at Department of
Marketing and
International Business,
North South University,
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to argue that the traditional belief that “consumer ethnocentrism is a
phenomenon of the developed countries only” is no longer true. To establish this argument, our study
assesses the applicability of the Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale (CETSCALE) in Bangladesh
by judging the unidimensionality feature of the same.
Design/methodology/approach –The methodology is based on sample of 788 respondents collected
from 27 border and non-border districts of Bangladesh.
Findings –Statistically significant results show that for the consumers of border and non-border
districts, the original CETSCALE is, to a great extent, applicable as those groups have shown positive
attitudes in retaining 12-14 items out of the 17 items of the original scale. However, the groups and the
respondents as a whole did not agree with the unidimensionality feature of the CETSCALE.
Practical implications –The results of the study show that Bangladeshi consumers prefer to see
“Made in Bangladesh” tags when buying consumer products – a significant potential threat that the
multinational companies need to address while planning to expand business in Bangladesh.
Originality/value –This type of rigorous study on Bangladesh has never been done before. Moreover,
the study identifies the difference in ethnocentric behavior of the consumers living in border and
non-border areas – a study of ethnocentrism from a different point of view.
Keywords Bangladesh, Consumer ethnocentrism, Multidimensional modeling
Paper type Research paper
By assessing the applicability of the consumer ethnocentric tendencies scale (CETSCALE)
for the developing country Bangladesh, this paper challenges the orthodox viewpoint that
consumer ethnocentrism is a phenomenon of the developed world only. In addition, this
paper examines whether any difference exists in purchases of foreign-made products by
the consumers of border and non-border districts in Bangladesh where consumers’
ethnocentrism might have been transcended, to a great extent, by the availability of cheap
smuggled products.
In an age of global marketing with improved communication and transportation systems,
firms are looking for opportunities to expand their businesses to foreign territories. This
process has largely been accelerated by opening up national borders, especially through
large-scale trade liberalization. While trade liberalization allows foreign-made products to
flow legally into developing countries such as Bangladesh, smuggling has always been an
alternative mode of trade that deprives the country of customs revenue. The availability of
smuggled goods has a significant impact on the buying decisions of consumers.
Smuggling, usually found all over the world, is an income-generating activity for many
people in border areas[1], even though it is considered illegal because smugglers avoid
state controls, regulations and customs-related costs.
Bangladesh, surrounded by India, has become a hotspot for large-scale smuggling[2].
Because Bangladesh maintains a comparatively flexible immigration agreement with
Received 21 February 2013
Revised 28 April 2013
25 March 2014
10 April 2014
Accepted 20 April 2014
The author wishes to
acknowledge the anonymous
reviewers of this paper and
Editor-in-Chief of the journal
for their insightful and
constructive comments.
DOI 10.1108/JABS-02-2013-0007 VOL. 9 NO. 1 2015, pp. 1-16, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1558-7894 JOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES PAGE 1
Myanmar, a large group of people used to misuse this opportunity to smuggle goods
across border areas. Eventually, goods smuggled through the borders become available
in non-border districts[3] of Bangladesh due to low transportation costs and the slack
enforcement of laws. As smuggled goods enter into countries without customs duties being
levied on them, they remain cheaper compared to local goods or legally imported goods
even after transportation costs have been added to their final prices. A study[4] revealed
that smuggled foreign shirts and suits account for nearly 60-70 per cent of the
supermarkets’ stocks in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, which is located in a non-border
district. Indian goods are in demand because of their cheaper prices, although local
products are perceived to be of better quality. As long as the price incentive is important
to money-constrained consumers, domestic producers will be harmed by the smuggling
trade as people continue to buy foreign-made products to save money in their monthly
budgets[5]. However, the extent of the harm done to domestic production may vary
depending on the ethnocentric attitudes of consumers, which may induce them to buy
high-priced local products even if they live in a border district where smuggled products
are more readily available and cheaper.
Studies have found that people consume domestic products, and have adverse attitudes
toward foreign or imported products for several reasons, such as inferior quality (Han,
1988) or negative attitudes toward a particular country (Klein et al., 1998). However, there
is a considerable lacuna in the existing literature when it comes to discerning whether there
is a trade-off between paying extra and showing patriotism for those people who have
comparatively low per capita incomes. The buying attitudes of these consumers in
developing countries need to be addressed properly. On the one hand, a large number of
multinational companies (MNCs) are operating in Bangladesh due to the country’s
openness, on the other hand, a significant proportion of the consumer goods available are
sold at cheaper prices because smuggling is supposed to have a major impact on local
consumers’ decisions to buy foreign-made products. In this context, for Bangladesh, it is
relevant to examine the applicability of the consumer ethnocentric tendencies scale
(CETSCALE; a 17-item unidimensional scale) proposed by Shimp and Sharma (1987) who
proposed the concept of “consumer ethnocentrism”.
The viewpoint that the CETSCALE is a phenomenon of the developed world may not be true
anymore. In their studies on India, Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively, Bawa (2004),Teo
et al. (2011) and Hamin and Elliot (2006) have showed that the CETSCALE is applicable for
rising economies too. However, this justification has not been well established for
developing countries. There are only two studies available on CETSCALE validation in
developing countries and they concern Ghana (Saffu and Walker, 2006) and Nigeria
(Okechuku and Onyemah, 2000). If we can show that the CETSCALE is also applicable for
another developing country – Bangladesh – we can strengthen the argument that the
CETSCALE is equally applicable for developing nations. It is important to mention that no
study has been conducted on the applicability of the CETSCALE in developing countries
since 2006. In addition, no study was conducted to explore and compare the degree of the
prevalence of ethnocentric tendencies among consumers living in border and non-border
areas before then. Thus, it is supposed that this study will provide a new and important
perspective from which to see consumer ethnocentrism, especially in those developing
countries where smuggling is a common phenomenon. By considering all the stated facts,
this research effort is grounded on two primary objectives:
1. to assess the validity, reliability and applicability of a unidimensional 17-item
CETSCALE in the developing country of Bangladesh; and
2. to assess the validity of the scale items amongst the consumers of border and
non-border areas in Bangladesh and to explore the differences of opinions of the
consumers of the stated areas concerning CETSCALE items.
PAGE 2 JOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES VOL. 9 NO. 1 2015
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