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The purpose of this paper introduces entomophagy as an alternative food consumption (AFC) capable of contributing to food well-being (FWB) among Western consumers. Specifically, it provides a conceptual framework where key factors related to the acceptance and adoption of insects and insects based foods are identified. This paper takes a sociocultural, symbolic and contextual perspective to offer marketers and public policymakers a set of recommendations to promote entomophagy as a sustainable and healthy food practice to help consumers achieve their FWB.

In this paper, first, the authors review the literature on entomophagy from its rise to establishment in different food cultures by considering two main perspectives as follows: historical and sociocultural. Second, the authors review the salience of entomophagy as an important AFC capable of addressing sustainability and food health issues. Finally, the authors propose a framework in which the authors define key factors related to the acceptance and adoption of an insects-based diet in Western food cultures. The identification of these factors will help marketing and public policymakers to set up educational programs and strategies to promote entomophagy as a sustainable and healthy food practice within different Western food cultures, and thus, help consumers to achieve their FWB.

To identify the key factors influencing the acceptance of entomophagy as AFC, this paper provides a summary of the core motivators characterizing the acceptance and adoption of insects and insect-based foods in Western food cultures. Specifically, the authors identify the key factors influencing the acceptance of entomophagy as food consumption in Western food cultures and based on the extant literature by Batat et al. (2017) the authors provide an entomophagy framework that includes both idiocentric and allocentric factors considering the adoption of insects and insect-based foods in Western food cultures. Table I provides a summary.

The authors believe entomophagy has the potential to generate societal benefits, as its appeal at the social (hunger in the world), environmental (reducing meat consumption and its impact on ecology) and health (less calories and nutritive food) level.

The research contributes to creating new knowledge that simulates debate among public policy and marketing scholars about entomophagy as a novel food in Western food cultures. The focus on key factors related to its acceptance and adoption of Western food cultures calls for empirical evidence to be tested in the marketplace using possibly different insect categories and other novel foods. Further, the framework should stimulate thinking about ways the authors can change consumers’ negative perceptions of disgusting food. Marketers and policymakers can achieve it by making their practices more efficient in terms of promoting sustainable AFC, as well as with efficient policy initiatives focused on supporting AFC, including the regulation of insect introduction.

This research aims to focus on the understanding of how young consumers (generation Y) in transition economies perceive western multinational firms, what factors influence their consumption preferences of western products, and what are communication channels that affect their purchasing intensions of western products and brands.

Data were collected by interviews of consumer focus groups for qualitative implications, and survey questionnaires were developed to obtain quantitative data for statistical analyses to provide additional insights during the period from September to November 2004 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The findings suggest that due to the influence of increased contacts with western cultures, people, and products through mass media (mainly TV) and marketing campaigns by multinational companies, most of the young consumers in transition economies have favorable attitudes towards western products and things, and they have high appreciation especially for global brands. However, product attributes could mean different things in different cultures.

The results of this study are exploratory in nature and should be tested and reviewed with further studies. Because this study was conducted within a single segment, validation of these findings in other segments will require additional research. Different sample groups can be tested for validation purposes. Finally, this study was limited to the cogitative responses of consumers with limited investigation of actual consumer purchasing behavior.

The researchers suggest that marketing managers should seek to communicate and promote their brands and products as symbols of global consumer culture, and if possible, utilizing celebrity advertisements as marketing communication tools, especially to young consumers in transition economies. The objective would be to have consumers identify their brand and product as a sign of membership in the status‐seeking, achievement‐oriented and hedonic segment markets.

Few studies of generation Y consumers in transition economies have been carried out. In particular, the choice of Central Asia and the role of multinational companies are especially important.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key attributes that drive Muslim consumer purchase behavior in the context of imported Western food in Pakistan.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool. In this research, the in-depth interview data were analysed by using the manual content analysis (MCA) technique. Moreover, Leximancer software was used to reanalyse the data to enhance the trustworthiness of the MCA results. A total sample of 43 Muslim consumers from three metropolitan cities in Pakistan participated in the research. The sample comprises professionals, housewives and both college and university students.

Muslim consumers in Pakistan look at both the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes when purchasing imported Western food. The ruling factors explored were product taste, ingredients, freshness, hygiene, brand name and overall product quality. However, product packaging and labeling also play a significant role. Participants were of the view that imported Western food provides a better, unique consumption experience and an opportunity to choose from a wide variety of food options. Interestingly, interview findings reveal that Western food product attributes surpass the Islamic concept of moderate spending, thus convincing Muslim consumers to engage in the consumption of imported Western food.

The presence of imported Western food may improve quality of life by having more opportunities and healthier options for the nation. If the Western food products are stamped Halal or made with Halal ingredients the product has a fair chance of adoption and penetration in the society. Further, it may result in overall health improvements within the society, which is already a major concern in the Pakistani consumer market. Also, food products coming from the Western world induces mindfulness; people are more aware about innovative and useful ingredients that can satisfy their taste buds.

