International consumer admiration and the persistence of animosity

PurposeThis paper aims to introduce the concept of admiration for members of other countries as an emotion related to people's perceptions of, and preference for, products that originate from the admired country. It also aims to examine the longitudinal effects of animosity.Design/methodology/approachData were collected by asking members of an internet consumer panel in the USA to complete an online questionnaire. A total of 300 questionnaires were received and 20 were eliminated for extremeness. Panel members were aged 18 and above and the average age of the sample was 44; 60 percent of the participants are female.FindingsThe effects of animosity on the preference for foreign products attenuate over time. Admiration is positively related to a preference for a product from an admired country over a product from another country. Admiration was found to be positively related to Japanese product judgments.Originality/valueThe paper extends the work of Klein, and suggests that animosity can be displaced by a positive emotion, namely admiration. Managers therefore need to assess the emotions directed towards their countries to capitalize on such information when marketing their products.