Willingness to Purchase Domestic Household Appliance Brands in Iran and the Impact of Global Identity on Perceived Quality, with a Focus on the Role of Consumers

Introduction and purpose: With the rapid process of globalization, consumers now have a plethora of consumption opportunities, both domestic and international. The problems faced by consumers in the new age range from supporting domestic companies by purchasing domestically produced goods to dealing with imported goods from other countries. In the past, the majority of the country's home appliance market was dominated by foreign companies, with a significant portion controlled by two Korean companies, Samsung and LG. Iranian brands, on the other hand, held a smaller market share. With the intensification of international sanctions, Korean brands also left Iran. However, due to the sanctions and support for domestic production, this trend has now reversed, and most of the market is currently dominated by domestic brands. Consumer ethnocentrism is the tendency to consume goods offered by one's own culture. Ethnocentric consumers tend to have more favorable evaluations of domestic products than foreign products. Moreover, they believe that it is not right to purchase foreign goods because it can harm the domestic economy. Consumer hostility is defined as the lingering impact of past events, whether they are military, political, or economic, that influence consumers' purchasing behavior in the global market. They assume that expressing hostility towards a specific foreign country will discourage consumers from purchasing products originating from that country. Customer hostility and ethnocentrism are somewhat related concepts because both are associated with overall trends. Customers can exhibit hostility and ethnocentrism towards foreign products, which can be influenced by political, economic, and military events. However, the concept of hostility differs from the concept of consumer ethnocentrism. Perceived brand quality has been considered an important factor in previous studies. Many researchers believe that consumers' perception of brand quality has a significant effect on their willingness to purchase. Consumers tend to appreciate the superior quality of foreign products and believe that purchasing global goods gives them a sense of international identity. For this reason, the perceived quality of the brand has also been taken into consideration in this review. In this regard, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of global identity, ethnocentrism, and hostility on the perceived quality of foreign brands and the willingness to purchase household appliances, as compared to well-known Iranian brands.Research methodology: This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive and survey in terms of the nature or method of data collection. The data collection tool used in this research is a questionnaire. The statistical population for this study consists of consumers in Iran's home appliance market. Due to the unlimited size of the population, a sample of 527 individuals was selected for the study. The sampling method used was random sampling. The necessary data for the research was collected through an online researcher questionnaire. The formal and content validity of the questionnaire was checked and confirmed through the opinions of experts and professors. Also, the reliability of the questionnaire has been confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which is greater than 0.7.Findings and Discussion: The results of this research showed that global identity does not have a negative and significant effect on hostility and ethnocentrism. Additionally, the effect of this variable on perceived brand quality and willingness to buy was found to be insignificant. Additionally, the study confirmed the negative and significant impact of ethnocentrism on hostility, perceived brand quality, and willingness to purchase. Furthermore, the research findings indicated that hostility has a detrimental and substantial impact on the perceived brand quality and the intention to purchase. Additionally, the study confirmed the positive and significant influence of perceived brand quality on the willingness to buy. The results of the present study show that global identity does not affect the willingness to purchase home appliance brands. This shows that in Iran, consumers do not identify themselves as "global citizens" and do not exhibit a strong inclination to purchase international brands instead of local brands. These buyers, who have a strong sense of global identity, are culturally more attuned to the local culture and are not inclined to purchase goods from other communities and countries. Therefore, the results of this research are not supported by previous studies. Past research has shown that having a global identity reduces hostile behavior towards foreign products and brands, and buyers become more flexible and adaptable in accepting goods from other countries. However, this research contradicts these findings. Additionally, the results of this study indicate that global identity does not have a negative impact on hostility. Although Iranian consumers are open to foreign cultures and embrace products from different cultures, this sentiment does not negatively impact their aversion to foreign goods. A very interesting finding from this research is the absence of the influence of global identity on the perceived quality of home appliances. This shows that although Iranian consumers have a strong sense of global identity, it does not impact their perception of brand quality. These findings challenge the results obtained from previous studies. Conclusion: The most significant contribution of this research is the proposed conceptual model, which illustrates the impact of consumers' global identity on ethnocentrism, hostility, perceived brand quality, and willingness to purchase foreign goods. As the world moves towards globalization, individuals are becoming more aware of various cultures and societies. Consumers who have a strong global orientation perceive themselves as part of a larger global community. However, the findings of this research indicate that globalization does not play a significant role in the Iranian market when it comes to brand perception and the desire to purchase foreign home appliances. The present study provides new insights into the dynamic environment of Iran's consumer market and the consumption behaviors within this market. According to the research findings, it was discovered that ethnocentrism and hostility, except global identity, significantly influence the perceived brand quality of foreign household appliances and the willingness to purchase them in the Iranian market.