Regional Ethnocentrism on the Food Market as a Pattern of Sustainable Consumption

The paper aims to assess the level and predictors of regional ethnocentrism on the market of regional food products in the context of sustainable consumption. The study contributes to the theory of consumer ethnocentrism by extending our knowledge about its regional dimension. Regional ethnocentrism is the preference for products originating from the consumer's region. I conducted a survey in a representative sample of 1000 inhabitants of Poland with the use of the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) methodology. Regional ethnocentric consumers were characterized by a significantly more favorable attitude to regional food products compared to the rest of the sample. In a multiple regression model, the following eight statistically significant predictors of the regional ethnocentrism were identified: the importance of brand and retailer trust on the food market; the importance of quality signs in regional food purchases; opinion that insufficient marketing constitutes an important barrier to the development of the regional food market; buying regional products in shops owned by producers, rather than large distribution networks; frequency of purchasing regional products as a tourist; and national ethnocentrism on the regional food market. These predictors are strongly related to the three major pillars of sustainable development-economic, social, and ecological.