Leveraging on Consumer Ethnocentrism: A Potential Strategic Tool for Future Marketers

Current phenomena of globalization is changing the world economy at an accelerating pace as the domestic consumption basket of an average household now comprises of wide varieties of goods and services being marketed by companies located in different parts of the world. In this regard, it has become necessary to assess the consumer preferences for different types of domestic and foreign products. Industrial revolution followed by the phenomena of globalization and liberalization have not only led to the exponential growth of world trade but also played significant role in convergence of economic ideologies. Furthermore, technological innovations have created virtual character of markets offering a wide choice to make or buy decisions which maximizes consumer welfare. Keeping in view the pace of integration of world economies, the formal tariff barriers are likely to be reduced considerably but the informal tariff barriers will continue to have the wide scope in the international markets and as such ethnocentrism may play a crucial role in global market place. The present study is undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir state, India using multistage sampling method and is focused on to assess the ethnocentric tendencies of Indian consumers particularly the younger generation so as to suggest the measures for domestic and international marketers to widen their market base. Keywords: Globalization, Economic Integration, Consumer Ethnocentrism, Markets