WORKING PAPER NO. 409 Domestic Food Purchase Bias: A Cross-Country

This work examines several psychological mechanisms that motivate the purchase of domestic food products rather than foreign ones. A purposed-made survey was conducted in Germany, Italy and Serbia to investigate the influence of socio-demographic and national contexts on food consumption patterns. The interdisciplinary approach of the present study yields a comprehensive image of consumer preferences, including different perceptions of food standards and requirements. Food quality evaluation, consumer ethnocentrism, nationalism and openness to other cultures are defined, measured and then used to simultaneously explain the intention to purchase domestic food products. Our findings provide insights in the choices of different consumer groups at country level and show that accounting for individual and country characteristics is key to develop effective marketing and communication strategies as well as policy strategies within and across national boundaries