This paper found that Pakistani Muslim consumers are not really concerned about the Islamic concept of moderate spending, and thus, established that Pakistani Muslim consumers are more concerned about product value rather than their Islamic teaching of moderate spending. From a population, with 97 per cent Muslim majority, product packaging and labeling were found to be a dominant and deciding factor, which, in itself, is an interesting finding. Further, established Western brand names help Muslim consumers to recognize products and plays a vital role in their purchase decisions. However, within product labeling, the element of halal ingredients was found to be a deciding factor, but not a leading factor, in purchase decisions.

The usage and preference of western imported food in a Muslim-majority state signifies its importance and relevance in a specific culture. However, the inclination and preference toward imported food products must be backed by a strong motivation, when the religion of Islam does not permit overspending yet the amount spent on such imported food products is overwhelming. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the motivation behind this behavior.

This is a qualitative study, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 90 participants comprising professionals, housewives and university students from eight cities in Pakistan, which represented different regions and demographic variables. These were Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, Faisalabad and Larkana. The technique used to analyze the qualitative interview findings was thematic content analysis. To confirm the results, Leximancer software Version 4.5 was used to reanalyze and validate them. Moreover, the purposive sampling method has been used in this research.

The findings from the qualitative-focused interviews revealed that the product attributes of packaging with attractive colors, design, size, overall quality material, taste and labeling with maximum product information influenced their purchase behavior. The vast majority reported that food products coming from the west needed to be halal, and this is an important deciding factor for purchase. Also, the level of religiosity related to western imported food buying behavior varies from city to city, which itself an interesting finding from a Muslim-majority population. Brand trust, loyalty, satisfaction, subjective norms were influential factors for Muslim consumers’ purchase behavior.

This paper is qualitative in nature, and therefore, the generalizability of the study results is limited. Also, this study only focused on Muslim consumer buying behavior from a Muslim-dominated country.

This study is instrumental for western food producers and exporters, providing valuable information about the motives behind the purchase of western imported food products in Pakistan, and by extension, potentially in Muslim countries in general. The study’s findings would add value to the field of consumer behavior, in which little research has been conducted on the relationship between consumer motives in context with Muslims’ consumer behavior toward western imported food products.

The presence of western imported food products may give better options for consumers so that they can pick a quality product for their own and family usage. The placement of the halal logo and extra care of halal ingredients also assures the religious and cultural requirements, enabling the western imported food products to penetrate quickly.

The findings of the qualitative-focused interviews revealed that the level of religiosity varies from city to city. Even though the core religion is Islam, the level of religious commitment varies in different cities when it comes to the purchase of western imported food products. The interview findings discovered some reasons behind this behavior such as consumer demographic profile, cultural background, income level, education, lifestyle, family background and social class. This means that demographic variation plays an important role in religious commitment and especially across cites that possess different cultural and behavioral patterns.

Purpose – To provide marketing and managerial insights to western companies selling denim jeans in China, specifically in Shanghai. Understanding consumers' perceptions of Western‐branded jeans in a cultural‐specific marketplace is the primary focus. Design/methodology/approach – Combined methods included observation of shoppers wearing jeans in two malls in Shanghai and an anonymous survey. A total of 219 surveys were analyzed and consumer‐perceived jeans attributes or related concepts were tabulated. Findings – About one third of the observed shoppers were wearing jeans, which signified a relatively high popularity of jeans as casual wear in Shanghai. The design and fashion of jeans were deemed highly critical but were superseded by comfort and fit. Shanghai consumers distinguished brand origins only between the West and the East instead of by specific countries. Dissatisfaction with price and fit were identified. Research limitations/implications – Questions were designed to screen out respondents who had not purchased and had no desire to purchase western denim jeans brands. Limiting the sample in this way offered some control for behavioral patterns, but conclusions are limited. Practical implications – Content analysis of an open‐ended question about consumers' perceptions of western‐branded jeans helped discern attributes of jeans that consumers deemed most important. Marketers of western jeans can develop effective marketing strategies in tune with consumer preferences. Originality/value – This paper researched consumers' perceptions of western denim jeans, a type of world dress, in a booming but foreign market in western eyes. The open‐ended question solicited consumers' free responses, which in turn helped pin‐point attributes of jeans that Chinese consumers value the most.

The present study compared Indian consumers' attitude (AT) toward and purchase intention (PI) from Western apparel brands, as a function of their Western acculturation (WA), consumer ethnocentrism (CE) in apparel consumption, consumer cosmopolitanism (CC) and country of residence (India vs the USA).

The sample included Indians residing in India and the USA, who were 19 years or older, and visited online or brick-and-mortar apparel stores. An online survey was administered through Amazon Mechanical Turk to collect the data. The data was analyzed through multi-group structural equation modeling.

WA engenders CE among Indian consumers, especially among Indians residing in India. WA and CC positively influence AT. CE did not have a significant negative influence on AT. Although a high CE lowers the PI, a high WA, CC and positive AT can translate into high PI.

The study did not use an experimental design. Therefore, causal relationships between the research variables could not be explained. Majority of the respondents were male. This might have confounded the findings with potential gendered effects.

Western apparel brands targeting Indian consumers in India and the USA should focus on projecting their cosmopolitan and pro-Indian image to target this population's cosmopolitan and ethnocentric outlook, thereby enhancing PI.

