Editorial

The study by R. Stephen Parker, Diana L. Haytko, and Charles M. Hermans examines ethnocentric tendencies including consumer ethnocentrism, country of origin, product judgments, willingness to buy, and animosity toward foreign products among a sample of economically progressive Chinese college students in a coastal port city in northern China. A total of 367 Chinese students responded to the survey. The sample was 62% female, aged 18 to 27 years, and in their sophomore to senior level in the university. These students were earning their degrees in business at an American university with a campus in Dalian, China. Respondents were asked to complete an online survey using SurveyMonkey. Questions included items related to ethnocentrism, country of origin, product judgment, willingness to buy and animosity. The consumer ethnocentrism scale (CETScale) by Shimp and Sharma (1987) was used to measure ethnocentric tendencies. Country-of-origin effects were measured using a scale provided by Pisharodi and Parmeswaran (1992). Product judgment, willingness to buy, and animosity are measured using scales provided by Klein, Ettenson, and Morris (1998). All items were measured using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Chronbach’s alpha for each of the scales ranged from . 646 to . 903 and is reported in the tables for each scale. Survey results suggest that these Chinese consumers held a rather positive view of, and little animosity toward, the United States. They also did not show high levels of ethnocentrism or country of origin effects. These results would suggest openness toward foreign products. While Chinese consumers report little animosity or ethnocentric tendencies toward U.S. products, animosity, country of origin, and ethnocentrism are significantly correlated with willingness to buy. This suggests managers need to carefully position foreign products with respect to Chinese consumer expectations. Impacts of traditional collectivist views of the Chinese culture are suggested as an avenue for future research with respect to ethnocentrism and willingness to buy foreign products. Culture remains as one of the most influential factors that marketers must consider when they introduce products and services in international markets. Although a vast amount of literature has emerged with regard to the cultural distance–international marketing strategy relationship, most studies have used subjective measures of cultural distance to determine the extent of international marketing strategy standardization. Only a relative handful of studies have employed objective measures of cultural distance to investigate the cultural distance–international marketing strategy link. Thus, the study by Tae Won Moon and Sang Il Park attempts to contribute to the knowledge base by comparing and contrasting the effect of three different cultural distance measures (i.e., Hofstede, 1980; House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004; and managerial perception) on the degree of international marketing strategy adaptation. The present study also seeks to assess which cultural distance measure is the best predictor for international marketing strategy adaptation. The sampling frame was the Korean Chamber of Commerce directory of Korean exporters. Eleven questionnaires were returned incomplete, with 105 usable questionnaires retained for further analysis. This represents a net response