Consumer Ethnocentrism and Brand Preference in India's FMCG Sector: A Comparative Study of CETSCALE and SCONET Scale

Abstract

This research aims to delve into the dynamics of consumer ethnocentrism in India's Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, focusing on prominent companies such as Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Indian Tobacco Corporation (ITC), Dabur India Ltd, Nestle, and the Godrej Group. The study seeks to investigate whether Indian consumers exhibit a preference for domestically produced goods over foreign-made products and aims to understand how consumer sentiments influence their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, the research aims to identify the underlying factors that shape consumer buying behavior towards products from both Indian and international companies

This study consists of two parts: theoretical part explain the relevance of consumer ethnocentrism and the consumer attitudes towards the locally produced goods in literature review section. Empirical section, which involves a comparative study of two well-established scales- CETSCALE and SCONET Scale. CETSCALE – Consumer Ethnocentrism Tendencies Scale ( developed by shimp and Sharma 1987) is used to reveal tendency to prefer product made domestically in contrast to those of foreign origin. Whereas,  SCONET- Scale of Consumer Ethnocentrism (Maison et al 2018) preference of national brand over international brand. The main finding demonstrated that Indian consumers have nationalist feeling towards the national brands. ITC company would be chosen by 21.6% of consumers for their purchase. This study benefited both domestic and international business in marketing decision, segment targeting, brand positioning and advertising strategies for businesses looking to cater to the preferences and attitudes of Indian consumers in the FMCG sector.