An investigation into the Elite Sri Lankan consumers’ propensity to seek country of origin information when purchasing hedonic and utilitarian products

This study aims to explore elite Sri Lankan consumer’s attitudes towards global and local products and their propensity to seek Country of Origin (COO) information when purchasing hedonic and utilitarian products. More specifically, the objectives of the research are to investigate: (1) elite consumer’s attitudes towards global and local products; (2) to what extent these attitudes differ across hedonic and utilitarian products; (3) if elite consumer’s attitudes towards global and local products differ when buying products for specific purchase occasions (for general use, personal use, for a special occasion and when buying a product as a gift for a friend); and (4) whether there is a relationship between elite consumer’s attitudes towards global and local products, and their propensity to seek COO information. The researchers plan to take a positivist stance and distribute 500 self administered questionnaires among wealthy Sri Lankan elites (with a high disposable income and high living standards). The authors believe that the findings will contribute significantly to the existing body of knowledge on COO by providing an insight about COO effects on elites. The elite market segment may represent a profitable niche for marketers to avoid head-to head competition.