Ethnocentric behavior of consumers on the market of food products in Poland

Abstract

The concept of consumer ethnocentrism was defined for the first time by two American scientists T.A. Shimpa and S. Sharma and it mainly concerned decisions related to the selection, purchase and use by buyers of domestic products (Shimp & Sharma, 1987). This behavior was described as the "overestimation" of products of native origin, a reduction in the value of imported products and the abandonment of their purchase. This behavior is also identified with the preference for both domestic products as well as regional and local products (Sharma, Shimp, 1987, p. 280-289). The problems of ethnocentric behavior in Poland were only interested after the fall of communism in 1898, when consumers, as a result of marketization of the economy, gained the freedom to choose products and services according to their individual preferences (Kowalczyk, 2016). Research in this period showed that the ethnocentric attitude among Polish buyers was low. Consumers then preferred foreign products, which was a consequence of a lack of confidence in goods produced in the country, which were perceived as weaker in quality compared to imported products. Over time, the ethnocentric orientation grew stronger, especially in the context of agri-food goods (Figiel, 2004). The aim of the article is to assess the level of ethnocentric shopping behavior in the context of buying food products among Polish consumers (Angowski & Lipowski, 2014; Szromnik & Wolanin-Jarosz, 2014).