Russian Consumers’ Responses to Turkish Products: Exploring the Roles of Country Image, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Animosity

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to investigate the country of origin (COO) effect on purchase decisions for Turkish products in foreign markets. Particularly, the study focused on the impacts of country image, consumer ethnocentrism, and animosity on product evaluation, risk perception and buying intention of Russian consumers. The data was collected through a survey conducted on a sample consisting of 346 native Russian consumers living in Moscow. Analysis results revealed that origin related factors (i.e. country image, consumer ethnocentrism, and animosity) do not directly influence purchase intention for Turkish products. Animosity was found to increase the perceived risk of buying Turkish products, to some extent, while expected negative impacts of ethnocentrism were not confirmed. Most importantly, findings revealed a strong link between country image and product evaluation. Results were discussed in detail and the article concludes with implication of the findings.