The study proposed and empirically tested a conceptual model indicating the relationship between some of the important predictors of Indian consumers' PI in the context of Indians residing in the USA and India.

The economic reforms sweeping Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union point to a critical need for consumer‐based market research in the region. In this study, conjoint analysis was used to analyse Russian ( n=88), Polish (n=77), and Hungarian (n=113) consumers′ decision behaviour in a single product category, colour televisions. Of particular interest were the separate and joint roles played by brand name and country of origin in the decision processes of former Socialist consumers. The results show that Russian and Polish consumers place considerable emphasis on the product′s place of manufacture, while the Hungarians were more “functional” in their decision strategy, focusing on the product′s intrinsic properties. Contrary to expectations, brand name was less important than other attributes in the decision making of all three groups. Each group also showed minimal concern with the interaction between brand name and country of origin. Discusses implications for Western firms which are seeking market and investment opportunities in the former Eastern Bloc.

Confucian philosophy emphasizes gender roles that place significant restrictions on the consumption of non-traditional products. The authors use wine to advance our understanding of how South Korean female consumers have established a new female gender role and identity by adopting new communities that allow non-traditional consumption while still accepting gender roles. This paper aims to examine how South Korean female consumers create a unique consumption culture with respect to wine consumption.

A hermeneutic approach was adopted to understand what motivates South Korean female consumers to join a wine consumption community and their perceptions about consuming wine. Researchers conducted 26 semi-structured face-to-face interviews that ranged from 45 to 120 min, with an average duration of 1 h.

The results of the study suggest that wine can be a medium for emancipating women from traditional gender roles and social images of women embedded in South Korean society that call for women to sacrifice themselves for their families. In addition, the study’s findings suggest that Western wine marketers need to understand the power of wine consumption communities that are a unique consumption ritual among South Korean female wine consumers.

South Korean female respondents drink wine as both a way to seek pleasure through a Western alcoholic beverage and to consume and experience Western culture and lifestyles. However, South Korean female respondents tend to drink wine within consumption communities, which are a powerful consumption ritual in South Korea. In other words, although South Korean female respondents consume wine to experience and learn about Western culture and lifestyles, they have entirely not abandoned their traditional consumption rituals.

Most studies on consumers and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have focused on Western contexts. Consequently, good insight is lacking into non-Western markets where consumers may respond differently. China is a case in point, despite the popularity of the CSR concept and high societal expectations of firms. The purpose of this paper is to examine how Chinese consumers perceive the underlying components of CSR found in Western countries; whether their CSR expectations differ for local Chinese compared to foreign firms; and whether results differ across regions within China.

A country-wide study was done using a questionnaire to collect data in seven distinctive regional markets across China.

Findings show that the originally Western CSR construct seems generalizable to China, but consumers across all regions perceive two rather than four components: one combining economic and legal responsibilities (labelled “required CSR”) and another combining ethical and philanthropic responsibilities (“expected CSR”). Consumers expect local Chinese firms to take more responsibility than foreign firms, particularly for required CSR.

This study focused on consumer perceptions, not on actual buying behaviour, which is a potential area for further research. Follow-up investigation to see whether the findings regarding the CSR concept also hold in other emerging and developing countries would be worthwhile. This also applies to an extension of the different expectations vis-à-vis foreign and local firms.

The study gives more insight into notions of standardization and adaptation with regard to CSR, considering China compared to other countries and China’s different internal markets. This is relevant for international marketers confronted with (potential) investments and activities in China, inbound or outbound, or in need of a comparative global perspective.

While the findings show some context-specificity for CSR in and across China, they also confirm the relevance of the originally Western CSR components to an emerging-market setting. These insights may be helpful for those interested in furthering CSR across countries, and locally as well as globally.

This study responds to calls for an improved understanding of the context-specificity of the originally Western CSR construct and of the extent to which it may be generalizable to non-Western settings such as China. The authors used a sample covering all regions of China and discovered two important dimensions. The results may be helpful to guide the debate on the plethora of CSR conceptualizations into a more focused direction, with clear relevance for the marketing field.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how selected fast‐moving consumer goods markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have developed since the opening of CEE and what market structures have emerged since then. Particular attention is paid to the role of Western multinational corporations (MNCs) as drivers of globalization in this market‐reshaping process.

Based on household panel data the dissemination of international brands is analyzed in four product categories and four countries of the region. In addition, the question of whether the level of economic development of countries or the product character has an impact on the penetration levels of international brand is examined.

The outcomes of this retrospective study furnish evidence for the globalization of fast‐moving consumer goods markets in CEE. Although the level of diffusion of international brands varies by product category and country, the strong influence of Western MNCs in the shaping of market structures can be documented. The findings also mirror the predominantly‐employed marketing and brand strategies of foreign MNCs in CEE, namely internationally‐integrated as well as multi‐tier brand strategies.

The data provides only a snapshot of the situation in selected consumer goods markets in the region. In order to obtain a fuller picture of the extent of market globalization, the market share of international brands should be complemented by additional data on purchase and usage behavior.

The paper contributes to the current discussion of the market globalization thesis.