Scale development for consumer repulsion: A consumers' individual identity-expressiveness perspective

Abstract

In a number of emerging markets such as China, native consumers may avoid certain domestic products when foreign products are available. However, the studies on the unfavorable attitudes toward the products of one's own country are not sufficient. This article aims to develop a construct to explain this phenomenon. The measurement scale was developed and validated using responses from 318 Chinese consumers with respect to electronics and clothing. The judgment sampling method produced representative distributions in terms of age and gender. The items were first generated and refined based on the content validity. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent and discriminant validity were then established. Finally, this study investigates relationships among consumer repulsion, domestic product ownership, and negative word of mouth, to confirm the nomological validity. This study develops a construct-consumer repulsion-that can be used to articulate native consumers' unfavorable attitudes toward domestic products from consumers' individual identity-expressiveness perspective. First, this study develops a scale for consumer repulsion. The scale shows good reliability, unidimensionality, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity. The scale helps explain the nature and impact of country biases, and integrates and expands current studies in this field, which should prove helpful in further research on this topic. Furthermore, this study proposes a three-dimensional model of consumer repulsion consisting of affective repulsion, cognitive repulsion, and conative repulsion. Finally, these findings have shown that linking domestic products to social identity and self-identity will likely influence domestic product ownership and word of mouth of native consumers.

Keywords: consumer repulsion; domestic product ownership; negative word of mouth; scale development; self-identity; social identity.