Think Global and Buy Global: The Influence of Global Identity on Indian Consumers’ Behaviour toward Chinese Smartphone Brands

Abstract The objective of this study is to examine Indian consumers’ global identity, ethnocentrism and animosity between India and China – two countries that have a diverse economic, cultural, political, and historical background. This research examines Indian consumers’ willingness to buy (WTB) Chinese smartphone brands. The conceptual framework proposed, explores the predictive power of global identity, ethnocentrism, animosity and brand’s perceived quality (BPQ) on Indian consumers’ WTB Chinese smartphone brands. The study examines the uncertainty that prevails in the minds of the consumers before buying a product from a country for which different feelings exists. Data from a survey of 861 respondents from India was collected to test the research model and was analyzed through PLS based SEM. The study establishes the significance of the proposed framework which is able to predict 61% of the variance of Indian consumers’ willingness to buy Chinese smartphone brands. Moreover, Indian consumers’ WTB Chinese smartphone brands are positively influenced by global identity and negatively by animosity and ethnocentrism. Earlier research has analyzed the contribution of ethnocentrism and animosity in the realms of different nations like China and USA but the current research explores the influence of global identity, ethnocentrism and animosity between India and China.