As domestic industries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries try to survive in the face of a soaring competition and as CEE markets continue to attract a number of international marketers, there is a need for a better understanding of onsumer behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate consumer ethnocentric tendencies on a sample of consumers in Slovenia, to examine consumer brand name familiarity as a possible antecedent of consumer ethnocentrism and to investigate the relationship between brand name familiarity, ethnocentricity and actual purchase behavior of domestic vs. foreign goods within product categories subjected to foreign competition. Using a cross-culturally robust measure of consumer ethnocentric tendencies, the respondents in this study revealed rather non-ethnocentric attitudes. Empirical results confirmed the postulated relationships among consumer ethnocentric tendencies, familiarity with brand names and consumer purchaes decisions for the product categories examined. Contrary to findings of previous research on consumers in long established economies, demographic variables were not found significant in affecting consumer ethnocentric tendencies. Implications for domestic and international marketers are outlined in the conclusions.
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