English abstract
The Oman government is currently engaged in a comprehensive economic diversification strategy to reduce dependency on oil export. The Oman government diversification Strategies put emphasis on, among other things, sectors such as agriculture and fisheries to contribute to job creation, food security and the overall growth of the Oman economy. Under the diversification strategies, more emphasis is directed on expanding the agricultural sector's contribution to Oman Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The success of the diversification strategies by the Oman government would, among other things, depend on the success of the promotion of market demand for "locally produced value added products". Therefore, investigating and understanding consumer attitudes toward these products becomes important. This study does just that by investigating Omani consumers' ethnocentrism and their willingness to pay premium for locally-produced value added products. This was accomplished using CETSCALE, non- parametric test and Interval Regression techniques for ethnocentrism and willingness to pay respectively. Results indicate that Omani consumers are ethnocentric (CETSCALE mean value = 59.2 against standard average of 51), and overall, they have positive attitude towards locally produced value added food products. Omani consumers would buy locally produced value added products, instead of imported ones, when the price and quality of the locally produced value added products are as good as imported products. Furthermore, a majority of the consumers think that Omani locally produced products are not of poor quality. With regard to Willingness to Pay (WTP) for "Oman locally produced food product", consumer ethnocentrism, preference, gender, income, age, level of education and global consumption orientation were found to have effect on the willingness to pay. This study therefore, has come up with some very useful insights for businesses and the government.
