Ip. Levin et Jd. Jasper, EXPERIMENTAL-ANALYSIS OF NATIONALISTIC TENDENCIES IN CONSUMER DECISION-PROCESSES - CASE OF THE MULTINATIONAL PRODUCT, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied, 2(1), 1996, pp. 17-30
Participants evaluated pairs of hypothetical hybrid products varying i
n the percentage of American workers employed in manufacturing each pr
oduct (50% vs. 80%) and the company nationality (American vs. Japanese
, German, or Taiwanese). For each pair, participants indicated a prefe
rence and reasons for their preference. Employing American workers was
an important factor in the preferences of all participants across all
products (automobiles, personal computers, and clothing). However, pr
eference for American companies was significant in most cases only for
those scoring high on a scale of nationalism, as mediated by greater
concern for supporting America and the American economy and lesser con
cern for perceived quality differences. Results are discussed in terms
of theories of consumer ethnocentrism and ways of marketing multinati
onal products.