Global consumer culture: epistemology and ontology

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework that highlights the reinforcing nature of global consumer culture (GCC). In doing so, this paper highlights a dialectic process in which consumers trade-off, appropriate, indigenize and creolize consumption into multiple GCCs.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is conceptual with illustrative examples.

Findings

GCC is a reinforcing process shaped by global culture flows, acculturation, deterritorialization, and cultural and geographic specific entities. This process allows consumers to indigenize GCC, and GCC to contemporaneously appropriate aspects from myriad localized cultures, producing creolized cultures.

Research limitations/implications

Marketing research and practices need to shift away from the dichotomous view of global and local consumption fueled by a misleading view of segmentation. Instead, marketers should focus on identifying the permutations of emerging GCCs, how these operate according to the context and accordingly position their marketing mix to accommodate them.

Originality/value

The proposed model reviews and integrates existing literature to highlight fundamental research directions that present a comprehensive overview of GCCs, its shortcomings and future directions.

Citation

Cleveland, M. and Bartsch, F. (2019), "Global consumer culture: epistemology and ontology", International Marketing Review, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 556-580. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-10-2018-0287

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