The Impact of Consumer Animosity and Consumer Ethnocentrism on Intention to Purchase Foreign Products: The Case of Chinese Branded Household Appliances in Vietnam Market

Abstract

Vietnam-China bilateral relationship has sharply declined due to the recent conflicts on both economic and political affairs. On top of that, the current controversial incident regarding the East Sea issue has constantly deteriorated the connection. At this critical time when the effects of consumers’ attitude toward Chinese products could not be overlooked, the empirical study aims to investigate the impacts of Consumer Animosity and Consumer Ethnocentrism on Purchase Intention of Chinese branded merchandise with the mediating role of Consumer Judgment. Household appliance category is chosen because of the dominance of Chinese brands in Vietnam market. In addition to the assessment of Animosity effect on Purchase Intention, the research is designated to examine its antecedences, including Perceived Economic Hardship and Normative Influences as well as their influences on Animosity. Structural Equation Modeling was utilized to test the theoretical framework, analyzing the data from a sample of 349 consumers with diverse backgrounds. The results have demonstrated that only Perceived economic hardship manifest a significant impacts on Animosity. Meanwhile, Animosity and Ethnocentrism have negative relationships with both Chinese branded household appliances Judgment and Purchase Intention. Overall, the study provides specific discussion and recommendations for the Vietnam household appliances industry and at the same time points into various directions for further researches.