Foreign Language Label Conditions and Purchase Intention for Local Packaged Food in Indonesia: The Mediating Roles of Consumer Xenocentrism, Attention, and Trust

Abstract

Foreign language labels are increasingly used on local packaged food products to create symbolic associations with globalness, modernity, and cultural appeal. This study examines how English, Japanese, and Korean label conditions influence purchase intention for local packaged food products in Indonesia through consumer xenocentrism, consumer attention, and consumer trust. A stimulus-based online survey was conducted with 400 Indonesian consumers aged at least 18 years who had purchased or consumed local packaged food products. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of four package-label conditions: Indonesian, English, Japanese, or Korean. The Indonesian label served as the baseline condition, while English, Japanese, and Korean labels were coded as dummy variables. The data were analyzed using PLS-SEM with SmartPLS. The results show that all three foreign language label conditions significantly increase consumer xenocentrism compared with Indonesian labels. Consumer xenocentrism significantly increases attention and trust, and both attention and trust significantly increase purchase intention. Consumer cosmopolitanism also positively affects attention, trust, and purchase intention as a control variable. Sequential mediation results indicate that foreign language labels increase purchase intention through consumer xenocentrism followed by attention or trust. The trust route shows larger indirect effects than the attention route. These findings suggest that foreign language label effects on local packaged food operate mainly through psychological foreignness orientation and evaluative responses, rather than through label language alone.