Global consumer culture is a beguiling illusion and a gangerous Essay

Global consumer culture is a beguiling illusion and a gangerous fiction for the marketing manager - Essay Example The Association of Qualitative Research has defined consumer culture as: â€Å"Consumer culture suggests that consumption - the act of buying goods or services - is a cultural activity, one imbued with meaning and driven not just by practical or economic factors. Mapping and exploring the business implications of these cultural meanings is one of the principal functions of qualitative market research.† By reviewing the above definition we can conclude that cultural values directly influence the consumption patterns of buyers. Therefore, in order to create a global consumer culture it is essential to carry out an in-depth investigation and research of the local traditions, customs, language, heritage, norms, values and ethics of target foreign market in order to maximize the opportunities of success and minimize the risks of failure. In this way, the process of globalization will meet the standards of localization. GLOBAL CONSUMER CULTURE: Since late 20th century the world has become a global village. Due to faster means of communication, rapid advancement in technology, easy means of transportation and increased international business transactions; the barriers between cultural and regional boundaries are almost eliminated. Over the years the religious and cultural tolerance among various societies has increased dramatically and people no longer resist living in metropolitan cities where people from different countries, cultures, societies and political backgrounds live together. ... Due to faster means of communication, rapid advancement in technology, easy means of transportation and increased international business transactions; the barriers between cultural and regional boundaries are almost eliminated. Over the years the religious and cultural tolerance among various societies has increased dramatically and people no longer resist living in metropolitan cities where people from different countries, ethnicity, cultures, religions, societies and political backgrounds live together to form one large society which has colors of many sub-cultures. However, on one hand the idea of global village has played an important role to remove the differences among various segments of society and to provide equal opportunities to everyone irrespective of cast, color, creed, sex or background. But on the other hand, the concept of universal culture is very dangerous as it completely ignores the concept of â€Å"nationalism† and the religious and cultural values the sh apes up the national identity of the people in different countries. Therefore, marketers need to weigh the pros and cons of entering the foreign market and the barriers to their success. D. ADVANTAGES OF GLOBAL CONSUMER CULTURE: According to Scott Gay, (2006) â€Å"a global consumer is the product of cultural convergence spearheaded by industrialized nations† because the customer choices are becoming alike due to the phenomenon of global village. Globalization offers many advantages to the manufacturers who have potential to market their products on international scale and give their brands a global presence. However, every product can’t have global impact. For instance; a farmer in Asia can produce wide range of products by full capacity