ANOVA Analysis of Cross-National Perception
Author – SHIVAM INGLE-67
Introduction:
Country perception is shaped by factors such as economic growth, cultural identity, global reputation, and geopolitical standing. India, Brazil, New Zealand, and Sweden represent four distinct archetypes – a rising emerging economy, a culturally vibrant developing nation, a high-quality-of-life developed country, and a globally respected welfare state. Understanding how individuals rate these nations provides valuable insight into cross-national biases and preference patterns. This study applies One-Way ANOVA to statistically test whether perceived ratings of these four countries differ significantly.
Objective:
To compare the perceived ratings of 4 countries – India, Brazil, New Zealand, and Sweden – by way of One-Way ANOVA.
Literature Review:
Nation Image and Consumer Perception in India
Sharma and Gupta (2021) observe that Indian consumers and students exhibit a strong home-country preference, assigning significantly higher ratings to India compared to foreign nations across perception surveys. Their study highlights that familiarity, national pride, and media narratives are the dominant drivers of such bias, particularly among urban, educated respondents.
Cross-National Perception and Global Country Rankings
Pillai and Nair (2023) reveal through their research among Indian management students that developed nations, such as Sweden and New Zealand, are perceived favorably regarding governance and quality of life. Conversely, they find that emerging economies like Brazil rank lower on global prestige indices. These differential ratings, when tested statistically, yielded significant ANOVA results, leading the authors to confirm that country archetype is a key predictor of perceived scores.
Data Collection:
Respondents were requested to rate the following four countries – India, Brazil, New Zealand, and Sweden – on a scale of 1 to 10. Responses were collected via a Google Form (n = 30 per group, total N = 120), and a One-Way ANOVA was calculated on the compiled data.
Data Analysis:
H0: India = Brazil = New Zealand = Sweden (No significant difference in ratings)
H1: At least one country is rated significantly differently from the others
The level of significance is set at α = 0.05.
|
Groups |
Count |
Sum |
Average |
Variance |
|
India |
30 |
288 |
9.60 |
0.80 |
|
Brazil |
30 |
217 |
7.23 |
2.87 |
|
New Zealand |
30 |
244 |
8.13 |
3.84 |
|
Sweden |
30 |
235 |
7.83 |
4.14 |
|
Source of Variation |
Sum of Squares (SS) |
df |
Mean Square (MS) |
F-Statistic |
F-Critical (α = 0.05) |
|
Between Groups |
91.0000 |
3 |
30.3333 |
10.4041 |
2.6828 |
|
Within Groups (Error) |
338.2000 |
116 |
2.9155 |
— |
— |
|
Total |
429.2000 |
119 |
— |
— |
— |
P-value: 0.000004, η² = SS Between / SS Total = 91.00 / 429.20 = 0.212
Conclusion:
As calculated, F (10.4041) > F-Critical (2.6828), we reject H0 and accept H1 meaning at least one country is rated significantly differently.
References:
Pillai, R., & Nair, S. (2023). Global country perception among Indian management students: A comparative analysis. Indian Journal of International Business, 11(2), pp. 34–51. SAGE Publications India.
Sharma, D., & Gupta, R. (2021). Home-country bias and nation image: Evidence from urban Indian consumers. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research (India), 8(1), pp. 18–33. Emerald Publishing India.