IJMS 11 (SPECIALISSUE), 29-44 (2004) CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM: THE RELATIONSHIP WITH DOMESTIC PRODUCTS EVALUATION AND BUYING PIREFERENCES NAZLIDA MUHAMAD @ HASHIM Faculty of Business Management Universiti Utara Malaysia RAZLI CHERAZAK Faculty of Technology Management Universiti Utara Malaysia ABSTRACT Malaysia is one ASEAN developing county, which has attracted the atten- tion of foreign investors and marketers. ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), which was realized in 2003, brings foreign products to Malaysian consumers with more afordable deals. The issue of globalisation that has been debated around the world could also c a r y the same impact 01’ even more towards local products. One party that plays a major role in thest? issues is the Malaysian consumer. Do they think domestic products are of good quality? Are they willing to buy domestic products? These are the questions that should be answered in determining the future of domestic products. Consumer ethno- centrism is a marketing conccpt/construct that measures consumers’ preju- dice against imports. Consumers who score high on consumer ethnocentrism overestimate domestic products’ and underestimate imports. The objective of this study is to investigate whether consumer ethnocentrism has an impact on Malaysian consumers buying preferences and domestic products‘ evalua- tions. Findingsfrom this study showed that more l‘han 80% of the respond- ents were highly ethnocentric consumers. Results al‘soshowed that consumer ethnocentrism has a significant relationship to buying preferences and do- mestic products’ evaluations. Despite positive evaluation on domestic prod- ucts’ evaluation, preferences to buy domestic products found to be varied across types of products. The sample most preferred to buy domestic food products and rated no preference to domestic cars and persoxial computers. The study also found that demographic variables of age, gender, income and education have no signifcant relationship with consumer ethnocentrism. The implica- tions of the study andfiture research areas are also discussed. Keywords: consumer ethnocentrism, buying prqferences, product evalua- t ion, international marketing .